Llewellyn Hall 8 July
Reviewed by Len Power
In their concert, ‘From Russia With Love’, Selby &
Friends clearly demonstrated they have a licence to thrill. A carefully chosen program of mostly Russian
works was superbly played by the trio of Kathryn Selby, piano, Daniel Dodds,
violin and Timo-Veikko Valve, cello.
Australian Kathryn Selby began her piano studies at the
Sydney Conservatorium of Music and earned her Master’s Degree from New York’s
Julliard School, leading to a busy international career on the world’s concert
stages and at home in Australia.
Daniel Dodds is an Australian violinist who enjoys an
international career playing works from the early baroque period to those by
contemporary composers as well as crossover projects with jazz, tango and far
eastern elements.
Cellist, Timo-Veikko Valve, is from Finland and performs
internationally as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral leader. In 2006, he was appointed Principal Cello of
the Australian Chamber Orchestra with whom he frequently appears as soloist.
 |
| Timo-Veikko Valve, Daniel Dodds and Kathryn Selby |
The concert commenced with the lush ‘Romance’ by Alexander
Scriabin. This charmingly romantic work
was played with great feeling by Selby on piano and Valve on cello.
This was followed by a set of variations by Beethoven on the
duet between Pamina and Papageno from ‘The Magic Flute’. The piano playing by Selby and Dodds on
violin was a delight, tripping through the recognizable Mozart melodies and the
variations by Beethoven with wit and playfulness.
A change of mood followed with Tchaikovsky’s poignant
‘Meditation from souvenir d’un lieu cher’.
The playing of the finale filled with high emotion was particularly
fine.
Debussy’s Piano Trio in G major was given an extraordinary
performance by the trio. The delightful
free-flowing and colourful first movement was followed by a tightly played
second movement in which the charming melodies tumbled back and forth with skill
and a sense of fun between the performers.
The grandly romantic third movement was especially well-played and led
to a passionate and edgy finale.
After interval, the trio performed Rachmaninov’s Piano Trio
No. 2 in D minor. Sub-titled ‘Elégiaque’,
this beautifully reflective work in three movements was written in memory of Rachmaninov’s
friend, Tchaikovsky, who had died shortly before. The trio gave an outstanding performance of
this work which took us on a journey through every possible emotion. The piano parts dominate the second and third
movements and Kathryn Selby’s sensitive playing expertly conveyed the
composer’s emotional intentions.
Selby & Friends' fine concert will stay in the memory for
a long, long time.
This review was first
published in the Canberra City News digital edition of 9 July 2019
Len Power’s reviews
are also broadcast on the Artsound FM 92.7 ‘In the Foyer’ program on Mondays
and Wednesdays at 3.30pm.
