Conducted by Max
McBride
Llewellyn Hall 22
September
Reviewed by Len Power
If you like variety in your classical music, this was your
dream concert.
A collaboration between the ANU School of Music (ANU) and
Canberra Youth Orchestra (CYO), the concert featured works by ANU composers Kim
Cunio, Frank Millward, Chris Sainsbury, Alexander Hunter and Chloe Sinclair.
In addition, there was also a performance by this year’s CYO
Concerto Competition winner, Nicholas Hilderson, on clarinet. Also performing were 4 members of Wild Voices
Music Theatre and soprano, Katrina Wiseman.
Bringing it all together was returning conductor, Max
McBride, who conducted the CYO for 17 years from 1992 to 2008.
The CYO concerto competition had 14 competitors this year
from around Canberra and regional New South Wales. The winner, clarinet player Nicholas
Hilderson, opened the concert with a performance of the Clarinet Concerto No. 2
by Carl Maria von Weber with the orchestra.
This demanding work was a fine showcase for Hilderson, who played with
skill and accuracy. He was particularly impressive
with his emotive playing of the second ‘Romanza’ movement.
 |
| From left: Conductor - Max McBride, Composers - Frank Millward, Alexander Hunter, Chris Sainsbury, Chloe Sinclair, Clarinet Soloist - Nicholas Hilderson |
The concerto was followed by five works by ANU
composers. Each work was quite
distinctive. Taking its cue from the
Scottish Gaelic word for ‘weaving’, ‘Figheadairreachd’ by Alexander Hunter was a
colourful and atmospheric work that was well-played by the orchestra.
Chris Sainsbury’s ‘Beach Holiday’, described as ‘orchestral
surf music’, deftly evoked a recognizable sense of summer and Australian
beaches in its epic and dramatic soundscape.
Frank Millward’s ‘Alice’s Common Sense Suite’ was as delightfully quirky
as the Lewis Carroll character that inspired it. All dressed identically as Alice in
Wonderland, four singers from Wild Voices Music Theatre – Rachael Edwards,
Leyla Papp, Olivia Skazlic and Eleanor Tehan – performed the nicely melodic vocal
parts of this work very well.
 |
| The Alices: Rachael Edwards, Leyla Papp, Olivia Skazic, Eleanor Tehan |
‘Autonomy’ by Chloe Sinclair, was an edgy work that was nicely
unpredictable in its direction. At times
melodic, lush and with repetitive rhythms, it was well-played by the
orchestra. Kim Cunio’s ’21 Mantras for
Tara’ was a beautiful, soaring work that had its origins in the harmonic
chanting of Tibetan monks. Max McBride
played double bass to represent the low-key chanting of the monks as well as
conducting the orchestra. Katrina
Wiseman gave a hauntingly beautiful performance of the soprano part of this
work.
 |
| Soprano: Katrina Wiseman |
The concert concluded with a spirited performance by the
orchestra of Richard Wagner’s demanding overture from his opera, ‘Die
Meistersinger von Nürnberg’.
Photos by Peter Hislop
Len Power’s reviews
are also broadcast on the Artsound FM 92.7 ‘In the Foyer’ program on Mondays
and Wednesdays at 3.30pm.