Conducted by Rowan
Harvey-Martin and Max McBride
Llewellyn Hall, 7
December
Reviewed by Len Power
The final concert of Canberra Youth Orchestra’s 2019 concert
series had everything you could ask for at Christmas - four varied and
fascinating works, two fine conductors and a performance by an extraordinary
young man on violin, Christian Li.
The concert commenced with “Romanian Rhapsody No. 2” by
George Enescu. Regarded by many as
Romania’s most important and influential musician, Enescu composed his two
Romanian Rhapsodies in 1901.
His second rhapsody is a beautifully melodic work with
moments of quiet reflection that contrast with unexpectedly dramatic
sections. A lyrical dance leads to a
haunting and delicate finale. The
orchestra under Max McBride started a little uncertainly but quickly gathered
strength, giving a pleasing performance overall.
 |
| Canberra Youth Orchestra with Max McBride conducting |
The second work, “The Perfect Fool” by Gustav Holst was,
like his more famous “The Planets”, a highly visual work which was originally
written for an opera called “The Perfect Fool” which was first performed in
London in 1923.
As a suite of three dances this work has had a life beyond
the little known opera. Under Max
McBride’s baton, the orchestra played with notable clarity, bringing out all
the colour and spectacle of this enjoyable work.
 |
| Christian Li with Rowan Harvey-Martin conducting |
After interval, conductor Rowan Harvey-Martin led the
orchestra with “Walk to the Paradise Garden” by Frederick Delius. Also derived from a now rarely performed
opera from 1907, “A Village Romeo and Juliet”, this work was composed as an
orchestral interlude to be played between scenes.
In keeping with the opera’s farmland setting and characters,
the music has a lyrical, bucolic atmosphere but with unsettling dramatic
undercurrents. It was nicely played by
the orchestra.
The final work of the evening was the very well-known
“Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor”, composed by Max Bruch in 1868. Violin soloist, Christian Li, joined the
orchestra for the performance of this work which was also conducted by Rowan
Harvey-Martin.
Christian Li is 12 years old and has won a number of
international music prizes already. He
was the youngest ever joint Junior 1st Prize-winner of the Yehudi Menuhin
International Violin Competition in Geneva in 2018.
His playing of the Bruch concerto was simply amazing. He not
only played with great technical accuracy but achieved a depth of emotion that
was unexpected in someone of his age.
The orchestra accompanied him very well, especially in the rousing third
and final movement.
Standing ovations have become rather over-used these days
but in this case it was highly deserved, not just because of Li’s age but
because of the exceptional skill and maturity he displayed with his playing.
Photos by Peter
Hislop
This review was first
published in the Canberra City News digital edition of 8 December 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.