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| The Sydney Symphony Orchestra in The Snow Concert Hall - Canberra |
Conducted by Benjamin Northey
Snow Concert Hall, September 26th, 2026 –
Reviewed by BILL STEPHENS
History was made at Snow Concert Hall with the return of the
Sydney Symphony Orchestra to Canberra after an absence of 13 years.
Celebrating the occasion with a scintillating program of
symphonic dance music appropriately titled “Music That Moves You” by composers
as varied as Kodaly, Debussy, Stravinsky and Western Sydney’s own Holly
Harrison, the orchestra received an enthusiastic reception from an appreciative
capacity audience.
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| Benjamin Northey conducting The Sydney Symphony Orchestra in the Snow Concert Hall |
Conductor Benjamin Northey introduced the orchestra with Zolton Kodaly’s lovely Dances of Galanata, which Kodaly composed in 1933 for the 80th anniversary of the Budapest Philharmonic Society.
An enthusiastic collector of eastern European folk music,
Kodaly drew heavily on the melodies of the Romani people for the five movements
of this composition, particularly the verbunkos popular among Romani musicians
at the time.
This captivating composition, with its catchy melodies and
tempi changes highlighting the wind section, proved the perfect entrée to a
memorable concert.
Written in 1904
as an advertisement for a new chromatic harp, Claude Debussy’s lush Dances
for Harp and String Orchestra followed. Scored for solo harp and strings and written
in two sections, Dance sacred and Dance profane, this work showcased
the artistry of French harpist, Louisic Dulbecco.
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| Louisic Dulbecco during Debussy's "Dances for Harp and String Orchestra |
Currently Principal Harp with the SSO, Dulbecco’s spell-binding interpretation, attentively and sympathetically supported by the orchestra’s string section, was greeted with prolonged cheers and applause so thunderous that it became obvious that only an encore would satisfy.
Dulbecco’s response was a virtuoso rendition of Debussy’s Arabesque
No 1.
The most unexpected offering of the program, and for many,
the highlight, was Holly Harrison’s 2021composition, Hi-Vis.
Inspired by sleep deprivation caused by night roadworks,
this work had the orchestra approximating traffic noises, flickering lights, reversing
vehicles, continuous drilling even electronic dance music…so successfully that
one was immediately reminded of George Gershwin’s similar idea with his ballet
music for “An American in Paris”.
Great fun for both the audience and the orchestra, and a
real find for an adventuress choreographer looking for inspiration.
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| The Sydney Symphony Orchestra -conducted by Benjamin Northey in The Snow Concert Hall |
Providing the perfect finale for this thrilling concert was “The Firebird Suite” composed by Igor Stravinsky in 1919, revisiting music he originally composed in 1910 for a ballet of the same name performed by Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes.
Unleashing the full resources of the orchestra, this composition
is laden with bombast, drama and romance, over seven movements which climax
with a sustained melody passed from solo horn through the full orchestra,
proudly announcing the destruction of the evil demon and the reawakening of
knights previously turned to stone.
Again, thunderous applause, rewarded with a lightning-fast rendition of Rossini's ever-popular William Tell Overture and a promise from the genial conductor that the orchestra would be eager to return to Canberra again soon. Yes! We heard you, Ben.
Photos by Peter Hislop
This review also published in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW. Link Here