Concert Review

Okta - Dances Mercurial
20 May 2011
Gallagher Concert Chamber
Academy of Performing Arts
University of Waikato
Hamilton

Reviewed by Nick Braae

The first Okta concert of 2011 was held on Friday evening at the Gallagher Concert Chamber. An enthusiastic and appreciative audience was treated to five contemporary works, united by the idea of dance, performed by University of Waikato staff and students, demonstrating the strength of this establishment.

The concert opened with Dances Mercurial, senior lecturer Michael Williams’ most recent work, played by Lara Hall, Emily Campbell (violins), Sebastian Lowe (viola), and James Tennant (cello). It was a convincing performance of a challenging work. As the title suggests, the piece winds through different styles, evoking scenes from the Vienna court to raucous folk celebrations. The transitions between sections were particularly effective; sometimes seamlessly shifting from one dance to the next; at others, drawing out the final notes before launching unexpectedly into the next dance. These were not dances, in the strictest sense, but rather were unified by notions of rhythm and movement. This was best conveyed in the pizzicato section , where the more percussive nature of this technique gave the rhythmic layering the clarity it required. By the time Lowe entered with almost lazy triplets above the other players, the listener was being pulled in four different directions  — a wonderful effect.

This was followed by 16-year-old Santiago Canon Valencia who played the first movement, Allegro maestoso, of Kodály’s Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 8, renowned for its unusual tunings of the lower strings. This young musician needs no introduction in Waikato circles and his prodigious talents were once again on display. He showed complete mastery of the instrument especially with the rapid and continuous trilling that spanned the cello’s register. The piece is remarkable for its timbral variety – rich bass notes, haunting melodies in the treble, strumming, pizzicato – Valencia reveled in these colouristic contrasts and warmly deserved the rousing applause.

In the middle of the programme, Nathaniel Smorti, another talented undergraduate student, and Katherine Austin performed Lutosławski’s Dance Preludes for clarinet and piano. The five preludes each offered a delightful morsel of Polish folk music. A highlight was the fourth which captured the range of moods – Smorti held long, dulcet tones on the clarinet under which Austin played a cheeky left-hand bass line occasionally interrupted by ornamental right-hand stabs. This then gave way to the wild, final dance. The relief on the clarinettist’s face was obvious at the conclusion, perhaps with the realisation that he could finally take a breath.

Michael Williams had a second piece on the programme – an arrangement for string trio of the Passacaglia from his Triple Concerto. I had initial concerns about this combination; much of the appeal of the original lies in the subtle shades of orchestral colour manipulated by the composer. I need not have worried. Lara Hall and Jim Tennant shaped the opening modal melodies exquisitely and this had the perfect foil in the piano part which spanned the entire keyboard, from the rich, resonant chords in the bass to the ethereal treble lines hovering above the strings. There were moments when the combination of instruments did not work perfectly (a pizzicato cello in its lower register will always pale, volume-wise, against a grand piano), but these minor points did not detract from an engaging and absorbing performance.

Valencia returned for the final piece of the evening, this time with Rafaella Garlick-Grice on piano for the final movement of Ginastera’s Sonata for Piano and Cello,Op. 49. This frenzied finale evokes the sounds of a wild South American carnival and, once again, the extraordinary technical capabilities of both players were evident. One should not overlook, however, the pre-climactic section in which Valencia charmed listeners with a lilting melody that appeared completely divorced from the driving and percussive piano accompaniment. This quickly dissolved into the final sprint in which both players furiously worked their way to the conclusion. I am certain the audience members were relieved, this time, to stop and catch their breath.

I must confess, the idea of ‘modern’ music can sometimes be a frightening one, conjuring Adornian visions of discordant sounds governed by mathematical formulae only understood by a handful of self-absorbed professors with scant regard for their audience. Quite frankly, Theodor got it wrong. The Okta programme demonstrated, in no uncertain terms, that even outside the comfort zone of tonality, new sounds can be appreciated readily by audiences who are willing to submit to music’s power and ability to take us on an aural journey. The pieces were energetic, engaging and, to borrow a phrase from Michael Williams’ programme notes, marked by a sense of joie de vivre, combining to create a most engaging concert experience.