Willoughby Symphony Orchestra | Ode to Joy
2 September, 2025 | The Concourse, Chatswood, NSW
No musical event has attracted so much attention and literature as the first performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in Vienna in May of 1824. He started its composition two years earlier, although he used ideas from his own Choral Fantasia while the theme for his Ode to Joy surprisingly appears in Mozart’s offertory in G minor K222. It was the composer’s first appearance in public for 12 years, and in the audience were top dignitaries as well as several composers including Franz Schubert. The work demanded not only the two top Viennese orchestras but also the services of several selected amateurs. Four solo vocalists were hand picked by Beethoven while the two top Viennese choirs were enlisted. The conductor was the Kapellmeister Michael Umlauf but the totally deaf Beethoven was also on the stage with his score, tapping out tempi with strange body language which the orchestra was instructed to ignore. There were frequent interruptions and the Scherzo was halted by deafening applause. The composer continued to “conduct” for several bars after the work had ended. Nevertheless the symphony was a huge success and there were five curtain calls and throwing of hats and other displays.
The audience at Chatswood Concourse was just as appreciative, although not displaying their emotions as above. Nicholas Milton, not having to glance once at a score, galvanised the WSO who played accurately and enthusiastically. The slow movement was particularly beautifully expressed while in the demonic Scherzo and Trio the woodwind playing was of the highest quality. In the choral movement, the Willoughby Symphony Choir together with over forty selected guests proved more than equal to the task. The soloists were all of the highest standard – Julie Lea Goodwin, Ashlyn Timms and Iain Henderson are members of Opera Australia while Christopher Richardson is well-travelled and has sung with most Australian orchestras. I found the tenor voice of Iain particularly appealing.
As appetisers for a sumptuous main course, we first heard Jean Sibelius’ tone poem Finlandia, originally the final scene of a historical epic, it was taken up as an anthem and a symbol against Russian oppression. The work was a large factor in the composer’s rise to fame. As always, the composer emphasises the use of brass and timpani to produce stirring themes and melodies. We were privileged to hear the choral version of the final hymn-like melody added by Koskenniemi in 1940 – the excellent acoustics at this venue were particularly apt for this performance.
Second we were treated to an unfamiliar trombone concerto by Nino Rota best known for his dramatic music for the film “The Godfather” as well as the score for most of Fellini’s films. The soloist introduces the work with a repetitive three note motif which undergoes many modulations as it proceeds apace. The slow movement has a similar rhythm but is much more introspective. The work ends with a playful skittish scherzo. Jonathon Ramsay, Sydney born, was principal trombonist of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra winning several competitions on the way to becoming the Solo-Trombonist of no less than the Berlin Philharmonic. He gave an excellent relaxed and accurate performance of an unfamiliar work making the audience sit up and take notice.
A packed house was treated to a stimulating and satisfying programme and hardly noticed the “carwash” of rain which greeted them on venturing outside.
