Ronan Apcar with Ensemble Apex and Sam Weller (conductor)

9 August, 2025, ACO On The Pier, Walsh Bay, NSW

DULCIE HOLLAND Serious Procession

DAN ROJAS La Gran Salsa

NIGEL WESTLAKE out of the blue

DULCIE HOLLAND Conversation for Piano

DULCIE HOLLAND Concertino for Piano and Strings

So often when a composer dies performances seem to dry up. The following years beg for a revival but it doesn’t always happen. 25 years on from Dulcie Holland’s death her memory is being revived by a generation of young musicians and foremost of these are Ronan Apcar and Sam Weller with Ensemble Apex.  Apcar is force to be reckoned with and a delight it is to hear his playing. Fearless technique and musicality abound. 

In her own lifetime Dulcie Holland was renowned for her music education publications but was often ignored as a composer of concert music. She had her champions but they were not the major music organisations. In this concert it was a delight to hear three works all with the piano centre stage. 

The main work in this full-house concert at ACO On The Pier was her Concertino for Piano and Strings written when she was 70. It is a work that is full of the music nuances she developed over her life and as was always the case shows great orchestration skill and use of colour. Holland was a tireless worker and enjoyed writing music and playing piano every day and her love of music from Chopin through to Prokofiev and the influence of the English composers show through in her output though there is an overriding personal story to her music. Always determined to write music that was accessible to performer and audiences alike she nevertheless enjoyed little quirks of harmony and melodic invention. At times in the Concertino it seems as if she wishes to break free and write music that exists in two keys at once and it is moments like these that give great satisfaction.  Ronan Apcar was an inspirational soloist here and in two solos, Serious Procession, with its grandiose gestures, and the completely engaging Conversation for Piano. This work in particular deserves to be heard in concert many more times. 

Another delight was listening to Ensemble Apex. Conductor Sam Weller has fashioned a group of musicians who are energetic, dedicated to playing with passion and excitement into a small orchestra who stand out in our crowded musical scene. Their playing in the Concertino for Piano and Strings was just right, tender here, dramatic there and always at the service of making the music speak purposely. Music by Dan Rojas, La Gran Salsa for piano and strings and Nigel Westlake’s string orchestra work out of the blue received dedicated and charming performances. 

Weller is a conductor who knows his scores well and communicates that to his fellow musicians and though extremely high octane does not detract from the music. Surely our major orchestras are looking to engage him soon. 

Photo credit – Angus McKee