Sydney Symphony Orchestra | Vasily Petrenko conducts Rite of Spring
27 November, 2024, Sydney Opera House
VASILY PETRENKO conductor
JOHANNES MOSER cello
ELIZABETH YOUNAN (born 1994) Nineteen Seventy-Three (2023) World Premiere
CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS (1835-1921) Cello Concerto No.1 in A minor, Op.33 (1872)
Allegro non troppo – ii. Allegretto con moto – iii. Tempo primo
IGOR STRAVINSKY (1882-1971) The Rite of Spring (1913)
Much has been written about Stravinsky and the riotous premiere of The Rite of Spring in Paris and the intriguing aspect for me is how a work that could divide an audience, a city and many of the cultural elite 111 years ago now seems standard fare, albeit still exciting, for both the audience and the orchestra. It is a showcase for so many individual players and sections in the orchestra to show their virtuosic skills. In 1913 Stravinsky was given the luxury of 26 orchestral rehearsals and today it is possible to put on The Rite with less than a handful of rehearsals.
The much admired Vasily Petrenko is, since 2021, Music Director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Conductor Laureate of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, after his 15 years tenure as their Chief Conductor and an in-demand guest conductor across the world. His impeccable technique was a guiding light in the Stravinsky whilst all the time allowing the orchestral soloists space to create their own magic. His concept of this ballet score was to run with the power, the dissonance and to let the moments of respite to contrast the mostly aggressive attitude of Stravinsky’s score. The opening bassoon solo from Matthew Wilkie was perfectly evocative of some distant-time ritual. Joshua Batty was all golden and mellifluous in the numerous alto flute solos and many more woodwind, percussion and brass contributions stood out. The SSO string sections seemed to me to be behaving as one big instrument such was the unanimity of the playing. I am always charmed by the 4 solo viola section and this concert gave and gave again. In 2024 there was no discord from the audience, they simply applauded and stomped and cheered!
The Saint-Saëns 1st Cello Concerto in A minor received a spectacular and refined performance by Johannes Moser. Elegance abounded from his opening phrase onwards and his interactions with the orchestra showed all were enjoying the process of making this music come alive. It was a well thought out choice to have before the Stravinsky as it is in many ways quite old-fashioned for 1872. There are hints of Beethoven in the musical argument and indeed the orchestral forces, 12 wind and brass, timpani and strings is the same as Beethoven’s Symphony No.1 from 72 years earlier. And like his musical predecessors it is full of melodies and for the soloist lots of opportunities to show off. And Moser is surely a crowd-pleaser in that regard.
The concert opened with an overture style work by Sydney composer Elizabeth Younan. She harvests music that is most aligned to film-music and in particular music for cartoons. The SSO plays this style of music so easily and the composer received a fine performance.
I am sure the near capacity audience is hoping that the SSO management is securing Vasily Petrenko for a return visit soon!
