Southern Cross Soloists | A Night in Paris

Sunday February 26, 2023,  QPAC, Brisbane

Southern Cross Soloists presented an exquisite program of chamber music inspired by Paris on Sunday afternoon in the QPAC concert hall. 

City of Lights explored music from one of the world’s most romantic cities, Paris. It brought together works by French masters Debussy and Ravel, alongside German composer Gluck, Austrian composer Mozart, and Russian composers Prokofiev and Scriabin. 

SXS were joined by guest associate artists Courtenay Cleary on violin, Guillaume Wang on cello, David Silva on flute, Daniel Le on piano, and Justin Bullock on double bass. They were also joined by SXS 2023 Next Gen Artist Jessica Walther on flute. 

The program began with Gluck’s Selections from Orfeo ed Euridice. Featuring flautist David Silva, this piece evoked Greek mythology, tragedy, and love. David’s flute had a floating melody and danced like the spirits.

Next, we heard Mozart’s Sonata in A minor. Written when his mother died while he was living in Paris, this piece is full of mourning and loss. SXS performed a quintet arrangement that was deeply moving. 

Cellist Guillaume Wang then took centre stage, to perform three solo pieces, accompanied by Konstantin Shamray. He performed Debussy’s Beau soir, Scriabin’s Romance, and Pejtsik’s Stonehenge all from memory, which was pretty amazing! The first two pieces were lush and flowing, evoking a pastoral landscape at sunset. Then, Stonehenge was a fun and jazzy piece, evoking images of the busy Paris streets. 

Violinist Courtenay Cleary then had her moment to shine, in Ravel’s Tzigane. This evocative piece explored all the colours of the violin, making for a thrilling performance. Courtenay performed with dazzling virtuosity. 

Then, we heard three of Debussy’s Preludes: Puck’s Dance, Ondine, and What the west wind has seen. This took us back to mythical worlds, depicting fairies, mermaids, and fairy tales. SXS took us on a fantastical journey through the music.   

To finish, pianist Konstantin Shamray returned to the stage to perform Prokofiev’s challenging Piano Concerto for left hand. Originally written for a pianist who had lost one hand during WWI, this piece makes the left hand do all the work. Across the four movements, Konstantin’s performance was engaging and impressive. He was accompanied by the SXS ensemble for a spectacular end to the show. 

City of Lights was the perfect way to unwind on a Sunday afternoon. It took audiences on a musical journey from Brisbane all the way to Paris, the city of lights.

Photos by Darren Thomas, Courtesy of QPAC and SXS.