FINDING HER INNER WOLF
Margolyes smacks her chops at a teriffic taleTHEHEROQSODESERVES
Leslie Howard returns to his old, old love in styleAdelaide Festival
Adelaide Festival Theatre
MARCH 11, 2017
★★★★✩Miriam Margolyes needs little
introduction. Seeing her at work
inapiecelikePeter and the Wolfis
aneducationintheartofbringing
thespokenwordtolife.Margolyes
knows how to use her body, face
andvoicetoadddramaticeffect
tothesimplestofthings,suchas
a short statement like: “The Cat
movedfasterthanJoStalin.”Her
ability to be mildly self-deprecating
–addinghumorousdepththrough
thesmallestdevices,suchasa
pauseoranaccentedword–makes
heramagnificentnarrator.
The concert commenced with
Margolyes explaining the story
(thoughomittingtheracybits)
of Janácˇek’s operaThe Cunning
Little Vixen.Withpoiseandpace,
shebroughtcharacters–suchas
badger,fliesandforesters–tolife.
TheASOgaveafine
performance of the Suite under
Carter’s efficient and effective
baton. They communicated the
music’s drama with precision and
energy. One appreciated their
attentiontodetailandability,as
one, to change the mood from quiet
anddarktofastandenergetic.
The darkness was heightened by
Carter’s decision to make the softer
soundsofterthanoneexpects,and
through pace and pause, it wasQueensland Symphony
QPAC, Brisbane
MARCH 11, 2017
★★★★✩Thisconcertofferedamarriage
made in heaven. An interesting
pairingofHungarianssawZoltán
Kodály on the same bill as Franz
Liszt,menofdifferentcenturies,
though not of distinctly different
sensibilities.Anditwasabrilliant
choice to end with Richard Strauss’
monumental tone poemEin
Heldenleben.Thecombinationof
Maestro Johannes Fritzsch and
Australian ex-patriate pianist,
LeslieHoward,gaveusrare
musicians of the finest calibre.
Commencing with Kodály’s
Dances of Galánta,Fritzschshowed
his interpretative versatility in
bringing this work, based on
Hungarian gypsy tunes, evocatively
to life. From the first melodic note,
strongly post-Romantic yet steeped
in traditional folk-lore, the orchestra
played with relish and passion.
Lisztcomposedonlytwonamed
concertos for piano and Leslie
Howard played the lesser-known
PianoConcertoNo2.Known
asthegreatestlivingexponent
of Liszt, Howard showed his
virtuosity immediately. Rarely
does one witness such exceptional
control and musicianship. Liszt’s
owninvention,thisconcertois
aquirkythematicwork,with
extreme contrasts between brute
force in the lower and exquisitemore powerful than some other
versionsthatIhaveheard.
Britten’s1945educational
composition,The Young Person’s
Guide to the Orchestra–based
onathemeofHenryPurcell–
provides great opportunities
for orchestral sections and
individual musicians to shine.
The ASO performed the
openingthemeatamajestic
and stately pace. Throughout
the work, when each section
andinstrumenthadasolo,
they shone, bringing parts to
life with clarity, enthusiasm
and making the most of
showing off their instruments.
Particularly deserving of praise
is the ASO’s Principal Trumpet
Owen Morris who performed
his difficult solo with ease.
Peter and the Wolfwas the
finale,inwhichMargolyes’
narration–withjustafew
modernisations – added great
drama to the music. Each section
andinstrumentoftheorchestra
brought the story’s characters
to life with appropriate drama,
humour and precision, and gave
Prokofiev’s music due gravitas.
Coinciding with the extension
of C a r ter ’s tenu re a s t he A SO ’s
Chief Conductor (until the end
of 2018), this concert showcased
again–throughhisintelligent,
effective conducting technique
–thebenefitofthisspecialand
invigorating musical partnership.
Christopher Wainwrightdelicacy in the higher registers.
Howard delivered the shimmering
colourswithintensebeauty,
taking artistic risks that are only
possible when technical ability is
assured. His fingers flew across
the keyboard with a cascade of
falling notes reaching the lowest
depths of the keyboard.
Asenseofauthorityand
anticipation emanated from
Fritzsch and the orchestra at
the beginning of Strauss’sEin
Heldenleden–AHero’sLife.
Interpreted with great sensitivity,
the narrative was made crystal-
clear and superbly delivered
on every level, demonstrating
the leitmotivs of the orchestral
characterswithinarichpaletteof
musicalcoloursandsonority.
Theeighthornsrepresenting
TheHeroweremelodicand
authoritative, playing crisply and
with great beauty, as required.
TheHero’senemies(Strauss’
critics) were introduced with
some light-hearted and instantly-
recognisable gossiping from the
flute,oboe,tubaandeuphonium.
Fritzsch came into his own in
the wonderfully rousing Hero’s
deeds of war with impressive battle
sounds from the whole orchestra
including timpani, harps and brass
creating a cacophony of sound that
reverberated through the concert
hall.Thiswascounterbalancedby
theachinglongingofTheHero’s
retirement from the world leading
to the full brass intoning a final
moving fanfare.Suzannah ConwayLeslie HowardMiriam Margolyes
Photo © Shane Reid
http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au MAY 2017LIMELIGHT 87
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