Above: Swedish-Norwegian violinist Johan Dalene and Australian pianist Jennifer Marten-Smith completed their national tour of the ‘Northern Lights’ programme with an ecstatically received concert at City Recital Hall. Featured image: Johan Dalene delivered a stunning range of nuamce and fine high register playing in this programme. Images: Cameron Jamieson.
Clarity. Beauty. Balance. Control. This quartet of adjectives came to mind quickly during the Northern Lights programme featuring Musica Viva’s exceptionally good match of young, emerging violin sensation Johan Dalene with prodigious soloist in her own time and experienced accompanist, locally born Jennifer Marten-Smith.
In a non-conventional swoop of a programme from Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Grieg through Lili Boulanger to Rautavaara and Ravel, the pair wowed us with a balance and eloquent unified voice that thrilled across this diverse set of works. In true Musica Viva style, a recipe for continued success over the eighty years of its history, this international sensation has toured the country, reached out musically and with a real humanity and excitement to be in our country.
As is a continuing treat in Musica Viva concerts, the chamber music collaboration introduced audiences to new music alongside the major composers from the past. In this case the world premiere on the programme was by Australian Jack Frerer. The intricate and clear, excellent performance of this modern work, Tilted Scales (2025) was made accessible, irresistible and attractive to audiences.
In this concert’s case, the thrill of hearing the old and new styles juxtaposed was obvious. The Sydney crowd warmed to the Jack Frerer work as much as it had already in the program been wooed by this pair’s fine rendering of historical form, phrasing and non-nonsense balance gesturing that were a perfect fit for early nineteenth century Beethoven sonatas for violin and piano.
Johan Dalene’s 1725 Duke of Cambridge Stradavarius instrument, on loan from the Anders Sveaas’ Charitable Foundation, responded well across this variegated musical event. A true chameleon, the violin sound remained clear across the contrasted works, speaking with the noticeable different accents of German, Russian, Norwegian, Finnish, French and Australian/ global experience of Jack Frerer.
Throughout, Dalene demonstrated considerable stillness and energy saving physical execution in his viruosity. But the resulting violin lines bristled with energy and exciting direction. There were some breathtaking moments spent playing so accurately at the top of the fingerboard in ultra high register work, or haunting, chilling advanced effects and full-bodied harmonics.
Jennifer Marten-Smith dazzled with her dialoguing alongside this violinist’s mastering of well-phrased trajectories. Her orchestra-like support in the arrangement for violin and piano of Lili Boulanger’s 1917 work D’un matin du printemps was impressive. Having heard this work in SSO’s concert recently, the conjuring of atmosphere and build to what was originally orchestral climaxes was impressive here.
Above: Johan Dalene toured Australia for the first time in 2025.
The parallel journeys of violin and piano works in the programme’s chronology from Beethoven, Grieg then Tchaikovsky and in a separate sequence of Boulanger, Ravel, Rautavaara to Frerer were both well coloured and gradual demonstrations of the development of treatment of violin with piano over time.
The ruthlessly precise and seamlessly sensible approach to presenting changes within musical style is exemplary from this new but successful duo. Investigating beauty and structure for us sans hysterical non-musical gesturing or overplaying of a ‘virtuoso’ pair was consistently good throughout.
The innate, immediate and recent synergy created on tour by this duo new to working together enabled such a varied programme to be realised with such success, musicianship and careful, clear lines. Compositional excellence and thoroughness was explored by the pair, secure in their own technical ease and communicative skill.
It was special indeed to have the chance to hear the now Hobart-based Jennifer Marten-Smith in Sydney. It was rewarding to watch and hear her exquisite conquering of solo and ensemble challenges in these works as she shone beside the visiting superstar-bound string player rocketing calmly into the stratosphere.
The pair forged a nice highway of quality chamber music sound. Highlights in the interestingly carved programme were the integrity of joint timbres in Rautavaara’s Nocturne for violin and piano (1993) as well as a rich , slowly escalating intensity from broodiness through to frenetic dance in Ravel’s Tzigane (1924). At all times, the styles and language of the composers from various national and historical backgrounds were accurately represented and respected.
During interpretations of Beethoven’s new voice within the existing forms to Tchaikovsky’s Romanticism of place and moods of humans within it, through to Grieg’s picturesque celebrations with folk music decoration, the clarity and neat excitement generated by this pair reached our hearts, heads and human sensitivities.
This came at a time where global plus political differences with regards to history and between nations are once more confused. The world could well benefit by being urged to : ‘Relax and listen to Chamber Music’. We thank Musica Viva and these two touring artists for the much needed, exquisite escape.
