Above: Members of Omega Ensemble lower strings. Featured image: Artistic Director David Rowden was joined by visiting virtuoso Michael Collins to perform Graeme Koehne’s ‘Dances on the Edge of Time’ at City Recital Hall. Images: Eloise Coomber, Melbourne leg of the national tour.
The term ‘elevator music’ conjures up many ideas of sound. Abstract, in-the-background, cliche even. Often this soundtracking bends classical music, repeats well known classical hits and melds genres to provide a continued ambience with at times some depth. The composer Graeme Koehne, whose new double clarinet work is at the centre of this programme, used the term in 1997 to describe musicians and creatives with a classical background making use of elements of popular music.
Whatever your lift music experience, this Omega Ensemble genre-morphing programme structured and presented with exceptional ensemble and communicative skill of this stage was always set to escalate audience members to new and varied heights.
Any programme that starts with the ultra well-known opening movement from Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, swoops through works from the last five years and concludes with innovative crossover music from Aaron Copland is a winner. It brings the concept of the familiar, comfortable and current to the fore in an elevated lift ride playlist to treasure.
Offering up total familiarity such as the opening Mozart is always a challenge. This version of the ‘Eine Kleine’ Allegro bristled with freshness however. This small string orchestra delicacy was reached out in a commendable tempo with a nicely nuanced swagger.
Above: Clarinettists Michael Collins and Artistic Director of Omega Ensemble, David Rowden, perfom in ‘Elevator Music’. Image: Eloise Coomber, Melbourne leg of the national tour.
Moving chronologically from well-known fragments of Mozart to Beethoven, Anna Clyne’s transformation of environments and shapes from the ‘Pathétique’ sonata for piano. This svelte and clever exploration of moods and trajectories in the sonata’s familiar three movement structure was presented with Omega’s signature championing of new and innovative music.
Tweaking the Beethoven earworms (possibly heard in the classiest of elevators) in a successful spread for modern ensemble, this ground-breaking flashback was a perfect leap forward following the Mozart opening.
The remainder of this concert was dedicated to the clarinet. Visiting virtuoso from the UK, Michael Collins joined the Omega Ensemble and Artistic Director, clarinettist David Rowden to deliver a new commission plus a twentieth century offering with a familiar approach of blending jazz and Latin styles with classical music.
An exciting World Premiere of a commissioned work by the performing ensemble is always a thrill. With that metaphorical elevator ‘door open’ button securely pressed, Graeme Koehne’s Dances on the Edge of Time for double clarinet solo and ensemble was allowed to step in and take us for a smooth and fun ride.
In a traditional three movement format, the lithe musical statements hid behind familiar historic dance style movement titles. But not for long. the subtitles were familiar in our pop culture as borrowings from an American baseball player: ‘Work like you don’t need the money’ / ‘Love like you’ve never been hurt’ / ‘Dance like nobody’s watching’.
The central chaconne movement was a beautiful celebration of the clarinet’s ability to rise above textures with a clear singing tone and to conquer undulating melodic lines with superb slickness. It was also a fine example of dual-soloist cantabile duetting plus a now vibe that is relaxed, really successful and well balanced.
Above: Visiting clarinettist Michael Collins performs Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto (1950) with Omega Ensemble. Image: Eloise Coomber, Melbourne leg of the national tour.
The outer rigadoun and gigue dance movements also shone with joyous energy, tight shapes and effective writing for colours of a small modern ensemble. This neo-classicist- with-a-boost commission work trailblazes with its unique instrumentation and uplifting newness. Innovative titles, reference to humanity and a lithely arranged instrumental voice here so well offered up by Omega Ensemble musicians make it a worthwhile addition to the clarinet and orchestral canons.
Michael Collins directed the ensemble expertly and was soloist in a seamless presentstion of Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto from 1950. Even without being familiar with this work, one can expect a hugely entertaining, vividly characterised and intricately crafted composition whenever we hear Copland’s name.
This friend of Lenny Bernstein saturated himself in the post-war verve of the USA, and his works would get the crowd in any work lift toe tapping. This Clarinet Concerto is no different, and Michael Collins with Omega musicians sold Copland’s effective crossover blends of musics from jazz, Latin American and swing idioms with the classical solo concerto model. Collins’ cadenza interpretation was edge-of-the seat-stuff we were lucky to witness.
The wash of colour, collaboration and crystal-clear dialogue leaping out from the City Recital Hall stage here was rewarding. The fact that this ‘Elevator Music’ concert finished with a work commissioned by clarinettist and band leader Benny Goodman further enhanced the cultural and human barrier-breaking aspects of this entire event.
To celebrate Michael Collins’ time with Omega Ensemble, and in our country for the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, the encore to this concert was a re-arrangement for two clarinets and ensemble by Elena Kats-Chernin of her Ornamental Air for basset clarinet. Like the Koehne work, the playing of this encore ensured a popular and vibrant advertisement for the clarinet, for the music of now and modern music written recently in our country- quite the whoosh of a ride to the chosen level in this concert’s lift.
Omega Ensemble’s next concert events for 2025 are ‘New Now’ at the Utzon Room on Sep 25, ‘Continuum’ with Sydney Dance Company from Oct 22 and ‘Rare Sugar’ from Nov 29 with music by Bartok, Nigel Westlake and a new commission work by Ella Macens.
I was at the concert in Sydney. These images (probably supplied by Omega Ensemble) are from the earlier performance in Melbourne. Shouldn’t your captions more accurately reflect that, rather than giving the wrong impression that they were from the Sydney performance?