Above: visiting cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason bows to the ecstatic ovation from an audience of new and old fans alike. Featured image: Sheku Kanneh-Mason performs with Sydney Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Simone Young. Photos: Jay Patel.
A landmark interpretation of a past work which will endure as something of a flagship gives the audience of its time the certain expression, gesturing, tempi and timbres it needs. The accessible, welcomed sound also gives the listener something they are surprised by, find new and that they can sink their contemporary teeth into. A landmark performance or recording is one we want to revisit afterwards in memory or by re-listening as a new go-to interpretation of the work in question.
This very special concert featured two such landmark interpretations. It was one of the anticipated Sydney Symphony Orchestra-led-by-Cheif-Conductor- Simone-Young events. This was a hot ticket that included the first visit of superstar cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason to Sydney. The event gifted us not just a landmark new interpretation of Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor Op.85, but an equally dynamic and landmark moment in the concert’s second half – with the performance of Richard Strauss’ An Alpine Symphony, Op 64 under the experienced baton of Simone Young.
The SSO chief conductor has shown us great concert curating skill in matching the vibe and voice of visiting concerto soloists and then programming a huge musical from her area of expertise to follow. Simone Young’s years of opera conducting and her signature informed energy when delivering the massive musical journeys of Richard Strauss, Bruckner, Wagner and Mahler are something we should be immensely grateful for. Her approach for this concert gave our contemporary concert-going heads a second landmark, rare live performance in this concert. This was namely Richard Strauss’ An Alpine Symphony, his immense, programmatic colourisation and depiction of a journey through the alpine hills.
Above : Sheku Kanneh-Mason delivered a svelte, lyrical sound across all registers of his instrument during a landmark interpretation of Elgar’s Cello Concerto. Photo: Jay Patel.
For many, the growling, energetic excellence in the dialoguing of Jaqueline du Pré with orchestra led by Daniel Barenboim has been an exciting landmark interpretation to hold on to. Enter Sheku Kanneh-Mason and Simone Young’s SSO and a fresh sound world engaged our souls anew.
Even during the opening cello statement this virtuoso with an old, sunny soul found tenderness and delicately sung motifs alongside the famous initial fullness of this work. Ringing out in the responsive Concert Hall acoustic were searching, sighing and simply stated, well traced lines. These erred on the side on intimacy as lyrical lines sung with smooth energy and perfect intonation plus shaping despite the extremes of register. The playing was an invitation for us to follow his gestures, which were never aggressively presented nor rushed.
Simone Young ensured the SSO sang and danced with gentle fire alongside the soloist – a cellist perhaps brought to the attention of many when he performed at the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle. The balance of his undulating nuance had the cellist blending into the full orchestral texture at those moments. When he needed to shine as concerto soloist, his solo line cleanly emerged from the blend, with a clean highlighting of the architecture rather than playing forcing its way into hot, garish spotlight.
The transition in this regard from the first movement to the slower second movement was not as severe as in past interpretations, with a harsher, more agressive opening movement. It was rather a slowed down continuation of the dance and lyricism already heard. The landmark interperetation that offered our contemporary ears some much-needed calm and a smooth, non-laboured tempo now gave us a period of rest before the dancing was set to begin again and head to the finale.
Above: One of two alpine horns featured in this version of Richard Strauss’ ‘An Alpine Symphony’ Photo: Jay Patel.
This collaboration between our local orchestra and Kenneh-Mason (already having worked globally with Simone Young), is one we want to hear more of. This was evidenced by the rockstar reception the cellist and orchestra received at the concerto’s end. His encore, Lullaby by Aiden O’Rourke was another goosebump-inducing, inspiring use of the cello to create measured, multi-voiced stillness. His playing here of a relatively unknown work showed how gentleness can be intricate and virtuosic at once.
Following interval, Simone Young and a large orchestra complete with offstage brass, Wagner tubas, two harps, organ, celeste, huge percussion and string teams plus two alpine horns led us with well-paced colourisations through Strauss’ twenty-two alpine landscapes with detailed names.
This was a fine introduction to a work many of us have never heard live, especially complete with alpine horns. Young’s interpretation was more of the intricate tapestry we have enjoyed from her since her return to lead this orchestra into a compelling new landscape.
Organic layering and slow-build swells in texture leading to joyous, dramatic or tutti moments throughout the depicted mountainous journey were measured as well as careful in the hands of this conductor and her orchestra. It was exciting to hear the huge climaxes peppered amongst this immense score played with such a controlled blend, then journeyed away from when the environment or incident in Strauss’ tale had passed.
Above: Members of the large brass, percussion and string sections assembled for this Richard Straus work. Photo: Jay Patel.
For many assembled, the chance to hear Strauss’ optional alpinehorns would have been a first, and a joyous addition to the cowbells and brass calls filling our concert landscape. The overall sonic package here was controlled and colourful, making the legthy piece with out breaks unfold vividly before us.
Shefali Pryor’s solo oboe work at the musical and storytelling summit was bristling with poignancy as it emerged from the forever shifting orchestral tapestry. The offstage brass choir provided a timbral shift and distance dimension which worked well in this venue. So too was the placement and playing of the alpine horns above the orchestra, further up the Concert Hall hill.
As was the case for the Elgar work, An Alpine Symphony danced and sang with renewed freshness before us. Its complexities were well contained and the massive full-orchestral forces climaxes along the way were controlled and thrilling at the same time. Along the journey, members of each orchestral family were summoned by Simone Young to give their calls and emerge from the blend as well as lead their fellow section members along the next section of the expedition.
This epic trip and encounter with nature occurs via dense and fluid orchestration from Richard Strauss. This was brought to us by conductor and large forces in an appealing, attractive and accessible way. The vistas emerged in overall smooth sweeping trajectories patterned by nicely realised detail on the surface of each swoop or descriptive piece of orchestration, here expertly rendered.
The work concluded this special concert event by accurately delivering the programmatic epic scope of Strauss’ vision in a compelling way. We were still as audience however able to clearly follow the shifts in landscape, occurence of natural incidents and Romantic human response to the awesomeness. This was via a consistently awesome, vivid and sprawling communication, in true landmark interpretation form.
This work in concert was a welcome instalment of excitement. It showed the successful leading of Sydney Symphony Orchestra by Simone Young across a well known and loved concerto plus via a challenging, massive musical arc from Richard Strauss. The fruits of her hard work with the orchestra and guest soloists continue to be bounteous and brilliant.
