Above : Piano soloist for Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 17, Daniel De Borah. Photo credit: Darren James. Featured image: Condutor fofr this concert: Umberto CLerici.
Australian pianist Daniel De Borah recently joined an intimate group of musicians from Sydney Symphony Orchestra at City Recital Hall under the dynamic direction of conductor Umberto Clerici .
This successful collaboration celebrated Mozart, and in prticular his middle period of composition. we were treaed to his somewhat lesser-performed seventeenth piano concerto. This colourful, soulful work appeared from 1784 in the middle of an outpouring of concerti for his adult instrument of self-promotion, the fortepiano.
Written for his piano student, Barbara Ployer, this work features spontaneity of expression and candid delicacy within its solid structures. This concerto’s intricately-hued lyricism and well-paced cadenzas are favourite aspects of the Mozartean keyboard concerto expression.
Endless dialoguing with the orchestra and achingly beautiful contrasts between energetic gesture and intimate complexity stamp this G major work and its 1784 set.
Umberto Clerici, SSO and Daniel De Borah endeared all these delicious features above to us in a magnetic, spellbinding perormance. They championed Mozart’s skill in starting to develop the keyboard concerto structure as such an expressive vehicle with which to celebrate keyboard players and a maturing Classical style.
Such passionate, clear and streamlined opportunities for a concerto player to converse were all seized by this thoughtful soloist. De Borah’s conversation both across the piano range and with winds and strings was both infectiously beautiful as well as a clear illustration of how Mozart helped shaped keyboard concerto writing well into the Romantic period.
From Daniel De Borah’s first solo piano entry we knew we were in for a piano concerto and Mozart interpretation treat. Clarity of line, superb balance across the keyboard as well as with the orchestra imbued De Borah’s svelte utteranes, regardless of the mood or movement number in this work.
Mozart’s dramatic disposition and kaleidoscopic shifts of trajectory or mood were given detailed consideration from this gifted soloist. The colours employed-at times for just a single standout note drew upon a thrilling and very controlled spectrum of technique and nuanced pianism.
The two cadenzas to end the first two movements were delivered with unhurried excellence, and the broad-strokes swoop through the elaboration contained many carefully pondered components and mellifluous moving parts.
SSO’s delivery on modern instruments of this eighteenth century concerto was on a suitable, smaller voiced and historically-appropriate level. De Borah’s manipulation of line and textures included candid exchanges with the orchestra on the modern piano. The integrity of his joy in exquisitely beautiful searching piano song redefined delicacy for us. It presented the eighteenth-century keyboard part with exemplary, diminutive clarity.
Such a worthwhile reminder of progressive Classicism, energy and eloquence for a range of textures was continued during the Schubert Symphony No 5 following interval.
The interesting programme notes from Gordon Kerry spent some time quoting Schubert’s praise for the place in history of Mozart’s music, especially his unparallelled approach to expression as well as form.
To support this relationship, the younger composer’s popular and equally perfectly structured fifth symphony emerged from the stage in the second half. To continue the dramatic forward-thinking withing these composers adherance to structure, SSO played the Schubert with reverence. The fine sections for wind choir, wind solo lines were played in smooth exchange. There was always a successful pace and momentum to to work’s balance and symmetry.
Clerici as conductor harnessed the forces and undulations of Schubert’s emotional progression. His clear leadership and obvious passion led the SSO members and the audience through the contrasting movements.
The four individual statements displayed neat, self-contained tension and resolution moments and the shifts in orchestrations were stunningly smooth.
The expansive, time-stopping second movement especially flowed mesmerisingly thanks to a well-chosen, attractively broad Andante tempo.
The thrd movement Menuetto progressed with a delightful freshness of character. It was rewarding to hear the expressive highlights of this loved work again live.
To continue this concert’s links to Mozart and the impressive version of K 453, the prelude to all the Classical and early Romantic thread came in the form of the character-filled music of Jacques Ibert.
Quite the rarity on our live stages, the neo-classicist-plus music of this French master was an energetic and well-shaped performance with which to begin to begin this concert’s homage to Mozart.
Ibert’s work was a response to a French commission at the time of the bicentenary of Mozart’s birth, its hectic gesturing, suitably vibrant, busy characterisation started this event with a respectful flourish. Homage à Mozart rom 1956 lost nothing in translation during this concert’s disciplined and well-directed delivery.
It reminded us as a modern crowd watching this busy SSO concert of the benefits to be had when paying tribute to both Mozart’s dramatic gifts plus the calm drama of Schubert. We welcomed the chance for such a vivid opening postcard of orchestral Ibert. This audience was also grateful to SSO and their invited soloist for such fresh interpretation of classic works now centuries old from former masters.