Above: Members of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra being joined at the start of this concert by Concertmaster Andrew Haveron. Featured images: Paul Nolan.
This Sydney Symphony Orchestra concert featured guest cello soloist Li-Wei Qin. Its collaboration also featured the return of Principal Guest Conductor Donald Runnicles.
The emotional synergy and dynamic precision of gesture SSO always displays with this conductor was perfect for the delivery of this eighteenth century programme, subtitled ‘Dazzling Classics’
This Haydn / Mozart cavalcade showcased the control of this pared-down SSO group. Under the leadership of Donald Runnicles for this concert, there was excellent demarcation of nuance in all works and a crisp, bright tutti utterance that reminded us why SSO is the versatile band championing a range of musical styles an entertaining up with musical snapshots from stages of history.
Central to this programme was the kaleidoscope of lyricism and filigree which is Haydn’s Cello Concerto No 1 in C Hob VIIb:1. Composed in 1761, it was the earliest work by two decades. As presented by Lin-Wei Qin and Runnicles, it did not lack a sparkle and elevated lyricism because of this compositional time frame.
The central ‘Adagio’ of this work reach us from this cellist and finely balanced, sympathetic SSO acompaniment with beautiful eloquence. Ornamentation and expansive phrasing gilded the utterances and Runnicles ensured the architecture of this concerto’s second-movement stillness shone impressively.
Runnicles and Li-Wei Qin were well matched with regards to charismatic performance and technically sound unravelling of Haydn’s iconic filigree in the faster tempos of the outside movements.
The thematic development leading to a stunning cadenza from Qin in the opening movement benefitted from keen tempo choices and clear articulation plus punctuation. The Finale rocketed along to the conclusion in detailed, virtuosic broad strokes.
There are hidden gems within Haydn’s huge symphonic output. And Symphony No 88 in G from 1786 opened this sparkly even with joyous major key voice. The opening was keenly paced again, and SSO musicion dived into the angular question and answer theme of the opening stridently.
As the work progressed and the orchestra with conductor celebrated the sheer energy and poise of Haydn’s symphonic options, we marvelled at the characterisations through the ‘Allegro’, ‘Menuetto and Trio’ and ‘Finale’.
A take-home amidst the clear orchestral textures and exciting knife-edge series of tutti shapes was the stillness of this work’s Largo. It reached us in a myriad of unhurried colourisations and was one of the sections within this concert’s momentum that almost stopped time with the tracing its exquisite choral mood.
Mozart’s innate dramatic skill definitely dabbled in orchestral Sturm und Drang.The inclusion of his late-period Symphony No 39 K543- written in the same busy year as the Sturm un Drang feel Symphony No 40 and the great ‘Jupiter Symphony emphasised the start of this incredible burst of composition .
It also was good for us to hear out of Australia’s troubled 1788 the first in Mozart’s final trio of Symphonies. Heard at the end of the otherwise Haydn programme, SSO and Runnicles maintained an interpretation excellenced with balanced textures and some excellent lingering for as much as possible in the soft part of the nuance spectrum.
The more dramatic sections heard celebrated Mozart’s theatrical voice extended the symphonic options pioneered by Haydn. In this concert’s fine musicological swoop two of the ‘Dazzling Classics’ where afforded a clear, sparkling and lyrical hearing by this guest cellist, conductor and our resident orchestra.