SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall, 30 June.
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s Listen to This! series continues to make classical music accessible to new and seasoned concert goers by focusing on a single composer and unpacking one of their landmark works through performance, commentary, and illuminating musical excerpts. Tonight, SSO Conductor in Residence Benjamin Northey led the orchestra in Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto, joined by the outstanding young New Zealand cellist Matthias Balzat.
Elgar’s Cello Concerto (composed in 1919) was the composer’s last major orchestral work. Respected but underperformed for decades, it found its true afterlife thanks to Jacqueline du Pré’s landmark 1965 recording with Sir John Barbirolli and the London Symphony Orchestra. That EMI disc became one of the best-selling classical recordings of all time and revealed the concerto’s profound melancholy, vulnerability, and quiet grandeur in a way that resonated powerfully with post-war audiences.
Northey eloquently highlighted how the piece reflects a different side of Elgar — a turning away from the confident, imperial style often associated with Edwardian England. In the wake of World War I, the music conveys a profound sense of loss and disillusionment. The grand, opulent orchestration of his earlier works gives way to something more terse, economical, and inwardly expressive. Through Northey’s insightful commentary, the audience learned about the music not merely through formal conventions, but through empathy — connecting emotionally with Elgar’s inner world.
Before the first movement, Balzat—already a seasoned soloist with orchestras around the world and a founding member of the NZTrio chamber group—took to the stage with poised presence.
The concerto opened with a striking recitative for solo cello. Balzat played with beautiful restraint and tonal warmth, allowing the music to unfold naturally. The noble main theme then emerges quietly from the violas led by Justin Williams and Anne-Louise Comerford in the heart of the orchestra. The movement ends in hushed introspection, with the final low note passed gently from the solo cello to the lower strings.
After the first movement (Lento – Allegro molto), Northey paused for discussion and context. We heard excerpts illustrating influences and connections: the pastoral world of Vaughan Williams, a reminder of Land of Hope and Glory in Elgar’s own idiom, and a section from his earlier Serenade for Strings. Balzat also demonstrated the technical demands of the solo part by playing an excerpt from the Bach Cello Suites, showing how a single instrument can deliver both melody and harmony with remarkable skill.
The second movement (Lento – Allegro molto) brought a welcome shift to a busier, happier mood. Balzat dispatched the fast runs with brilliance and flair. This was followed by the pure, concentrated lyricism of the third-movement Adagio. While the concerto opens with a brief Adagio recitative in the first movement, it is this central slow movement, a short but deeply moving nocturne, that stood as one of the evening’s emotional high points.
The audience was then treated to a special orchestral excerpt: the famous Nimrod Variation (IX) from Elgar’s Enigma Variations. Northey prefaced the excerpt by saying how he envied those in the audience hearing it for the first time. He encouraged us to listen through the lens of empathy, noting Elgar’s remarkable generosity — his capacity for warmth and human connection that exists beyond the grand public statements for which he is often remembered.
The finale (Allegro – Moderato – Allegro, ma non troppo – Poco più lento – Adagio) returned with renewed energy: bold themes, march-like rhythms, and recitative-like passages for the cello. The music circles back to the opening refrain, ending in quiet introspection rather than triumph.
For an encore, Balzat offered Elgar’s Salut d’Amour, “Love’s Greeting”, a light, romantic salon piece originally written for violin and piano in 1888. In Balzat’s own sensitive arrangement for the cellos, led by Simon Cobcroft and Leah Lynn, the short, tender melody gained a rich, blended sonority. It was the perfect way to send the audience humming contentedly into the night.
Listen to This! succeeded on every level: illuminating, heartfelt, and thoroughly enjoyable. Benjamin Northey’s insightful direction and Matthias Balzat’s impressive artistry made a compelling case for Elgar’s Cello Concerto as one of the most moving works in the repertoire.
Photographs courtesy of Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
