Above: Woollahra Philharmonic Orchestra with guest conductor Aija Draguns. Photo: Peter B. Rohde.
There was plenty of light, contrasting shade, glistening facility and joy during WPO’s latest concert-the third in its thirtieth birthday year.
Led by guest conductor Aija Draguns, clarity, exciting and effective articulation plus accentuation and well chosen tempi were the order of the day.
The programme featured a blend of three major composers from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries expert in painting portraits full of light and unique gesturing, making using of the resources and musical tastes of their time. These composers were Camille Saint-Saëns, Joseph Haydn and Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
Mixing these three composers-not often heard on the same concert programme- was quite a musical master stroke. It continued the intelligent and entertaining ‘song choice’ we have become accustomed to from this hard-working and popular local orchestra.
In this celebration of the three composers’ individualities we heard an overture to a one act opera by Saint Saëns, an instrumental concerto in the Classical style from Haydn’s novel quill, then a compelling, instantly engaging symphony from Russian Rimsky-Korsakov.
Above: Guest conductor for the Pearl Anniversary concert ‘Of Light’ was Aija Draguns. Photo: Peter B. Rohde.
This concert was yet another successful event of the structure: single movement work (often an overture) – concerto – (often 4 -movement symphony. At the heart of the entertainment this concert was the Cello Concerto No 1 in C major Hob.VIIb:1 by Joseph Haydn, with an exciting WPO debut by 10-year-old cellist.
To begin the afternoon’s music though, the audience was treated to overture music by Camille Saint-Saëns. His French exoticism inspired look at the culture and soundworld of Japan via the one-act opera The Japanese Princess (La Princesse jaune) contains an elegant, colourful overture rich in Japanese modal inflection and typical gestures we have come to link with Japan and Japanese people.
All this suggestive sound (a mini-tone poem dripping with ‘japonisme’ and much movement, perfect for any soundtrack) showed us an alternative side of the composer who brought us the pictorial Carnival of the Animals or Danse Macabre. This overture buzzes with scurrying energy and shines with porcelain posturing à la fois.
Contrast, accents and other emphasis were well paced and clearly communicated from conductor Aija Draguns to a responsive WPO, which performed with admirable colour and dramatic shaping. This rarely heard but familiar feeling musical portrait of Japan is a concise example of an operatic overture. Its inclusion in this event – as an engaging overture to the musical fireworks and drama to follow in this programme was a commendable and higly listenable, enjoyable choice. Its calligraphy-full of light-chiselled its way into our hearts and heads early on in the afternoon.
A strong, shining light was to follow in the concerto section of the three-work programme structure. An amazing performance by primary-schooler with an immensely mature musicianship and ensemble sensitivity followed. In the loved Haydn C major Cello concerto, WPO once more proved itself to be quite the exemplary model of perfectly balanced, sympathetic accompaniment of their guest soloist.
Above: Soloist for Haydn’s Cello Concerto No 1 in C major, Oliver Kim. Photo: Peter B. Rohde.
And what an exciting soloist Oliver Kim is and was at the centre of this fine programme. His agile, well-characterised processing of unique motifs as well as a fluid, ‘broad-strokes’ rendering of scales and filigree was excellent Haydn fare for us. Admirable also was the ringing, full and rich tone emanating from his half-size cello, and a full understanding of Haydn’s colourful voice and manipulation of form in parallel to the orchestral statements.
Kim played with great attention to the detail and gesturing – with seamless, scintillating, lengthy arcs in the outer movements despite the technical demands of Haydn’s writing and at fast tempi. His command of up to quadruple stops, of subtle starts to phrases blending with the orchestra, his leaping into the high register and deftly between positions were all athletic, precise but graceful. His presentation of such challenges never made the musical flow lumpy or possessing false or unwanted accents as well as being delivered wth appropriate drama plus musical logic as a priority. The WPO orchestral part controlled by this conductor mirrored this soloist’s precision, momentum and smooth flow, especially in the faster movements.
The central slow movement touched us with a timeless, ageless, smooth lyricism and masterful delivery of melodic twists and turns, all in a measured, memorable voice. This soloist played with a keen sense of ensemble, constantly glancing from his fingerboard industry to the orchestra and conductor Aija Dragun’s well-harnessed Haydnesque energy and crisp interpretation.
This powerhouse Classical concerto performance (and Oliver Kim’s adroit contemporary music approach in an encore of Julie-O by Mark Summer) bristled in the space, brought a well-deserved standing ovation and was another fine concert concerto collabration at a WPO concert in the beautiful St Columba Uniting Church space.
Above: Members of WPO’s wind and brass sections. Photo: Peter B. Rohde.
To follow this thrilling debut, however was an absolute gift of an introduction in the full-symphony- slot of the WPO programming structure. It has resonated with me, encouraged a re-listen soon after and strengthened my respect and admiration for the composer featured. I left knowing that this communty orchestra, which presents four concerts a year can also be relied on to take a risk, do us a service and programme rarely performed historical works each concert – something not even the larger, professional ensembles always do.
Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov dramatic flair and ability for moving orchestral colourisations are familiar aspects of his mature style, in his Scheherazade, his opus 35 from 1888. We were given the chance to journey back in time to meet Rimsky’s Opus 1, a four-movement symphony with a younger but still capable sense of dramatic development, tight orchestration and contrasts plus boldness in a score where not one note is out of place or unnecessary and musical filler.
Conductor and orchestra worked so well together here to endear us instantly, clearly, and with spontaneous feeling voice to an almost unkown work from 1865. This effective soundscape was expertly curated and showcased all sections of the orchestra, especially the busy WPO brass and winds. It was successfully positioned in a stunning programme, painted a portrait of an obvious musical prodigy (the second obvious prodigy for this ‘Of Light’ concert after its concerto soloist) and left us in an elevated, appreciate musical high after all we had heard both throughout this symphony’s journey and the concert event as a successful whole.
Woollahra Philharmonic Orchestra performs its final 30th-birthday celebration concert for 2026 on the weekend of December 5-6. It will not disappoint, with interesting works from Ibert and Rodriguez on the programme, which concludes this year’s well-deserved party with none other than Beethoven’s ‘Pastoral’ Symphony. Not to be missed. Tickets are available at either of the links below:
https://events.humanitix.com/of-light-woollahra-philharmonic-orchestra
