Australian Chamber Orchestra Tognetti's Beethoven

This was heavenly , absolutely divine http://www.sydneyartsguide.com.au/aco-tognettis-beethoven/Those of us lucky enough to be in the audience for this concert were treated to an angelic aural feast. Led by Tognetti and with featured soloists Timo –Veikko Valve on cello and Yevgeny Sudbin on piano the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) played sublimely. As others of my colleagues have remarked this concert could be subtitled, ‘In the key of C’. Most of the program was heavenly, ravishing music by Beethoven but it also included the Australian premiere of Jonny Greenwood’s Water. Tognetti conducted dynamically and enthusiastically when not performing solo on the violin. The Orchestra was supplemented where required with extra orchestral members , meaning we heard a full wind section, brass and timpani. Opening the program was Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture based on Collin’s play, based on Shakespeare . Tognetti welcomed us and reminded us that this work was about Coriolanus’ crisis of conscience. This piece has passionate, singing violins and was sharp, spiky, dark and and at times, quite tempestuous. Then came the exquisite Triple Concerto also by Beethoven for violin cello and piano featuring its eerie opening on strings. This piece was dazzling, soaring and energetic. Boisterous ensemble work contrasted with the delicate featured playing of the soloists (Tognetti on violin, Valve on cello and Sudbin on piano). Sudbin on piano rippled and shimmered .Tognetti’s performance on the violin was magnificent, full of aching, soaring beauty. Valve on cello was superb. A major highlight was the opening of the final movement where the playing of the three was miraculous. .Elegance and eloquence were combined with a sense of yearning, looking back and yet moving forward. After interval came the Australian premiere of Jonny Greenwood’s delightful Water. This piece is the result of a collaboration with the ACO when Greenwood was in residence with the Orchestra last year. The piece is scored for piano and keyboard, flutes and strings. There is also a tanpura, a long necked fretless lute, played by a special guest Indian soloist in white with the sound of the second tanpura reproduced electronically. With Sudbin on piano the music rippled like darting sunlight on the surface of water, the ensemble sounding like raindrops, then perhaps the sea (shades of Britten’s Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes). The piece featured darting , wheeling repetition and surges and then the music developed tempestuously like a major hail storm, swelling and receding away again .A wonderful fluid piece, delicately flavoured, that used repetitive patterns on a Lydian scale. Then came the sumptuous Beethoven 1st Symphony in a brisk, energetic and vibrant performance. This piece was played crisply and with the delicate nuances required. Natural horn and baroque trumpets were used , not modern-day equivalents.This brought a brighter sound which helped the somewhat smaller size of the string ensemble. For the encore we were treated to a delicious version of Janacek’s Goodnight from his On an overgrown path. The concert’s running time was 2 hours 15 minutes including one interval. The superb ACO’s Tognetti’s Beethoven played the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House on the 2nd and 3rd November.