(Left: Yasuo
Shinozaki)
Romanticism at its best in a superb
performance. (Review by Andrew-John Bethke)
Thursday night’s concert programme – the second
in the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra’s Winter Symphony Season was conducted by Yasuo
Shinozaki and featured cellist Alexander Ramm as the soloist.
It was a feast of Romanticism, encompassing
masterpieces from the early 19th century, right through to the era’s late
flowering.
Weber’s Overture to Der Freischütz, the composer’s all-time hit, opened the concert,
enthralling the audience with its colourful orchestration and magical musical
murmurings. Tight playing from the orchestra ensured that the magical bullets
of the freischütz met their mark. Particularly notable was the “bubbling”
effect the lower strings and woodwinds achieved in the middle of the overture,
conjuring a witch’s magical cauldron – a technique that Berlioz would later use
in his Symphonie Fantastique.
Last year, the world commemorated one
hundred years since the end of the First World War – an apocalyptic series of
conflicts which changed the face of Europe. Elgar’s Cello Concerto is a musical
reflection of the engulfing sadness and melancholy which sat like a pall over
the world in the aftermath of the war. Perhaps the work’s most poignant
statement is that nobody emerged as a real victor of the war – there was just
too much loss.
(Right: Alexander
Ramm)
Alexander Ramm managed to evoke this
profound sense of grief in his interpretation of the work. The difficulty any
cellist faces with this piece is competing against a large orchestra. Yet, the
team work between Ramm and Shinozaki ensured that the soloist was not
overpowered. In fact, it seemed as though the mastery of the soloist and
flexibility of the conductor combined to inspire an equally moving
accompaniment from the orchestra itself.
It is not difficult to see why Yasuo
Shinozaki is so popular in Finland and how it is that he performed so well in
the Second International Sibelius Competition. His command of Sibelius’ First
Symphony on Thursday evening showed just how confident he is in bringing a
unique voice to this music.
Sibelius wrote this symphony in his 30’s.
It is a relatively early work, and shows some of the unique characteristics
which appear in Finlandia (written in
the same year). For example, some of the darker colours of the orchestration
such as employing the rich tones of the lower horn register, bassoons and lower
strings. There are distinct echoes of Finlandia
throughout the symphony showing that the political and social context in which
the works were written are hallmarks for this period.
The programme notes gave the impression
that the entire symphony has a melancholic disposition, and while this is
generally true, Shinozaki brought a warmth to the interpretation which is
seldom heard. He also cultivated a strong rapport with the orchestra which paid
off in several ways: a generally unified ensemble throughout the work; full
buy-in from the whole orchestra in the interpretation; and unanimous entries. A
superb performance! - Andrew-John Bethke
(The
next two concerts of the season take place in the City Hall at 19h30 on June 13
and 20, 2019. To link direct to the KZN Philharmonic’s website click on the
orchestra’s banner advert on the top of the page)
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