KZNPO GALA CONCERT OCTOBER 19 2023: REVIEW

 

The combined forces of the two orchestras resulted in a most welcome rich and full-bodied romantic orchestral sound, and conductor, Justus Frantz, had full control over its direction. (Review by Barbara Trofimczyk)

 

S J Khoza - 3 choral items

Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto no 2

Dvorak - New World Symphony

Conductor - Justus Frantz

Piano soloist - Valentino Lisitsa

Choirs - Bokomoso Arts Institute / Limpopo University Choir

 

In celebration of the KZNPO's 40th anniversary, the orchestra teamed up with the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra for this special Gala Concert, the first of the four-concert Spring Season held at the Playhouse Opera Theatre.

The atmosphere at the Playhouse was appropriately celebratory, complete with speeches, and important officials in attendance. Information was given about the way forward for the KZNPO, ensuring that the orchestra is to retain its professional status.

In keeping with the occasion, the programme that was selected focused on well-known popular symphonic works, and the inclusion of three African choral compositions by S J Khoza reflected an element of South African musical heritage.

The combined forces of the two orchestras resulted in a most welcome rich and full-bodied romantic orchestral sound, and conductor, Justus Frantz, had full control over its direction.

In the choral items, the relatively small but powerful choir was allowed to dominate while the orchestra assumed a purely accompanying role.

In the concerto, soloist and orchestra were finely tuned to one another.

Pianist, Ms Lisita, asserted her right as soloist to express her very personal understanding of Rachmaninoff's score. Beautifully expressive in the quiet, lyrical passages, and technically impressive in the virtuoso sections, with brilliant finger-work at seemingly impossible tempi, it was indeed a magnificent performance. The stunning encore, Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody, was a technical master performance, and the audience loved it!

Dvorak's ever-popular "New World" Symphony, with its abundance of singable, lyrical tunes and colourful scoring, was given an impressive performance by Justus Frantz and the orchestra with some lovely soloistic projections emanating from various sections of the orchestra. A surprise bonus at the end was the short orchestral encore, Hungarian Dance by Brahms!

The well-attended audience gave the orchestra a standing ovation. - Barbara Trofimczyk

For more information on the forthcoming concerts in this Spring Season click on the KZNPO advert to the top right of this article.