(Bryan Cheng. Pic
supplied)
Review by David Smith of
the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra’s World Symphony Series, Summer
Season, Concert 1, March 5, 2026, in The Playhouse Opera
The task of reviewing symphony concerts by the KZNPO has
currently to make considerable allowances: on the side of the orchestra,
because of the continuing reliance on ad hoc players (especially in the string
section; the winds have firmed up in recent months), and the limited
opportunities to essay even the staples of the symphonic repertoire; and on the
side of the listeners, the breakdown in regular exposure, wherein a degree of
healthy routine, even ritual, undergirds the ever-changing surface. A symphony
concert is becoming a red-letter day, an event removed from continuing musical
life, and the expectations are correspondingly exaggerated.
It was our good fortune last week to have the stable hand of Yasuo Shinozaki guiding activities from the podium. His reliability explains his frequent visits to Durban, and hopefully will ensure further appearances as long as the orchestra has the resources to mount serious concerts of this kind. The first half of the concert – with Benjamin Britten’s Simple Symphony sandwiched between two of Saint-Saëns’s cello concertos – gave him ample scope to nail all the aspects. (He was repeating music presented a week ago in Johannesburg, but with a fresh ensemble.)
The Britten work went way beyond the string pieces programmed in recent months. Shinozaki galvanised his players into an account full of vigour and sprightliness. With tight, precise ensemble, exemplary balance and tonal variety, and a slow movement of aching lyricism, a work without obvious connection to the overall programme came into its own. It was to the credit of both conductor and players that music inserted to give the soloist a breather shouldered its way to the front of our attention.
The second blessing of the evening was a return visit by the Canadian cellist, Bryan Cheng, whose South African concerts have involved him for the first time in this Saint-Saëns double-decker – a ‘marathon’, to use his own word.
Starting with the second concerto, he instantly reassured us that he was on top form, and that we were hearing the same mature reading that he plays widely, in a vital recreation. This concerto is less directly dramatic than the first that was to follow, and it was a joy to relish its changing tides, the careering figures giving way to fine-spun cantabile. While Cheng’s impetuous attack and his thrilling traversals of technical minefields are celebrated, he also finds in these works an unforced spaciousness that adds depth to music that could be pigeonholed as ‘niche’ and leaning to the complacent.
Chang’s finest cello is a 1696 ‘Bonjour’ Stradivarius instrument. If this was indeed that instrument, it provided him with the perfect palette, and invested the ‘marathon’ with a rosy, well-projected tone that was comfortable to listen to. Suitably, his encore was Saint-Saëns’s most famous melody, The Swan, with its rippling piano part arranged by the soloist for three cellos, thus providing an intimate collegial moment.
The much shorter second half was occupied by Schubert’s Symphony No. 8, the ‘Unfinished’, a familiar work whose two movements are played for their inherent quality rather than their sustained argument. The first movement was played without its main repeat, and breathed an attractive flowing air that really might have been extended. The second felt somewhat variable, with small imperfections like woodwind intonation and some imprecise ensemble. But, overall, it was sensitive, intentioned playing, even if it could not match the incandescence of the first half of the programme. - David Smith
NB: The second and final concert of the KZNPO Summer Series takes place tomorrow night (March 12) in the Playhouse Opera. Booking is through Quicket.
Booking link for tomorrow's concert is https://qkt.io/Pbbgil
There will be no open
morning rehearsal.
To link to the KZNPO's website, click on the advert at the top right-hand side of this review.
Posts
