A blend of the familiar, the unfamiliar and the new: Music review by Fraser Beath McEwing
Having Wolfgang in your name would seem to direct your destiny towards musical composition. It certainly did with Erich Wolfgang Korngold, (1897 – 1957) whose only symphony was played by the SSO last night.
Austrian-American Korngold might have become one of the 20th century’s leading classical composers. Still, because of a need to make a better living and possessing an extraordinary talent for writing Hollywood film scores, he is mostly remembered for his massive output of outstanding film music.
Korngold was born in 1897 in Brno, Czechia, and was a child prodigy in piano and composition, opera and ballet. He moved to Hollywood in 1934 with a reputation of being one of the most promising classical composers to turn his talent to film music.
John Wilson
But let us not get out of order here. Korngold’s symphony was the major and final work of the evening. The concert opened with another 50 Fanfares Commission piece, this time a great Big Blue THING next to a smaller white THING bathed in sunrays by Gordon Hamilton. He was born in Newcastle in 1982 and, after a stint in Germany, now lives in Brisbane where, among many commitments, is the artistic director of The Australian Voices. Fortunately, his composition was better than its silly title. Lasting just over four minutes, it was a lively piece featuring plenty of big statements from the brass and some occasionally appealingly rushing strings. But it was well back in the grid of my favourite Fifty Fanfare offerings.
It was then time to open the lid of the Steinway for the arrival of Stephen Hough as soloist in Rachmaninov’s first piano concerto. After Sir Stephen’s uplifting performance of the Rachmaninov second concerto last week, we had much to look forward to. It had been a busy few days for him, with the Rach Two last week, a solo recital last Monday and the Rach One last night. I should mention here that I was at his solo recital, and although I didn’t love all the works he played, his reading of Liszt and Chopin were both exquisitely executed and freshly interpreted.
Rachmaninov’s first piano concerto had two iterations, firstly as a graduation piece at the Moscow Conservatory in 1891 and then as a total revision thirty years later. Thus, it has blended elements of boyish exuberance and compositional maturity. After its revision, Rachmaninov was disappointed that it didn’t stand shoulder to shoulder with the second and third concertos. Nevertheless, it remains a popular concert work, with many performances notched up by the SSO with some famous soloists.
Hough’s rendering was peerless. He combined blazing technique with heart-wringing romance, along the way showing his mastery of projecting tiny pianissimo notes. At age 62, he is still fearless, pushing the bravura passages to warp speed but never losing clarity or slurring. I run out of superlatives when it comes to describing his playing. He’s also a good team member. The orchestra, conductor and soloist were as one throughout the concerto.
I have to admit I was predisposed to not liking the Korngold symphony, but in the end, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I put that down some spirited playing by the orchestra and a conductor who knew just how to bring if off.
Fraser Beath McEwing
The symphony begins with stamping boots and develops from there with staccato blasts between intertwining whisps. Maybe it is imagination and expectation influencing the listener, but the music seems always to be parented by film. You could almost write a screenplay to suit its bumps, passion and frenzy. Nevertheless, it is still an authentic four-movement 20th-century symphony, comfortable in its genre, with the occasional detour into atonality, but more than satisfying on first hearing – which it would have been the case for most of the audience since the SSO last performed it 40 years ago.
The pick of the movements was the third, Adagio:Lento, which brought forth some deep, rich harmonies and convincing tragedy. And, like most successful symphonies, it had a chair-ejecting fourth movement finish.
If the test of a successful work is whether it makes its audience forget time, then Korngold succeeded. The symphony lasts nearly an hour but, to me, only seemed half that long.
Again, conductor 51-year-old Englishman John Wilson was a good choice, especially for the Korngold symphony, since he conducts a lot of film scores and Hollywood musicals. As a conductor, he is one of the most modest I have seen. Dismissive of applause and being very restrained in his arm movements, he comes across as giving all the praise to the composer and orchestra rather than to himself. I loved the way he conducted Respighi last week, and the same went for the Korngold. Whoever hired him knows their stuff.
SSO Sydney Opera House concert 17 May 2023
Fraser Beath McEwing is a pianist, commentator on classical music performance and is a founding member of The theme & Variations Foundation which assists talented young Australian pianists. His professional background is in journalism, editing and publishing. He is also the author of five novels and a Governor of the Sir Moses Montefiore Home. A body of his work can be found on www.frasersblography.com
