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St. Elizabeth's Church, Sidney
June 22, 2012
Nothing is more refreshing than attending a concert of young musicians. I can think of several reasons for this: their work ethic, their obvious talent, the total absence of artistic arrogance and swagger, the excitement equally shared between the performers and their parents, and the entire audience's genuine wish for them to succeed. One has to make allowances for little glitches, but these were few and far between at the Young Soloists Concert.
Violinist Ryan Howland, 13, opened with Fritz Kreisler's Praeludium and Allegro. Kreisler never uses one note when twenty will do. Howland's dexterity and mostly clean tone suggest great performance potential. He just needs to work on his phrasing and show greater involvement with the music and the audience.
Kate Thomas made her entrance with an endearing smile on her face. Her rendition of François Devienne's Flute concerto D major No. 2, 3rd Movement, conveyed much of the balance and grace that characterizes Devienne's compositions and which earned him the nickname "the French Mozart" in Paris during the late 1700s. The flow of Thomas' playing was interrupted by short gaps as she inhaled, and she occasionally got out of sync with the orchestra, but conductor Stephen Brown skilfully recovered the situation.
Paul Winkelmans' baritone lent itself well to the role of the main protagonist in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, Act 1 No.3 and No. 9, although his voice was sometimes eclipsed by the french horns in the orchestra. He made good eye contact with the audience and had the right twinkle. His ramrod posture could be softened a little, using body language to underscore Figaro's propensity for mischief.
Jimmy Wang, 17, was the first of the evening's pianists. He played the Allegro, Largo and Presto of Bach's Piano Concerto in F minor. Although he brought his sheet music, he was not glued to it and knew the three movements almost by heart. His rendition of the Largo against the background pizzicato of the strings was very pleasing. That said, he made the Steinway sound strangely dull throughout the performance, especially in the left hand. One might have been tempted to blame this on the acoustics of the church hall, but the subsequent two pianists demonstrated clearly that this was not the case.
Things became livelier after the intermission. Seven-year-old pianist Erik Lin gave a very convincing performance of the Piano Divertimento C major by Haydn. His fingers danced like whirlwinds across the keyboard in perfect synchronism with the orchestra, while his feet worked the specially raised pedals using a portable PE-2 pedal extender. Are children that age too young to experience stage fright? Lin seemed afraid of nothing and nobody, achieving technical virtuosity and emotional exuberance as if playing with an orchestra in front of a large audience was a "walk in the park." He was the only performer to earn a standing ovation as he took his bows, and chuckles could be heard when he made a maestro-style grand gesture to thank the orchestra.
Flautist Emily Tsao, 13, showed great musical sensitivity with her Andante for Flute and Orchestra, C major, by Mozart. Her modulation was exquisite, her trills clear as a nightingale's. She was also the only one who took the time to pay close attention to the conductor for her cues.
Like baritone Paul Winkelmans, lovely soprano Rebecca Genge showed good stage presence. Her performance of the four short movements of Vivaldi's Salve Regina manifested much of the maturity of a true professional. In the first Andante she seemed becomingly vulnerable, alone as she was with the first violin and the cembalo. In the second Allegro and the second Andante, she swayed graciously in rhythm with the orchestra playing in 3/4 time. There were nice moments when her voice floated freely over the strings.
Angela Xie, 13, gave the concert a worthy ending with the First Movement of Haydn's Piano Concerto C major. In contrast to young Lin's masculine style, Xie's approach to the keyboard was distinctly feminine: light touch, clear as crystal, subtle fortissimi and pianissimi, impressive dexterity, nice pedal work, confident solo, all the while keeping an ear for the orchestra.
Young musicians can hardly wish for a more caring and empathetic mentor than Stephen Brown, the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Sidney Classical Orchestra. As it says on the orchestra's website, one of its aims is to encourage and provide opportunities for young people to enjoy and participate in classical music, as well as to provide opportunities for performance. Looking at the orchestra's past seasons, the offering has been largely focussed on the Baroque and Classical era, including Brown's own compositions, and the same was true for the concert at hand. When will the orchestra look forward in time and engage with romantic and impressionist composers such as Liszt, Schumann, Brahms, Elgar, Dvořák, Smetana, Sibelius, Debussy, Ravel and the great Russians?
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