The Australian Chamber Orchestra applied their usual bold approach presenting an explicitly traditional programme, to be performed ten times in major cities on Australia’s East Coast. In the first half of this concert, Richard Tognetti performed Brahms' Violin Concerto in D major with great imagination and more than a nod to a historical performing style. The opening unison theme sounded mesmerising in its sonority, rich in overtones but void of vibrato. Here, and again later, the pair of natural horns added well controlled and delicate colours to the sonic mix. In general, the playing of the woodwind and brass sections, a truly international collection of musicians, was exquisite, not least in the achingly moving main theme of the second movement on oboe – which, ironically, the solo violin never has a chance to play.
Tognetti, supremely confident in both his technique and artistic concept, used silky, tender sounds in the soft passages, such as in the subdued soliloquy of the slow movement, yet elsewhere more luscious (at times even overly fast) vibrato than the rest of the ensemble applied. This often led to controversial decisions, for example, when the tutti violins repeated a solo melody emulating the soloist’s vibrato, yet the other string sections continued with their unified, warm but un-vibrated sound. Elsewhere, Tognetti’s chordal playing and short, staccato notes, while always well-articulated, frequently appeared as harsh, thus jeopardising the romantic beauty this work embodies. His first movement cadenza, highlighted by significant contributions from the timpani, was inspiring in its widespread display of technical brilliance.
The string sections were extended with members of the ACO’s Emerging Artists programme, young and superbly talented musicians, most of them graduates of the excellent Australian National Academy of Music. The orchestra performed without a conductor, yet were homogeneously unified, led occasionally by the concertmaster.
The contrast between the powerful opening orchestral chords in Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony no. 7 in A major and the interjecting woodwind piano melodies was startlingly beautiful and effective, with the low strings’ barking sforzati in the first theme of the main Vivace section. It was a superbly dramatic opening movement, followed by the Allegretto which, unusually, was not considered as a traditional slow movement. Its relentless dactyl rhythms persisted not only in the dazzlingly harmonious colours of the lower strings at the opening but throughout the movement. The fugue section appealed with its introverted simplicity, bringing out the composer’s brilliant polyphony. It was an impressive but not a sentimental approach, all the way to the surprising subito forte of the last few bars.
The last two movements were unified by restless themes tossed around, strong statements uttered with conviction, impeccably played, full of outstanding phrasing but with little consideration to the natural breath of the melodic lines. Thus, the bacchanalia of the Finale’s wild dance felt more relentless than exciting, with agogics conspicuous by their absence and Tognetti’s bow regularly “beating” time in an almost literal, and not necessarily appealing, way. The result was exhilarating at its best, asking pertinent questions about interpretations of Very Famous Compositions; however, some of the offered answers raised musical eyebrows and provoked further questions.
