Review: Fine tribute to Haydn

Australian Classical Era Orchestra Government House Ballroom, January 15, review by William Yeoman

This year sees the 200th anniversary of the death of Joseph Haydn and to celebrate the occasion the Australian Classical Era Orchestra, which specialises in historically informed performances, presented two of Haydn’s orchestral masterworks, together with a selection of arias from the operas of his friend Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Directed from the violin by the ever-reliable Paul Wright, the ACEO began its concert with an account of Haydn’s Symphony No. 61 that grabbed the attention right from the opening Vivace and released it only in the closing moments of the gigue-like Prestissimo.

This was first-rate playing indeed, the finely balanced natural horns and well-drilled strings especially impressive.

London-based Australian soprano Kathryn McCusker then joined the orchestra on stage for two of Mozart’s best-loved arias, Aminta’s L’amero, saro costante from The Shepherd King and the Contessa’s Dove sono from The Marriage of Figaro.

This was exceptional singing, McCusker’s sweet, unforced tone effortlessly filling the hall without seeming too strongly contrasted with the more subtly projected sounds of the historic instruments.

This was even true in the second half of the concert, where McCusker’s considerable dramatic skills were on display in Donna Anna’s aria from Don Giovanni and Konstanze’s aria from Mozart’s Escape from the Seraglio.

In between these last two came Haydn’s delightful G major concerto for violin and strings, which gave Wright an opportunity to show off his own instrument’s singing tone as well as a digital dexterity fully at the service of a prodigious musicality.

If one were pressed to find any fault with this excellent concert, it might be in the occasionally ragged woodwind entries in the Haydn symphony and in the differences between McCusker and the orchestra in matters of vibrato and tone colour.

But that would just be splitting hairs.

With any performance, it’s the overall effect that matters, which in this case was like that of a well-executed water colour: an abundance of lightness and delicacy animated by a passionate commitment to truth.

Start of an old era

First published in The West Australian; 10 January 10 2006; Page 69
Review by William Yeoman
Picture by Ken Maley



What a wonderful idea - to celebrate 250 years since the birth of Mozart by performing this glorious music on instruments of Mozart's time and in a way he surely would have recognised.

Of course, using winds with narrower bores and fewer keys or bowed instruments with gut strings doesn't guarantee a genuinely moving experience. Nor does the scrupulous adherence to ideas about tempo, phrasing and dynamics which stem in part from usingsuch instruments.

Thank goodness, then, that Australia's newest HIP (historically informed performance) ensemble, the Australian Classical Era Orchestra, in this its inaugural concert, showed more imagination by placing as much emphasis on the word "informed" as it did on sheer musicality.

The program comprised some of Mozart's best-loved soprano arias along with the clarinet quintet in A major and Flute Quartet in D major. Cellist and co-director Tim Blomfield arranged the orchestral parts for the ACEO which, in its current configuration, consists of a string quartet together with double bass, flute, clarinet and bassoon.

The resultant sound, further assisted by a sparing use of vibrato, resulted in a beautifully transparent texture and delicate timbres. Surely, this mode of performing also perfectly complements the Australian environment - its climate and its colours?

The performances themselves ranged from the faultless to the less-than-perfect; all, however, were compelling. Thus Kathryn McCusker's Dove Sono from the Marriage of Figaro was sublime but her Ruhe sanft from Zade and the concert aria, Nehmt meinen Dank, ihr holden Gnner, lacked subtlety. And yet her opening aria, Zeffiretti lusinghieri from Idomeneo, was delightful.

The "orchestral" accompaniments, too, were just as winning, the musicians showing great taste and skill in balancing the colours of winds and strings with the vocal requirements of the texts. Of the purely instrumental performances, the clarinet quintet, surely one of Mozart's
sunniest works, sounded rather gloomy at times. Nicola Boud's phrasing and articulation were very fine but perhaps a brisker pace would have helped.

And the strings' intonation, particularly in the trio of the Menuetto, was a little insecure, further muddying the texture.

But the flute quartet, ably supported by string trio flautist Georgia Browne, sent off the sweet tones of her wooden flute to frolic with intertwining lines or float serenely over pizzicato with such grace and elegance . . . well, how could a performance like this be bettered?

Many of the musicians who make up the ACEO began their studies in Perth before travelling abroad to further their careers. They intend to return here regularly in order to give Australian listeners the opportunity to hear what is commonplace in Europe - music from the classical period in historically informed performances on historic instruments.

Based on the quality of this concert, we will be in for some very special evenings.

The Australian Classical Era Orchestra is back in Perth to perform at Winthrop Hall: Paul Wright, Kathryn McCusker, Shaun Lee-Chen, Kate Walpole and Nicola Boud.

Expats home in on HIP note

Written by RON BANKS

Back in Perth to perform at Winthrop Hall — Nichola Boud, Paul Wright, Kathryn McCusker, Kate Walpole and Shaun Lee-Chen.

Christmas always seems to draw home those young musicians who are pursuing their careers with orchestras, chamber ensembles and academies across Europe.

Coming home is a time for family celebrations, but also the time to put into practice those talents honed by years of training with the great teachers and orchestras of Europe.

Flying in for Christmas this year will be the members of the Australian Classical Era Orchestra, formed by expatriate West Australians — with a couple of members from Sydney.

The orchestra members are spread across Europe as they pursue their individual careers but whenever possible they like to get together to play very HIP music — that is, “historically informed performance” — using period instruments to get an authentic sound.

They also like nothing better than to play for their home crowd, which is why ACEO will give a concert at Winthrop Hall on January 7.

It will be followed by a concert at the Margaret River Cultural Centre on January 8.

The orchestra was formed in Brisbane last year from musicians who spend their time mostly in Europe.

ACEO was founded by bassoon player Kate Walpole, a graduate of the WA Conservatorium, who decided to move to Europe to study historical bassoon.

It was while working and studying overseas that Walpole realised that many of the musicians with whom she was playing came from Australia — and WA in particular.

“On one occasion in Holland, when working in an orchestra under the baton of Phillipe Herreweghe, all the principal wind chairs were occupied by Australians — three of them from Perth,” Walpole said. “It was then I realised we should be doing this at home.”

It was easy for Walpole to network with her WA colleagues, and soon the orchestra came into being, with most members from WA.

Vocalist for the group is opera singer Kathryn McCusker, who flew into Perth this week from her base in London where she is continuing her career with British opera and concert houses. The instrumental line-up is led by director and violinist Sophie Gent, who graduated with first-class honours in music from the University of WA. Gent is studying early music at the Royal Conservatorium in The Hague, in Holland. In addition to her studies, she frequently performs and records with ensembles throughout Europe, including Orchestra Van Wassenaer, Nuova Practica, the Mozart Akademie, Concerto d’Amsterdam and La Petite Bande.

She has recently been part of the Opera Quarta, who were winners of two major international period instrument chamber music competitions.

Flautist for the group is Georgia Browne, who moved to Holland to further her studies after a bachelor of music at the University of WA. Browne regularly performs with ensembles such as Florilegium Musicum, the New Dutch Academy and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Another musician with a similar career path is clarinetist Nichola Boud, who followed her studies at the University of WA with postgraduate studies in clarinet at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague. Boud also has played with many European chamber ensembles and been a soloist with symphony orchestras.

The other members of the group include Sydney-raised cellist Tim Blomfield, who has studied in Holland, and Sydney violinist Kirra Thomas. Thomas and Browne are members of the British-based Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, which will perform as part of the Perth International Arts Festival in February.

To introduce itself to Perth audiences, the Australian Classical Era Orchestra will present an all-Mozart program under the musical direction of Perth-based violinist Paul Wright.

The program will include McCusker singing arias from Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro, La Clemenza di Tito and Idomeneo.

There also will be Mozart’s clarinet quintet as a vehicle for Boud, and the beautiful Flute Quartet for Browne. “The level of excellence of this new ensemble and its status as the first national ensemble to perform exclusively in this new HIP mode has already attracted support from several major sponsors,” founder Walpole said.

First published in Today section of The West Australian, 19 December 2005, page 66.

For ticket details, see WA Mozart's 250th Birthday.