I attended a WASO concert last Saturday, 27 Sep in Perth Concert Hall. The program included Beethoven's Piano Concerto No.5 (Emperor, played by Stephen Hough), Debussy's Images for orchestra and Ravel's La Valse.
The British pianist displayed sensibility and technique in the virtuosic and overwelming beginning of the first movement, leaving a long lasting impression throughout the movement. While listening to the first movement and looking at his fingers and pedaling, I could not help but to realise once again how important it is to train myself and my students technically- scales, arpeggios, double octaves, chromatics, etc... they are unarguably the fundamentals to great piano performances. His precise control of trills and clear, crisp articulation impressed me as well. Moreover, this concert was an opportunity for me to find the charm of the second movement (Adagio un poco mosso)- the serenity, calmness and beauty!!
WASO's accompaniment throughout the concerto was something to be remembered- I cherished every second of it and I honestly cannot remember listening to an orchestra that played Beethoven's Emperor better.
Listeing to Debussy, I especially loved the first and second movements of Images (the ones to evoke England and Spain, although Debussy spent one afternoon in Spain!). The Oboe solo was captivating and penetrating. The sound of bassoon and flute was beautiful as well, in the later part of the music. The use of tambourine and castanets in Iberia was very intriguing and created a perfect Spanish atmosphere.
I attended pre & post- concert talks lead by Tim White. The pre-concert talk was informative and provided background knowledge and prepared me better for the concert. The post-concert talk was a good chance to have some intimate time with the pianist, Mr. Hough. We listened to some personal life stories and his opinions about the composer and his music. Three questions were taken from the audience and they were about contemporary concertos, improvisation and Hummel's repertoire.
There are two things that I found most interesting in the pre & post-concert talks: 1) Beethoven was not a tune master as such, like Mozart or later Chopin, he was more about rhythms, ideas and motives (e.g. Symphony No.5, especially the beginning) 2) Ravel once applied for a conductor position in Sydney Orchestra but was rejected. Instead, a British man whose name we no longer remember was selected. What an opportunity missed for Australia!!
All in all, the concert was great in many aspects and I now have more respect and pride for WASO! I just hope to see more young people in the next concert.
The British pianist displayed sensibility and technique in the virtuosic and overwelming beginning of the first movement, leaving a long lasting impression throughout the movement. While listening to the first movement and looking at his fingers and pedaling, I could not help but to realise once again how important it is to train myself and my students technically- scales, arpeggios, double octaves, chromatics, etc... they are unarguably the fundamentals to great piano performances. His precise control of trills and clear, crisp articulation impressed me as well. Moreover, this concert was an opportunity for me to find the charm of the second movement (Adagio un poco mosso)- the serenity, calmness and beauty!!
WASO's accompaniment throughout the concerto was something to be remembered- I cherished every second of it and I honestly cannot remember listening to an orchestra that played Beethoven's Emperor better.
Listeing to Debussy, I especially loved the first and second movements of Images (the ones to evoke England and Spain, although Debussy spent one afternoon in Spain!). The Oboe solo was captivating and penetrating. The sound of bassoon and flute was beautiful as well, in the later part of the music. The use of tambourine and castanets in Iberia was very intriguing and created a perfect Spanish atmosphere.
I attended pre & post- concert talks lead by Tim White. The pre-concert talk was informative and provided background knowledge and prepared me better for the concert. The post-concert talk was a good chance to have some intimate time with the pianist, Mr. Hough. We listened to some personal life stories and his opinions about the composer and his music. Three questions were taken from the audience and they were about contemporary concertos, improvisation and Hummel's repertoire.
There are two things that I found most interesting in the pre & post-concert talks: 1) Beethoven was not a tune master as such, like Mozart or later Chopin, he was more about rhythms, ideas and motives (e.g. Symphony No.5, especially the beginning) 2) Ravel once applied for a conductor position in Sydney Orchestra but was rejected. Instead, a British man whose name we no longer remember was selected. What an opportunity missed for Australia!!
All in all, the concert was great in many aspects and I now have more respect and pride for WASO! I just hope to see more young people in the next concert.
