Andras Schiff, Musica Viva ★★★★
Opera House Concert Hall,October 22
Andras Schiff had a masterly control of the keyboard.
Beethoven Nine, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Edo de Waart ★★★★
Opera House Concert Hall, October 27
Edo de Waart’s classical poise resulted in a thrilling performance.Credit:Rick Stevens
Reviewed by Peter McCallum
Before playing, pianist Andras Schiff suggested that – without wishing to stifle the spontaneity of applause – it might help establish the intimacy conjured by Brahms' late piano pieces if we withheld applause until the end of each half. The audience concurred and spontaneously declined to applaud at the end of each piece. However, the intimacy and involvement that resulted was very much due to the Schiff's masterly control of keyboard sound in service of pure musical thought, articulated with clarity and simplicity and stripped of extraneous impulse.
The program began with Schumann's last work, the Theme and Variations in E-flat major, WoO 24, completed – as Schiff noted – after Schumann's suicide attempt in 1854. This added poignancy to Schiff's thoughtful turn to the minor key for the fourth variation.
In Brahms' three Intermezzos, Opus 117, he maintained undisturbed focus on the musical line, the second in B-flat minor resisting any call to agitation implicit in the rapid passage work in favour of melodic clarity.
Schiff maintained this in Mozart's Rondo in A minor, K 511 where his individual interpretation of the rhythm made this haunting melody a thoughtful song of the soul.
In the final two Brahms sets, Opus 118 and Opus 119, Bach's Prelude and Fugue in B minor and Beethoven's Piano Sonata No 26 in F-flat, Opus 81a Les Adieux, Schiff largely eschewed vigour and brilliance in favour of inward musical thoughtfulness.
Former SSO Chief Conductor Edo de Waart made a welcome return with the final symphonies of Haydn and Beethoven, both in D, and played each with the balance, care and high professional discipline that were hallmarks of his decade with the SSO from 1994-2003.
Haydn Symphony No. 104 had classical balance in each utterance, resisting Romantic yearning in the expressive second theme of the finale. This was a contrasting approach to that of the ACO under Richard Tognetti earlier this year, who made a special moment of this theme.
De Waart's classical poise and discipline led to an absorbing and thrilling performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in D. The soloists were the ringingly clear soprano Amanda Majeski, warm-voiced Caitlin Hulcup, tenor Kim Begley, amiable in the Turkish March section, and Chinese bass-baritone Shenyang who opened the vocal moment with ringing voice and impeccable German vowels.
The Philharmonia Choirs were particularly impressive in the demanding top B flats and the highly exposed "Seid umschlungen" section.
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