SMH Big Sky review Tour 2
Selby and Friends review: Kathryn Selby sets herself a marathon, delivers fierce and stirring night
Joan Tower's Big Sky (2000) for piano trio traces a subtle arch-like structure not unlike the sky itself. Its trajectory from quietness to turbulence brought to mind that guilt-ridden dark sonnet by Shakespeare about a glorious morning allowing a base cloud to cover its celestial face so the sunset is secretive and disgraceful. The piece begins subdued, and scarcely breathing, the violin part rising, with increasing intensity, to tossed, tempestuous and hammered force in the middle before returning to the opening ideas for the close. Unlike Shakespeare, Tower's sunset was a return to serenity rather than a furtive death. Her music was heard last year in a Musica Viva program and certainly deserves wider dissemination.
Joan Tower's Big Sky (2000) for piano trio traces a subtle arch-like structure not unlike the sky itself. Its trajectory from quietness to turbulence brought to mind that guilt-ridden dark sonnet by Shakespeare about a glorious morning allowing a base cloud to cover its celestial face so the sunset is secretive and disgraceful. The piece begins subdued, and scarcely breathing, the violin part rising, with increasing intensity, to tossed, tempestuous and hammered force in the middle before returning to the opening ideas for the close. Unlike Shakespeare, Tower's sunset was a return to serenity rather than a furtive death. Her music was heard last year in a Musica Viva program and certainly deserves wider dissemination.
Selby and her friends then regrouped for one-on-one consultations, continuing with Beethoven's first Cello Sonata in F major, Opus 5 No.1. As so often in his F major works, Beethoven toys here with the topic of wit and brilliance in a respectful nod to his teacher Haydn. Cellist Umberto Clerici breathed life and imaginative substance into ideas, playing with rich sound and focused intelligence, against pianism of sparkling brilliance from Selby.
In Cesar Franck's Violin Sonata in A major, New Zealand-based Finish violinist Vesa-Matti Leppanen played the quiet, suggestive first movement with a sound of simple clarity and golden beauty, maintaining transparency and well-defined melodic shape even in the turbulent moments of the 2nd and 4th movements. Selby, who had set herself something of a marathon in this program with four major piano parts, was a powerful and well-contrasted partner. The performance emphasised purity of melodic line over expressive distortion, doing just honour to a noble work.
The three came together after interval for Shostakovich's Piano Trio in E minor, Opus 67 (1944) in a powerful performance of starkness, brutality, strong contrast and searing irony. At times greater tension could have been achieved by stricter discipline on unvarying tempo and tone. However, overall this concert was everything changing music ought to be: intimate and bold, stirring and soothing, fiercely individual and collectively cohesive.
-
05/11/2019ClassikOn Melbourne
-
04/11/2019Sydney Morning Herald
-
04/11/2019SMH, Peter McCallum
-
01/11/2019Canberra Critics Circle
-
01/11/2019Canberra City News
-
06/09/2019Clive O'Connell
-
05/09/2019Limelight Magazine
-
03/09/2019City News
-
03/09/2019ClassikOn
-
11/07/2019Peter McCallum
-
09/07/2019Canberra Times
-
09/07/2019Limelight Magazine July 2019
-
09/05/2019Limelight Magazine
-
09/05/2019Clive O'Connell, Melbourne
-
08/05/2019Daily Telegraph
-
07/05/2019Canberra City News
-
02/03/2019Limelight Magazine
-
02/03/2019SMH, the AGE, Canberra Times
-
01/03/2019Canberra City News - Tour 1, 2019
-
20/10/2018Melbourne, Clive O'Connell
-
28/08/2018Adelaide Advertiser
-
27/08/2018classikOn
-
25/08/2018Wentworth Courier, Steve Moffatt
-
24/08/2018Australian Arts Review
-
24/08/2018Limelight Magazine
-
06/07/2018Peter Burdon, Adelaide Advertiser
-
13/05/2018Steve Moffatt, Wentworth Courier/Daily Telegraph
-
09/05/2018Rodney Smith, Adelaide Advertiser
-
05/05/2018Clive O'Connell
-
26/03/2018Beethoven's Archduke, Culture Concept
-
19/03/2018Clive O'Connell
-
19/03/2018The Barefoot Review
-
19/03/2018Classikon review
-
08/11/2017Limelight Magazine
-
06/11/2017Review - City Recital Hall - Quattro
-
03/11/2017Canberra City News
-
01/11/2017Quattro in Canberra Oct 2017
-
30/10/2017Adelaide Advertiser
-
21/09/2017Melbourne review
-
19/09/2017Canberra - Basically Beethoven
-
19/09/2017Canberra City News
-
09/08/2017classikon.com - Proud Folk, July 2017
-
18/07/2017Adelaide Advertiser - Proud Folk, July
-
15/07/2017Proud Folk, Limelight
-
14/07/2017Proud Folk, Wentworth Courier Sydney
-
08/06/2017By Arrangement, Canberra Times
-
29/05/2017By Arrangement - SMH
-
25/05/2017By Arrangement - Melbourne Clive O'Connell
-
24/05/2017By Arrangement - Limelight Magazine
-
24/05/2017By Arrangement - Wentworth Courier
-
23/05/2017By Arrangement: Review-Adelaide Advertiser
-
23/05/2017By Arrangement - Canberra City News
-
13/03/2017Youth & the Dance - The Dumky Three
-
10/03/2017Melbourne review Youth & the Dance
-
10/03/2017Melbourne review Youth & the Dance
-
09/03/2017Youth & the Dance - Sydney
-
15/11/2016Top of their game - Adelaide 2016
-
09/11/2016Tour 5 Review, Melbourne
-
28/09/2016Melbourne Basically Beethoven
-
22/09/2016Basically Beethoven Canberra
-
21/09/2016Basically Beethoven - Limelight
-
22/06/2016
-
21/06/2016S&F at NGA was brilliant!
-
19/06/2016Musical Offering in Melbourne
-
24/04/2016JUST C - SMH review
-
20/04/2016Just C -ArtsHub Review
-
14/04/2016A firm, fruitful friendship - 'Just C' in Melbourne
-
29/02/2016Varied Virtues in Limelight Magazine
-
24/02/2016Canberra Times
-
24/02/2016Elder Hall, Sunday February 21
-
24/02/2016VARIED VIRTUES - Deakin Edge, Federation Square
-
27/11/2015Basically Beethoven #2, City Recital Hall, Sydney
-
26/11/2015Tour 5 Basically Beethoven #2 in Melbourne
-
25/11/2015Tour 5, 2015 - Manly Daily
-
25/11/2015
-
24/11/2015Tour 5 2015, Basically Beethoven #2, Adelaide Advertiser
-
14/09/2015Adelaide Advertiser
-
11/06/2015Czech Connection - Advertiser Music Critic
-
10/06/2015Czech Connection in Adelaide
-
05/06/2015The Age: Czech Connection- Czech mates reward audience
-
04/06/2015SMH: Czech Connection -Thrilling show
-
04/06/2015Bachtrack: Czech Connection - Selby & Friends delight in Canberra
-
03/06/2015Manly Daily: Czech Connection - S&F hit it off!
-
02/06/2015City News: Czech Connection- Kathryn’s friends indeed!
-
17/04/2015SMH Big Sky review Tour 2
-
17/04/2015Limelight Magazine - Big Sky Tour 2
-
09/03/2015
-
16/02/2015Tour 1, 2015 review - Classic Melbourne
-
13/02/2015Tour 1, 2015 SMH review
-
12/02/2015Kathryn Selby and friends pull on the heart strings
-
12/02/2015Tour 1 2015 Canberra Times
-
10/02/2015
-
02/12/2014
-
26/11/2014
-
25/11/2014
-
17/11/2014
-
13/11/2014'Trout' review in The Age
-
09/11/2014
-
01/10/2014
-
29/09/2014