David Robertson and Beethoven Nine

David Robertson presenting the
pre-concert talk

Normally pre-concert talks tell you a bit about each piece to be played but nothing much that sticks in your head for very long - at least that is my experience.

The talk on Saturday evening before the Sydney Symphony Gala concert (Berg, Bruckner, Beethoven) was quite different.

The SSO Chief Conductor David Robertson not only conducted the orchestra, he gave the pre-concert talk and it was fascinating and very dense.

Robertson spoke of the links between the pieces by Berg, Bruckner and Beethoven in a way that related it our experiences today. When he said that Beethoven wrote his Ode to Joy (Ninth Symphony) at a time when  people's rights were being suppressed and life was anything but joyful it made me wonder whether some musical genius out there is translating our current travails into joyful music.

The concert was a stunner. Soprano Miriam Gordon-Stewart sang  a heart rending and passionate Maria in Act III of Berg's Wozzeck and Simon O'Neill's tenor voice soared above the orchestra and massed choir in Beethoven's 9th. That is quite a feat in a hall with such underwhelming acoustics as the Sydney Opera House.

Elektra in Sydney

Christine Goerke as Elektra

Last night I a saw an electric concert performance of the opera Elektra with sopranos Christine Goerke, Lisa Gasteen and Cheryl Barker in the lead roles (Elektra, her mother Klytemnestra and her sister Chrysothemis). Stunning singing from all three ... I can't imagine a better cast. They performed with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra lead by David Robertson, their new Chief Conductor and Artistic Director.

It is wonderful to see singers of this caliber in Sydney. They can not only sing over a huge (expanded) orchestra, they can act as well. In the final scene Christine tripped over her dress and fell but she disguised it so cleverly you would never have known it wasn't a choreographed movement.

I am sure if the SSO continues to put on such treats (filling the gap left by Opera Australia)  they will continue to attract huge audiences as they did for this performance. I went to see both Elektra performances, Saturday and Monday, and I know it is imprinted on my memory forever. Go SSO!

More images are online here.

Soprano Christine Goerke sings 'Elektra' card
by elizabethgw

Sydney Symphony Orchestra

SSO 2014 brochure and CD

The Sydney Symphony Orchestra sent out a CD with their program this year. It was a master stroke, because the pieces are there in full (well, whole movements - over an hour of music) and once you have listened to the CD you want to hear everything on it live.

I am listening to Beethoven's 7th as I write ... just bliss. Besides which of course Christine Goerke is coming to sing Elektra with the SSO in February. Bravo SSO and Maestro David Robertson. I have just subscribed!



And here is a bit of Beethoven's 7th ... swoon ...