Reviewed by Ewart Shaw, Saturday 31st August 2014
The Adelaide Youth Orchestras give hundreds of musicians a chance to play the great repertoire to the highest possible standard at a crucial part of their musical lives. Many of the performers on stage will not go on to join a professional orchestra or forge and an international solo career. They will become music teachers, parents of musical children, and they may take in the whole variety of careers and lives available to young Australians. Their musicality and commitment to music will however inform their lives for ever. Rather like a suburb full of Buddhists having a serenity index of ten, a suburb or a city full of musicians, gains equally in emotional depth and understanding. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.
Youth Revolution in the Adelaide Town Hall was the perfect showcase for the Adelaide Youth Orchestras component ensembles, and one of those afternoons that reinforce Adelaide's place as one of the five most liveable cities in the world.
The Adelaide Youth Wind Orchestra under the direction of Bryan Griffiths, the latest ensemble on the roster, kicked off with a jubilant performance of the
Overture to Candide by
Leonard Bernstein. You didn't notice the lack of strings. The Grundmann transcription they played was a bright and energetic as the original and the big tunes swept along with gusto. Their second piece, a mysterious
Postlude in F major by the visionary American composer Charles Ives, soothed the eardrums before the team launched into the Ralph Vaughan Williams
English Folk Song Suite. The rambunctious first tune,
Seventeen Come Sunday, inspired the band, many of whom will have to wait for a few more Sundays before they turn seventeen.
The Adelaide Youth Strings directed by Martin Butler filled the stage, 61 players in all. I counted them in the program. That size of ensemble was only possible because most of them were well below regulation height for orchestral musicians, and I'm told that one over there in the back row of the first violins is still only four.
After the interval, the Adelaide Youth Sinfonia took their place under the expansive hands of Peter Handsworth, they opened with
An Outdoor Overture by
Aaron Copland, a gentle and gracious work. This was followed by the
L'Arlesienne Suite No. 1 of
Georges Bizet, and the only weak moment of the night. Just a few bars into the first movement, and the tone sagged. This was just a minor blemish that showed up the immense energy of the rest of the performance. Evidently the Bizet is a regular choice for this orchestra. With young musicians returning to a piece after a few years means that there are players who know it well enough to support the newer members of the group.
Finally, it was the big noise from the big girls and boys, two movements only of the Antonin Dvorak
Symphony no 9, From the New World, with Keith Crellin OAM at the helm of the ship. From the gracious cor anglais theme, generally sung to the words 'going home', to the vibrant and exciting Allegro, this was a performance that made you want to hear the whole work.
Great stuff all round, and check their program on line
here for the next chance to hear these wonderful young players.
Photo: David Cann
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