Tasmanian talents spring to life with impressive, seasonal repertoire.

Farrell Centre, Hobart 

August 24, 2014

Although there is still a dusting of crisp white snow on Mt Wellington, daffodils are blooming and spring is on the way. This joyous image of spring was mirrored by the virtuosic performance of Andrew Seymour, Principal Clarinet of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Hobart pianist extraordinaire Karen Smithies and the TSO’s Principal Double Bass Stuart Thomson in the final concert in Hobart this year of ABC Classic FM’s Sunday Live series. With its honey-coloured wood panelling, the spacious Farrell Centre provided a superb acoustic venue.

Traditional composers Debussy and Brahms bookended twentieth century works by Gould and Donatoni. Premiere Rhapsody for Piano and Clarinet was composed as an examination performance piece for clarinettists by Debussy, following his appointment to the Board of Directors at the Paris Conservatoire by none other than Gabriel Faure. Seymour would have passed the exam with flying colours, for his performance was soaring and colourful, with effortless trills and carefully controlled dynamics. Smithies and Seymour shifted seamlessly through dynamic variations to create expressive phrasing, particularly in the upper registers of both instruments. Seymour’s performance explored fully the variety of colours available within the clarinet’s range, with the final section being especially vibrant.

Seymour was joined by bassist Stuart Thomson to perform Morton Gould’s Benny’s Gig; a collection of seven upbeat and harmonically explorative duets, in which each musician had solo opportunities to showcase their talent.  Gould composed the seventh piece in 1979 as a present for Benny Goodman’s seventieth birthday. Thomson’s pizzicato walking bass line provided a rich contrast to Seymour’s legato phrasing. The fourth piece was especially notable, with the sustained bowed notes of the double bass providing a rich velvet harmony to the fluid upper register passages of the clarinet. The cheerful final movement utilised jazz harmonies to create a delightfully energetic atmosphere, in which the enjoyment of the musicians was palpable.

Seymour’s exceptional performance skills were highlighted in “Clair”, the first of Donatoni’s Two Pieces for Clarinet Solo.  ABC presenter Christopher Lawrence accurately described “Clair” (the French title translating to “Clear”) as being filled with “extreme clarinet pyrotechnics”! With eight pages of music spread across three music stands, Seymour had to move sideways as he played, to accommodate for the lack of time to turn pages. The piece opened with a glissando reminiscent of the opening phrase of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and the melody swirled through a cascade of notes and trills. Seymour demonstrated exceptional dynamic control, moving without hesitation from vocally forte phrases to whisper-like quaver passages.  The audience was transported for the entire four and a half minutes of this virtuosic masterpiece. The complex rhythms and demanding staccato upper register phrases were exceptionally well handled by Seymour in a technically flawless performance.

The concert concluded with Brahms’ Sonata No.2 in E-flat Major, Op.120 for Clarinet and Piano, with pianist Karen Smithies returning to the stage.  After announcing his retirement from composition in 1890, Brahms heard Mozart’s clarinet concerto and clarinet quintet.  So inspired was he by Mozart’s exploration of the clarinet’s colourful tone, Brahms returned from retirement to compose four works for the instrument. Surprisingly the form of the clarinet sonata had been relatively unutilised prior to Brahms’ composition of these works in 1894, and his two clarinet sonatas are among the great masterpieces of the clarinet’s repertoire. Sonata No.2 in E-flat Major comprises three movements, the first and third of which create a spirited and warm atmosphere, separated by a more sombre and sorrowful second movement. Smithies demonstrated fine musicality in her accomplished performance of the very demanding piano part, with rippling arpeggios in the first movement followed by majestic chords and staggered octaves in the subsequent movements. The easy communication between the two performers was evident as the melody passed seamlessly between piano and clarinet. In the contrastingly dark second movement, a lilting sensation was created by the harmonisation of the soaring clarinet line and the thundering dissonant piano chords. The distinctively Romantic era theme was evident in the third movement, and the performance ended impressively with a rapidly descending phrase played simultaneously on both instruments.

This enthralling concert showcased the exceptional talents of these fine musicians in a program of impressive and technically demanding works.