★★★★☆ Tate and Gillham make a memorable evening for an orchestra celebrating 80 years of music making.

Festival Theatre, Adelaide
October 29, 2016

An atmosphere of anticipation was palpable as guests clad in tuxedos and cocktail dresses filled the Festival Theatre straight from the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra’s 80th birthday dinner party celebrations. As the lights dimmed, Jeffrey Tate graced the stage, walking stick in hand, to sit aloft his stool upon the podium. The unassuming dignity and fragility with which the illustrious maestro walks on and off stage belies the quiet authority he commands over the orchestra, and the conviction and energy he brings to each of his thoroughly convincing readings. Known among Adelaide audiences for his acclaimed production of Wagner’s the Ring Cycle in 1998, Tate is no stranger to works of colossal proportions, and to see him work his magic with the ASO here again in Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben was never less than inspiring.

The opening Prelude from Act I of Wagner’s The Mastersingers of Nuremberg was a little lacklustre and underwhelming, but it was all up from there as one of Australia’s most promising young pianists came on stage to perform Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto. At 30 years of age, Jayson Gillham seemed remarkably well-suited to the concerto, conveying all its youthful ebullience with the security and precision of a pianist ten or twenty years his senior. The opening scalic passages after the long orchestral exposition were enunciated with steely clarity and a beguiling warmth and richness that floated to the back of the hall. The audience couldn’t miss a note thanks to an orchestra that, under Tate’s assured command, provided superb accompanying support throughout, never hectoring or interjecting over Gillham’s melodic lines. The pianist seemed to coast through it all economically, without fanfare and superfluous arm gestures. The cadenza provided ample fodder to demonstrate his impressive alacrity through cascading diminished arpeggios and shimmering trills which melted mellifluously back into the blissful theme. Gillham was equally impressive in the Largo, gazing out ahead in contemplation and revelling in all the Mozartian beauty of each harmonic resolution. The concluding Rondo was taken at a steady and controlled tempo, exuding strength and stability. Both orchestra and soloist scarcely put a foot wrong.

According to the programme, over 20 years have gone by since the ASO last performed Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben, and little wonder: it is a tour de force necessitating an orchestra of nearly 100 strong. Such colossal forces – which included eight horns, five trumpets and two harps – could have easily descended into chaos, but under Tate’s tightly measured control, the shortcomings were few and inconsequential. Despite the challenges, the piece served as the perfect vehicle to showcase the talent of nearly every section of the ASO. Concertmaster Natsuko Yoshimoto was sublime throughout, conversing with the orchestra with flair and conviction while producing a fervent vibrato as exquisite and refined as golden silk. Dean Newcomb (clarinet), Geoffrey Collins (flute), Peter Duggan (cor anglais) and Owen Morris (trumpet) were likewise terrific.

Unfortunately the acoustics of the Festival Theatre muffled some of the clarity of the three trumpets backstage, and the ensuing orchestral entry came in a little early and was not precisely synchronised. But the strings were lush and sumptuous throughout, and the sheer power of five trumpets soaring resplendently over the top of eight horns was quixotic indeed. A few split notes aside, this was a memorable performance and a worthy commemoration of the ASO’s integral role in the cultural life of South Australia. The identity of the hero in Strauss’s great work may remain forever elusive, but the real heroes here were Tate and an orchestra that remains just as alive and exuberant and relevant as ever.

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