Henze, Shostakovich, Dvorák
Sydney Opera House, June 11

Founded 15 years ago under the auspices of maestro Claudio Abbado, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra is a nomadic touring group that counts two Australians in its ranks. Their debut performances on our shores, with the expansively energetic Daniel Harding at the podium, showed what happens when a questing, youthful spirit and a white-hot creative spark are honed by experience, discipline and the power of a collective attuned to a singular sound.

The 40-strong ensemble matched, though never eclipsed, the intensity of soloist Alisa Weilerstein’s Shostakovich. With the hype of her 2011 MacArthur ‘Genuis’ grant billowing out behind her along with her voluminous violet gown, the 31-year-old launched into the Shostakovich Cello Concerto with unflinching presence and flawless intonation. Her bow drew limitless nuance and invention from that wonky, sly opening theme, never allowing its frequent reiterations to lose potency. She exerted the same thrall over the third movement’s long, meditative cadenza with its ominous pizzicato chords and harmonics answered by eerie celesta. Elsewhere, the vivid orchestral accompaniment ranged from punchy strings to savage, high winds. Only the disconcertingly light, crowd-pleasing encore of Bach’s C-Major Cello Suite Bourrée took some of the sting out of Shostakovich – a breath mint after a five-alarm chili bowl.

The core group showcased its searingly focused string sound and dynamic range in Henze’s Sonata for Strings, a visceral performance that took in stride the late German composer’s frenzied shifts between thorny avant-garde dissonance and haunting lyricism while building to a riveting climax. The MCO make a strong case for Henze’s music – so underrated here – in the wake of his death last year.

Trading angst for ebullient, bittersweet nostalgia, Dvorák’s New World Symphony demonstrated the chamber orchestra’s driving force at full capacity. Though exposed moments in the winds didn’t quite measure up to the pinpoint precision of the first half’s travails, Harding’s sweeping gestures and palpable affection for the piece carried them through.

Read Limelight‘s interview with Alisa here.