★★★★★ Zukerman finesses Brahms’ concerto, but Fisch’s First is world-class.

Perth Concert Hall

August 21, 2015

It’s two years since I first heard Asher Fisch conduct the West Australian Symphony Orchestra in Brahms (a fine account of the Third Symphony) and in the meantime a lot of time and effort has gone into refining their special German Romantic sound. Following on from last year’s Helpmann nominated Beethoven Festival, 2015’s equivalent homage to Beethoven’s semi-anointed musical heir is a perfect opportunity across four symphonies and four concertos for WASO to show just how far they’ve travelled. And on this first showing I’d suggest that anyone who can get to Perth over these two weekends should beg, borrow or steal a ticket, for this is world-class Brahms playing.

The evening began with a warm tribute and dedication of the opening concert to Roger Smalley, the British Australian composer whose commitment to new music and education in WA clearly touched the lives of many of the players on the platform. Then we were off, with Pinchas Zukerman taking his place for Brahms’ Violin Concerto. At 67, the work is pretty much in the Israeli violinist’s DNA, and the Perth audience was duly treated to a master class in tone, line and technique.

Zukerman is a musician blessed with a quite remarkable sound. Full, bright and golden in hue, he allies it with an extreme lyricism, perfect for the Romantic repertoire. The ease with which he makes the instrument sing, coupled with his sheer volume, ensures he is never overwhelmed by the orchestra and is a thing to behold. His power taking on the big melodies is always matched by an equal ability to project and make sense of the subsequent divisions in the extended development sections. Connect that with Asher Fisch’s sensitive, impassioned conducting and you have a match made in heaven.

Despite a few nervous glitches early on, WASO’s contribution was significant throughout. The warm, bronzed tone that Fisch has worked so hard to cultivate was apparent from the opening onwards. The principal woodwind quartet of Andrew Nicholson (superb flute playing), Peter Facer (beautifully sensitive in the many oboe solos), Alan Meyer on clarinet and Jane Kircher-Lindner on bassoon didn’t put a foot wrong all night. Perhaps though it was the fullness of the string tone helmed by new concertmaster Laurence Jackson that was most remarkable, especially in the telling quieter sections.

The extensive first movement was big, romantic stuff, kept just this side of ‘mushy’ by Fisch’s delicately calibrated style barometer. Zukerman’s sense of the dramatic allowed things to take off at numerous points across the frequently complex 20-minute arc, while his cadenza was remarkably organic with miraculous trills and a hint of the folksiness that Brahms unleashes in his ‘gypsy’ finale. After a joke with the conductor and a brief retune, the radiant wind quintet that opens the Adagio led into Peter Facer’s eloquent oboe solo. Zukerman then proceeded to ravish our senses with a ten-minute or so song of soulfulness and some of the most natural, yet deeply felt playing you are likely to hear. By the time it arrived, the Allegro Giocoso had bags of panache, and with no fear that his meaty-toned soloist would disappear beneath the orchestral waves, Fisch was able to give the orchestra their head all the way through to the final gallop.

Asher Fisch and WASO (Photo: Emma van Dordrect)

Good though the first half undoubtedly was, nothing had quite prepared me for the following reading of Brahms’ sprawling First Symphony. The augmented orchestra (trombones, extra strings and a contrabassoon) seemed to move up a gear and with only Fisch for them to take into account, the subsequent performance was one of the finest pieces of Brahms playing that I can recall. From a superbly weighty opening, full of moody grandeur and subtly teased out dissonances, to the final peroration, Asher Fisch was quite magnificent, proving just why he is one of the most sort-after conductors for this repertoire on today’s concert platforms (he’s only just returned from closing Tanglewood with Beethoven Nine!)

The galumphing first thematic section of the opening movement was beautifully dramatized, the orchestra swelling and receding at its Chief Conductor’s merest nod. Not that Fisch was in any way inert. This was a galvanising interpretation, his stocky frame bursting with energy, legs braced (their twinkle-toed patternings a mini-master class in themselves), arms urging his forces on. The brass, with newly acquired confidence, were outstanding, but it was the blend, tone and tightness of ensemble that most impressed, testament to hours of well-spent rehearsal time.

The Andante Sostenuto was warmly shaped, oboe and clarinet solos notable but also a lovely extended reverie by concertmaster Jackson duetting with horns. The Allegretto third movement (not dissimilar in feel to one of Brahms’ underplayed rustic Serenades) was sunny and light of foot with imaginative dynamic shaping and exhilarating tempi changes. At this stage in their relationship, Fisch occasionally exudes a cheeky confidence, allowing him to communicate with his orchestra through the tiniest of smiling gestures.

The Finale’s narrative search for its triumphal way was well-shaped, pizzicati phrases leading into contrabassoon and ominous timpani before the horn calls sounded out like lungfuls of fresh mountain air. When it arrived, the noble main theme was particularly rich, plunging into its own development section with great abandon – and how gloriously the WASO cellos and basses embraced Brahms’ big idea. By the time the final expansive drive for home hoved into view, Fisch had a grin as wide as the great outdoors – and rightly so. This was world-class playing from a band at the top of its game and conducting of this special kind, from a Maestro in profound communion with a favourite composer, doesn’t come along every day. Don’t miss it.

With three more concerts, the WASO Brahms Festival continues until August 29.

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