★★★★☆ Audacious programming pays off in this memorable Guitar Festival highlight.

Adelaide Town Hall
August 13, 2016

The opportunity to hear the combination of classical guitar with an orchestra is undoubtedly one of the most alluring enticements to the concert hall. But it can be a treacherous alliance to produce in a live performance: success is contingent upon the amplification levels of the guitar, the acoustic environs of the hall, and the extent to which the orchestra and conductor remain receptive to the soloist’s capacity to be heard in their softest and most intimate moments. Fortunately, on this occasion, an all too rare equilibrium was achieved consistently by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra under conductor Benjamin Northey, who allowed the impressive array of guitar talent to glisten with cool elegance. The omission of a performance of Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez in the Festival may have disappointed some, but the chance to hear his lesser performed Concierto andaluz for four guitars and orchestra, alongside the world premiere of two new Festival-commissioned concertos for the instrument, was a rare gift indeed.

^{Benjamin Northey conducts the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Photo by Claudio Raschella.}

The...