Sydney Symphony Orchestra | Pictures at an Exhibition
March 8, 2023, Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
MIHHAIL GERTS conductor
MARIE-ANGE NGUCI piano
MIRIAMA YOUNG Reflections on the Harbour Light
SAINT-SAËNS Piano Concerto No.2
MUSSORGSKY arr. RAVEL Pictures at an Exhibition
The stunning pianism of the young Albanian-born virtuoso Marie-Ange Nguci stole the night and the affection of the audience at the SSO Opera House concert on Wednesday night. Playing a work that could display all her musical and technical skills, the Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No.2, Nguci was as brilliant and lyrical as her advance publicity suggested.
The first movement of this concerto comes across as a solo work for piano with some interruptions from the orchestra and the soloist must draw the listener in with powerful, impassioned and lyrical playing and wow! Nguci did that with ease. The 2nd playful movement is bright and breezy and contains music that would suit many cartoons. Here Saint-Saëns brings the orchestra up to being an equal party in the frivolity and he went further in the finale creating moments of beautiful organ-like woodwind and horn music to balance the sheer brilliance of the piano line.
Nguci is an awesome performer and when she looked ahead in the program to the Ravel orchestration of Pictures at an Exhibition and chose to play the cadenza of the Ravel Piano Concerto for the Left Hand it showed a performer who sees the big picture. This was a ravishing performance of the cadenza and the mesmerised audience loved it. Magic stuff! It is always a delight to hear great musicians and when they are young there is an inkling in the back of the mind that we are privileged to be able to be there at the start of such a musician’s journey. I think the audience at the Opera House felt a special joy hearing this great young performer.
Another soloist who shone was the orchestra’s concertmaster Andrew Haveron who played with such eloquence the solo line in a short opening work by Miriama Young.
Conductor Mihhail Gerts oversaw all the works without histrionics and with attention to detail. The performance of Pictures at an Exhibition, whilst not being a defining performance created enough excitement to make the audience most enthusiastic after the roaring pomp of The Great Gate of Kiev, the final mvt. Not all the orchestral soloists had a great night but there was some outstanding playing from the saxophonist Christina Leonard, a sweet toned solo by tubist Steve Rossé, and numerous other woodwind principals.
Usually the attention does not fall on the string section in this work but in this performance it was clear that the SSO strings are in top form and they all seem to love playing together under the leadership of concertmaster Andrew Haveron.
The last time I heard the SSO perform Pictures at an Exhibition was 7 years ago and surprisingly in that program it was also paired with the Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No.2. In that concert the oboe virtuoso Shefali Pryor premiered a work especially written for her, a shaft of light, making the event a feast of the old and the new. It was wonderful that the SSO had a new Australian work in this program too.
The orchestra has undergone many personnel changes since then but it remains Sydney’s jewel of music.
