Southern Cross Soloists | Sunset Soiree: Whispers of the Heart
July 22, 2023, Judith Wright Arts Centre, QLD
Southern Cross Soloists presented an enchanting evening of chamber music on Saturday night at the Judith Wright Arts Centre. Whispers of the Heart explored the romantic power of chamber music in an intimate setting. The audience was able to sit back and enjoy the music, whilst catching glimpses of the sunset between the city buildings.
The program featured Tania Frazer on oboe, Courtenay Cleary on violin, James Wannan on viola, Hyung Suk Bae on cello, and Daniel Le on piano. Hyung was a special guest from QSO. He’d come straight from a QSO concert at QPAC that afternoon and was going to perform in another that evening! Quite a day!
The concert opened with the quintet performing Schumann’s Fantasiestucke. This piece depicted two contrasting characters, representing Schumann’s dreamer side and his passionate side. It moved between these characters, before ending with a merry wedding.
We then had a lovely trio moment, with Courtenay, James and Daniel performing Clara Schumann’s Nocture. Continuing with the German theme, Courtenay then performed Brahms’ Scherzo from FAE Sonata, accompanied by Daniel. Based on the three notes F-A-E, this piece had a free yet longing feeling.
We were then taken to France, with works by Debussy and Massenet. Daniel led us on a calm, moonlit stroll in Clair de lune. Courtenay had her moment to shine in Massenet’s Meditation from Thais, a deeply passionate and moving work.
Staying in France, we then heard Rita Strohl’s Solitude, featuring James on viola, accompanied by Daniel. This was a touching work, that gave the audience a moment of quiet reflection.
The quintet returned for Morricone’s Gabriel’s Oboe. Featuring Tania, this soaring oboe melody floated delicately on top of the rich strings. Then, to wake us all up, Hyung performed Mark Summer’s upbeat, jazzy piece, Julie-o. This unusual work featured lots of pizzicato and had a fun, pulsing rhythm, which was quite a contrast!
Tania, Courteny, James, Hyung and Daniel returned to the stage to perform Piazzolla’s Primavera to finish things off with a Spanish flavour. This was a fun way to end this soiree of chamber music gems.
