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The Friends of Chamber Music concluded its 2008-09 season in a blaze of beauty from the Australian Chamber Orchestra and pianist, Paul Lewis Friday night at the Folly Theatre.  Although the ensemble was heard for the first time by Kansas City audiences, it has toured the United States for ten years and enjoys a near-cult following at home in Australia, where 15,000 subscription holders flock to its concerts. 

About 20 string players donned in business/casual black took the stage in a semi-circle around the harpsichord, including a pair of horns, oboes, and one bassoonist, where all but the celli and harpsichordist remained standing to perform.  Missing were traditional white shirts, ties and tails for the men and flowing skirts or dresses for the women - these musicians shed the shackles of formal to bring a fresh interpretation to immortal classics that relayed the very spark of creativity in which the works were composed.  From the opening chords of Haydn's Symphony No. 44 in E minor, a rich depth of sound from the strings gloriously permeated the hall, belying the small number of players onstage.  Led by Artistic Director Richard Tognetti on first violin, a lively give-and-take ensued the night long among the players to produce a vibrant and beautifully blended orchestral sound.  The wind players matched uncannily in timbre to the string players, presenting their parts as an added dimension of sparkle in tone to the strings, rather than as separate instrumental lines. 

Tognetti's artistic vision was shared and embodied by the members of the ensemble with a focus that was inspiring and illuminating.  Like many of the world's finest musicians, he approached the shaping of musical lines in terms of evoking rather than demanding the interpretation desired, releasing upward movements of direction so ebullient that at times he nearly leapt into the air as he led, inspiring his like-minded ensemble to imbue the symphony with the air of daring and sparkle that Haydn, the Revolutionary, conceived. 

The exquisite first violin melody in the Adagio movement was performed with such tenderness that a contest of pianissimos developed between its melody and the second violin Alberti accompaniment that kept the audience on the edge of its seats.  Subtitled the Mourning, Haydn is said to have requested that particular movement of the Symphony to be played for his own funeral he was so moved by its elegant beauty.  As it turns out, at the time of Haydn's death on May 31, 1809, Vienna had been invaded two weeks previously by Napoleon's army, and Haydn's hasty funeral the next day proceeded without music.  When his death was later memorialized properly, Mozart's Requiem was performed.  The fourth movement contrasted in character magnificently as the ensemble bit into its presto with a marvelous furor.

British pianist Paul Lewis, 36, joined the orchestra for the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 12 in A Major, K. 414, which opened with a tight, energized upbeat orchestral introduction.  Lewis was the perfect soloist for this ensemble, delivering sparkling clear bell tones in the upper register, elegant phrasing, and a profoundly singing musicality.  The strings' pure tone quality, produced without vibrato and perfectly centered, added exceptional clarity of line to Lewis' masterfully sensitive phrasing in an interpretation so brim-full of resonance and play that it unlocked the romantic insinuation of Mozart's richly chromatic tonal scheme.  In the ensuing Andante, Lewis, the compelling story teller, hesitated slightly before his solo entry as if to take a breath to draw the audience into his transcendent interpretation.  Seldom does one hear music so beautifully and intelligently coaxed from the very soul of the piano as this.  His depth of expression was magnificent, poetic and thoughtful.  After the cadenza the orchestra entered a bit awkwardly - too over the top, inspired by Lewis' musicality; but it was sheer fun to watch the standing players dance their excitement through the instruments as they played.  Lewis has won wide critical acclaim for his series of CDs of the complete Beethoven Sonatas on the Harmonia Mundi label - all of which have been featured in Gramophone magazine's "Editor's Choice".  In August 2008, the fourth volume of the series was awarded Gramophone's "Best Instrumental" recording and "Best Recording of the Year".  We hope to have the opportunity to hear this stellar newcomer to the roster of the world's great pianists again soon, perhaps in a solo recital.

The essence of 18^th century French Court sophistication and irrepressible joie de vivre welcomed the audience back from intermission as the ACO popped open the cork to free Jean-Philippe Rameau's tantalizing Suite from Dardenus from its far-too-lengthy slumber in a genie's bottle.  Fantastic runs in the strings paired with oboes perfectly tuned and an exhilarating accelerando were elements of the ensemble's best playing of the evening.  The music was taken from instrumental interludes in Rameau's rarely heard opera, Dardenus composed in 1739 in the idiom of the French opera-ballet.  Its concluding movement entitled Bruit de guerre (noise of war) kicked the excitement into the stratosphere as horn player Robert Johnson played rapid-fire staccato notes high above the orchestra at Tognetti's break-neck speed, a thrill of the concert.

The final work presented was by Czech composer, Pavel Haas, the String Quartet No. 2, Op. 7, From the Monkey Mountain, arranged by Tognetti for chamber orchestra.  Composed in 1925, it is a compelling work in four movements that features a wide palette of effects, including percussive raps on the cello in substitution for the drum for which it was originally scored, played effectively by cellist, Julian Thompson.  The piece takes its title from the local nickname for the Moravian Highlands near Brno, where Haas may have spent summer holidays as a youth.  Haas was the star pupil of Leos Janacek, whose harmonic influence was often tangible in the piece.  Haas' tragic demise in 1944 at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp was a cruel crime against humanity that tragically curtailed his contributions to the body of great musical literature.  The first movement opened to the eerie sound of the violins and celli playing glassy sul ponticello running figures on the bridges of their instruments.  Outstanding solo passages were delivered by principal violist, Christopher Moore who held the audience spellbound on his solo tone sustained after an evocative duet passage shared with principal cellist Timo-Veikko Valve.  Helena Rathbone, principal 2^nd violinist, also contributed several stand-out solos in the piece, at times evoking the tone quality of an English horn.  Satu Vanska, assistant leader, together with Tognetti, traded volleys of perfectly matched tone and expression in a recurring duet figure.  Probably the strangest moment of the evening came from a section in which the strings produced strange sliding effects that sounded like alley cats on the prowl. 

Shouts of encore persuaded Tognetti to treat the audience to a taste of his artistry as a soloist with a slow movement from one of Vivaldi's L'Estro Armonico.  It was a particularly satisfying choice to end the evening in a return to the ancient harmonies and soaring architecture of the Italian Baroque, performed with sensitivity and vitality.  Tognetti was named a National Living Treasure in 1999 by Australia and he holds honorary doctorates from three Australian universities.  Artistic Director Cynthia Siebert could not have chosen a better ensemble to culminate the Friends' Epic Journey of the 2008-2009 series.

REVIEW:
The Friends of Chamber Music
Australian Chamber Orchestra
Richard Tognetti, Artistic Director
Paul Lewis, pianist
Friday, April 24, 2009
The Folly Theatre
www.chambermusic.org

By Gayle G. Hathorne

Classical and Vocal Contributor (Past writer)