Rachmaninov Concerto No.3 in D minor for Piano and Orchestra, op.30
Bartók Concerto for Orchestra
Brisbane finally saw the return of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra Conductor Alondra de la Parra, who strolled back onto the stage tall, slim and seductive after her maternity leave and recently performing at Gladstone. Her sedate, understated conducting style was noticeable after the many visiting conductors the QSO, all with their own unique conducting techniques. Meanwhile the talented pianist and QSO Artist in Residence Sergio Tiempo, has more of the latin-style with floppy dark hair and an untucked open-necked shirt. Appearances are deceptive, as his piano style is incredible and often frantic as his fingers flitted across the keys in the Concerto No.3 in D minor, famously considered to be one of the most fiendishly difficult piano pieces created. Rachminov ironically had to use a dummy keyboard in his own performance of the concerto as he found the piano to be too demanding! Sergio’s skill and execution was magnificent, fully justifying his role as artist in residence.
Both the complicated Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto and Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra were chosen for the Morning Masterworks’ Soloists and Spontaneity to highlight solos from the different orchestral sections. The Allegro ma non tanto is a long first movement with a famous opening melody which repeats in the Intermezzo with the violins and clarinet, and again in the Finale from the cellos. Although the difficult and complicated piano solos are the main feature, there were some lovely woodwind interludes spiked with trumpet fanfares. Sergei, Alondra and the QSO wowed the audience with Rachmaninov’s difficult and less popular concerto, receiving three stage encores, frenetic applause and a standing ovation.
After a swift stage rearrangement, the QSO dove into Bartók’s five movement Concerto for Orchestra which again featured solos from the various parts of the orchestra including two harps. Bartók wrote the Concerto in less than two months whilst in hospital near the end of his life in 1943, as a tribute to the memory of his wife and commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Influenced by Eastern European Folk Music, Bartók created a synthetic modern sound utilising two-part chromatic scales based on his research into Yugoslav folk music and poetry. He described his concerto as “a gradual transition from the sternness of the first movement and the lugubrious death-song of the third, to life assertion in the finale.”
Starting with a mysterious slow introduction from the violins and trumpets, the pace gathers throughout the five movements of the concerto with a spooky interlude in the third, named Night Movement, which was reminiscent of the old Hitchcock scores where the killer shiftily dumps a body in the car boot in the cover of darkness. Throughout the concerto individual sections of the orchestra were each allowed to shine through solo melodies, including a march from the clarinets and stirring brass interludes.
The Morning Masterwork was indeed masterful, shining a much needed spotlight on not only Alondra de la Parra and the stunning technical abilities of Sergio Tiempo, but also each section of the QSO and their marvelous musicians.
Friday 4th August
Concert Hall, QPAC
Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO)
Conductor Alondra de la Parra
Piano Sergio Tiempo, 2018 Artist in Residence
Review: Dr Gemma Regan
Photography: Peter Wallis