It could have been the “Last Night of the POMS,” as the Brits were out in force the the QPAC emblazoned with union jacks, or in black tie and eager to get into the flag waving. The Concert Hall was packed to capacity and buzzing with anticipation as the full Queensland Symphony Orchestra and ninety three choristers from the Brisbane Chorale “eased” into the dynamic concert with Borodin’s explosive second act of the Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor. Shifting between a Russian folk-styled waltz to a voluminous chorus praising the Great Khan Konchak, it was a raucous beginning to an incredible evening.
The annual Proms Festival was instigated in 1895 at the Royal Albert Hall by Henry Wood, as a celebration of classical music in an eight week festival which culminates in The Last Night of the Proms. The festival is now celebrated across the world by lovers of classical music. Having attended the Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall several times, I can vouch that the QSO and guests put on a spectacular show which rivalled the original!
Conductor Benjamin Northey, Chief Conductor of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, was a bubbly and energetic host who encouraged the audience to participate with singing, clapping, and lots of flag waving. The new Concerto for Oboe, Spirit of the Wild by Nigel Westlake, was inspired by a recent trip to Tasmania. The jazz inspired piece utilised the oboe and harp to conjure up a mystical land of wild rivers and jagged peaks. Soloist Diana Doherty, originally from Brisbane and for whom the piece was written, is the principal oboist for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Despite seeming fiendishly difficult, her notes ran up and down the register with ease, like a startled mouse chased by the six percussionists.
A nod to Nigel Westlake’s music continued as he popularised Saint-Saëns Symphony No.3 in C minor, using parts of the finale in his soundtrack for the 1995 hit movie Babe. The symphony “pulls out all the stops!” with the Concert Hall’s spectacular organ, played by Andrej Kouznetsov. Incredibly, even the organ at times seemed to be drowned out by the voluminous QSO.
The second half began with a fanfare with Rossini’s eponymous William Tell Overture followed by an aria from the lively Australian soloist Rachel Durkin. She was full of joie de vivre with an excerpt from Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Je veux vivre (I want to live), seamlessly demonstrating the colourata technique of rapid alternation between notes.
The soloist had suggested the next evocative piece, Tundra by Gjeilo. Inspired by the Harderangervidda mountain plateau of Norway, it has a haunting choral melody giving her and many of the audience goosebumps. Rachel waltzed and sang with Conductor Benjamin for Gershwin’s By Strauss, and was evocative and saucy in Lehár’s Meine Lippen, Sie Küssen so Heiss from Guiditta. Finishing by giving a rose to an audience member and signalling for him to “give her a call.”
The traditional part of the proms rounded off the evening with the audience singing and flags waving to Henry Wood’s sea shanties, Elgar’s incredible Pomp and Circumstance (Land of Hope and Glory), and the poignant Jerusalem from Hubert Parry. After a standing ovation from an electrified audience who were whistling and throwing streamers, whilst frantically waving both British and Australian flags and stamping their feet. The eager audience were treated to a second rendition of Henry Wood’s Hornpipe from the Fantasia of British Sea Songs, racing the QSO’s frenetic playing with their strident clapping to the end of a spectacular extravaganza that would have made Henry Wood proud!
The Last Night of the Proms presented by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra
Saturday 4 May 7.30pm
Concert Hall, QPAC
Dr Gemma Regan