Leigh Harrold has had a big week. First he goes and wins the Hugh D. T. Williamson Prize (first prize pianist) in the 2014 Mietta Song Competition, and then he stars in the first concert of the year for The Firm; the 102nd since inception.
Continuing to be the best value concert in town, The Firm’s stellar 2014 program unfolds over five concerts on the Elder Hall stage, sharing the common theme of “The Waltz”. As The Firm explores the dance most feared by wedding couples, the program of the season entrée had me and my two left feet fascinated.
Harrold opened with arguably the most famous waltz ever composed; Johann Strauss II’s, The Blue Danube, Op. 314. The piece André Rieu claims made him the man he is today, started almost in a whisper, and as Harrold started to whirl us around the room, he delighted by extracting beautiful anticipation from the spaces between the notes, and delivered subtleties that could easily be missed with larger orchestration.
Harrold employed precision engineering to Arnold Shoenberg’s Walzer Op.23, No.5, and challenger in the battle-of-the-twelve-tone-row-pieces, Anton Webern’s Minuet, with the only clear winner being the audience.
From the “living composers” files, Wolfgang Rihm’sexquisite Ländler was performed with excellent clarity and contrast, and Raymond Chapman Smith, creator of the charming Winterklavier, was in attendance as Harrold beautifully delivered the show highlight of nine movements; from the hopeful Larghetto to the grand Andante molto e sostenuto.
Following interval, and with help of Franz Schubert’s Valses Sentimentales D.779, Harrold conjured visions of Austrian princes gliding about a ballroom clutching appropriately frilly-frocked prospects with plunging necklines.Ending big with Maurice Ravel’s fabulous Valses Noble et Sentimentales, the second movement, Assez lent – avec une expression intense stood out for Harrold’s interpretation delivering passion and power.
The Firm’s next waltz tutorial features The Robert Walser Ensemble; 18 August.
Get your dance card filled by The Firm at one or all of their remaining four shows in this series; and because you don’t need the moves like Jagger to attend, it’s as easy as one-two-three, one-two-three…
Reviewed by Gordon Forester
@GordonForester
21 July 2014
Venue: Elder Hall, North Terrace, Adelaide, 8pm.
Season: Five shows only; 8pm Mondays. 21 July, 18 August, 22 September, 13 October, 03 November 2014. Details here.
Duration: 60-90 minutes
Tickets: Available at the door or here $7 – $12, students FREE(!!)