From where I sat last night in Perth’s Kings Park botanic gardens, a lot of important “local content” boxes were ticked. A young successful Aussie band was having a wow of a time in front of their (formerly) local orchestra and their fans turned out en masse to show their support. Better still, it was recorded by your ABC for Triple J. The Panics seemed quite humbled by the whole experience. Great gig, great vibe.
view from the stage in rehearsal with the Panics
What a great view from the stage to see so many folks in attendance on a perfect, balmy windstill night on the Perth Esplanade.
The perfectly timed guns in the 1812 overture were a blast at the end!
The program, conducted by Guy Noble was
Glinka, Mikhail Overture to Ruslan and Ludmilla
Tchaikovsky, Piotr Ilyich Suite from Swan Lake, Opus 20a – No. Scene, Dance of the Swans, Spanish Dance
Mussorgsky, Modest A Night on Bald Mountain
Rachmaninoff, Sergei Vocalise, Opus 34, No. 14 – Rod McGrath, cello
Tchaikovsky, Piotr Ilyich Symphony No. 4 in F minor, Op.36: Finale
Shostakovich, Dmitri Tahiti Trot (Tea for Two)
Tchaikovsky, Piotr Ilyich Eugene Onegin: Tatiana’s Letter Scene Katja Webb, soprano
Stravinsky, Igor The Firebird Suite (1919 revision): Infernal Dance
Shostakovich, Dmitri The Gadfly: Romance – Semra Lee, violin
Tchaikovsky, Piotr Ilyich 1812, Overture solonelle, Opus 49
Tchaikovsky, Piotr Ilyich The Nutcracker: Trepak
WASO’s entered the internet age with a series of concerts available for video on demand or live streaming from the Perth Concert hall.
At the same site, you’re also able to watch archived video of this and other concerts at your convenience. http://freezone.iinet.net.au/#/freezone/the-arts/waso
The sound quality’s really good so if you plug your computer into a decent set of speakers, it’s well worth the effort. You’ll need a lead with headphone jack at one end and two RCA plugs at the other. The nice geeky young man at your local electronics shop should be able to help you here.
Whether you’re unable to get to a concert live, or even if you liked the concert so much live that you’d like to see it again, this is a great initiative.
Saturday’s December 5th concert “Rhapsody in Blue” will be STREAMED LIVE ONLINE at http://freezone.iinet.net.au/#/freezone/the-arts/waso
Plan B Wealth Management Classics Series
7.30pm, Friday 4 & Saturday 5 December
Perth Concert Hall
STRAUSS, J Emperor Waltz
THOMAS ADES Powder Her Face Overture, Waltz and Finale
RAVEL La Valse
GERSHWIN Rhapsody in Blue
BERNSTEIN Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
Paul Daniel, conductor
John Chen, piano
La Valse, Ravel’s explosive cocktail of courtly waltz and Viennese decadence opens a dance extravaganza. Gershwin’s big band Rhapsody in Blue, Bernstein’s musical version of Romeo and Juliet, and the intriguing English scandals of Thomas Adés make for a thrilling, memorable on-your-toes end to the season.
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE WEBSTREAM OF THIS AND OTHER WASO CONCERTS
Other concerts at the samesite include
MAHLER Blumine
BARTOK Viola Concerto
MAHLER Symphony No.1
Paul Daniel, conductor
Ruth Killius, viola
STRAUSS, R. Till Eulenspiegel
BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto
JAMES LEDGER Arcs and Planes WORLD PREMIERE
RACHMANINOV Symphonic Dances
Kyoko Takezawa, violin WORLD ARTIST
For further information about WASO concerts, go to their website at http://www.waso.com.au/
And if classical music’s not your thing, WASO did make a DVD with Ben Folds which was recorded live in Kings Park! – available at http://www.amazon.com/Ben-Folds-Waso-Live-Perth/dp/B000BQ7JNO
The clip below is from that concert where someone in the audience yells out the name of a song they want to hear (Rock this Bitch) and Folds brilliantly leads everyone in WASO through a kind of impromptu “jam session” live onstage.
View from the stage before it was graced by Yvonne Kenny and David Hobson.
For reasons far too complex to deal with here, WASO is the only state symphony orchestra without a permanent home. This means the musicians have no practise rooms, no easily accessible storage for their instruments, no lockers to store their concert clothing and sometimes no place to rehearse. This week we’re at the Judith Cottier Theatre at Perth College. While the venue is perfectly fine, it’s not ours.
We also often rehearse at the Perth Concert Hall which is wonderful, but it’s still not ours. We are visitors there.
When oh when will the Federal and State Governments and the Perth City Council put their heads together to solve this problem?
Ben Folds with WASO in Kings Park, Perth 2005
