THE PHILHARMONIC WINDS
AND TIMOTHY REYNISH IN CONCERT
The Philharmonic Winds
Esplanade Concert Hall
Sunday (17 June 2018 )
This review was published in The Straits Times on 19 June 2018 with the title "Musical birthday party for an octogenarian"
For
two evenings last week, the 77-year-old pianist Martha Argerich lit up the
stage of Esplanade Concert Hall. On Sunday evening, it was the turn of
octogenarian British conductor Timothy Reynish to dominate the proceedings,
leading The Philharmonic Winds in an invigorating concert which celebrated his
80th birthday.
Some
of the works were commissioned by or dedicated to the wind orchestra's
Principal Guest Conductor, and included two local premieres. The concert opened
with Kenneth Hesketh's Masque, a light-hearted scherzo-like movement
showcasing pinpoint articulation from the woodwinds and a big melody from the
sonorous brass.
Its
pomp and pageantry continued into Guy Woolfenden's Illyrian Dances, a
neo-baroque suite of dance movements distinguished by flights of fancy.
Sounding like film music of popular appeal, it was well played, such as in the
finale's tricky jig-rhythms which closed with good humour.
A
sterner test was provided by Derek Bourgeois' Symphony for William, the
first of two extended works. Written in memory of Reynish's third son William,
who was only 34 when he perished in a mountaineering accident, its three
movements encapsulated the young man's free spirit.
The
opening Will-o-the-Wisp displayed an elfin lightness and mordant wit not
unlike scores by Prokofiev or Walton. A warm French horn solo provided a
bittersweet tinge to the slow movement Dianthus Barbatus (Sweet
William), answered by an oboe's plaint in calm moments of reflection and
contemplation. The finale, Will Power, bristled with anger and discord
before racing off in a wild chase which brought to mind Khachaturian's Sabre
Dance, but it closed on a quiet note.
The
other big work was Yasuhide Ito's As Time Is Passing On, a symphonic
poem which featured the 65-strong Philharmonic Winds Festival Chorus (Zechariah
Goh, choirmaster). Mortality and impermanence were delved in its four linked
sections, opening with a sombre Lamento before erupting into a lively Marcia,
striding with Elgarian swagger.
 |
| Japanese composer Yasuhide Ito receives the applause for his works. |
The
voices entered in Dies Irae, all dissonance and apocalyptic visions, and
followed up mostly a cappella in the final part singing in Japanese. The
accompaniment was light, with isolated percussion, pared-down woodwinds and
harp. Closing in Latin with Requiem Aeternam, this brought to mind
Benjamin Britten's Sinfonia da Requiem, originally dedicated to the
Empire of Japan but rejected because of its religious content. Ito was just
returning the favour here.
Receiving
its world premiere was Ito's Time-Into-Music, written for Reynish's seven score and ten. A chirpy woodwind chorale gave way to a busy
fugue, quoting from Verdi's opera Falstaff (composed when the Italian
was 80), before returning to the earlier celebration. Another birthday greeting
was Spaniard Luis Alarcon's Tim, A British Pasodoble, a bull-fighting
dance dressed in English garb with a cheeky quote from Elgar's Pomp &
Circumstance March No.1.
The
concert concluded with Adam Gorb's Bohemian Revelry, four movements of
Slavonic-styled dances taking Smetana
and Dvorak as inspiration. Rustic, comedic and colourful, it was an excellent
way to end a musical birthday party.
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