This was a short concert presented to a full audience on a glorious sunny Sunday afternoon, which is a tribute to the growing fan base of the TMO, which very definitely includes me.
The selection of works written or scored for eight cellos ranged from Handel to ABBA via Ravel, Arvo Paert, Mark Grandison and Gustavo Tavares!
The highlight was the world premiere of a new work, Cellar Door, written especially for this group by Mark Grandison who conducted this piece as well.The movements in Grandison’s piece are based on a wine tasting. Sadly there was only time for four of the eight movements. This was a pity as I would happily have gone without Ravel’s Pavane and Wagner’s Pilgrims’ Chorus to hear the other four movements in the work.
The movements that we did hear were: Tasmanian Sparkling, Eden Valley Riesling, Spring Water and Pinot Noir. They were all delightful but I particularly enjoyed the Pinot Noir, which sounded as though it may also be one of the composer’s own favourites.
The other work that was new to me was Ladainha by the Brazilian composer Gustavo Tavares. This was an exciting work having its Australian premiere and the audience loved it. Try and see if you can find this piece as it is definitely a work worth hearing when you are in those times when you need to get motivated.
The concert wrapped up with a great version of Nothing Else Matters by Metallica with an encore of Abba’s classic Mamma Mia.
The quality of playing was very high, despite the odd flat note in the Pavane.
It is wonderful to hear such skilled musicians playing just for fun and for our pleasure. The chamber nature of the venue also enhanced the contact between musicians and audience. It was worth noting that even the children who attended the concert were incredibly well behaved.
I do recommend these very affordable concerts as an excellent antidote to Sunday afternoon ennui.
This TMO concert took place at the Leichhardt Town Hall.
The concert, The Cellists Of The Metropolitan Orchestra, was presented as part of Leichhardt Council’s Site and Sound Program at the Leichhardt Town Hall, 107 Norton Street, Leichhardt last Sunday, May 22 at 3pm.
http://www.metorchestra.com.au
Hi Toni,
Thank you for your very positive review of our concert. I’d like to forward the link to the composers Mark Grandison and Gustavo Tavares, but in the review you have got both names wrong! It’s not Hugh Grandison and it’s not “Brazilian composer Tavares Laidanha”, but should be:
Mark Grandison
and
Gustavo Tavares
If you could correct these errors urgently, that’d be great,
Thanks,
John