I am not sure who enjoyed this concert more , the audience or the orchestra .We all had a marvelous time with some of the lilting ,deliciously infectious melodies of the great American popular composer George Gershwin. Under the inspired , refined and energetic baton of Maestro Dr Nicholas Milton , with a crash of drums and violins in full fettle , the concert opened with the overture to ‘Girl Crazy;’ which includes ‘I got Rhythm ‘ and the waltz like ‘Embraceable You’ mixed in with toe tapping jazz.

Dr Milton then praised and thanked the wonderful orchestra before dynamically leading into the overture for ‘Strike Up the Band’ with full parade ground band effects , lush lyrical strings and insistent full orchestra. There was also a very hot clarinet solo.

We then were introduced to singing star classical pop soprano Trisha Crowe who for this first set of songs wore a beautiful delicate outfit of pale pink with a white detachable overcoat , silver detailing at her waist and hair. Crowe has a luminous dazzling smile and sings gloriously. ’By Strauss’ was deliciously witty and fun .Her ‘Someone to watch over me’ ( in French) was enchanting .Her ‘Foggy Day’ (an evocation of London )caught the atmosphere just right .

We were then treated to ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ (which with its blisteringly hot clarinet ‘bend’ opening was first performed in 1924) with special soloist Hoang Pham on piano. Pham is a Melbourne based concert pianist .Dr Milton stood behind the open piano so that the orchestra could see him. Pham was dazzling in a gleaming tuxedo . His solo was full of dazzling virtuosity , crystal clarity and fiery intensity , his hands like darting butterflies up and down the keyboard. Dubbed a ‘jazz concerto’ this blends both ‘classical’ and ‘jazz’ in an immediately accessible work that speaks to all of us.

For an encore to take us to interval Pham played the dramatic , impassioned Chopin Polonaise in A flat major op 53 that had the audience in raptures,

Back to Gershwin and after interval first was the 1932 ‘Cuban Overture’ in which the percussion section is extremely busy ! Maraccas , car horns , bongos, claves ( two wooden rods struck together) and guiros ( an open gourd scraped with a stick) are all used among other instruments many of which were new to Americans at the time .It also features a sultry steamy clarinet in the energetic and vibrant , sharp and spiky Cuban dance rhythms .

Crowe reappeared – this time in a startling frothy confection of a red gown – and she had much fun in ‘S Wonderful ‘ followed by the flirtatious ‘The Man I Love’ ( given a nightclub atmosphere with soft drums , and Dr Milton on piano ) . Then came a steamy sultry rendition of ‘Summertime ‘ from Porgy and Bess ‘ ( which I am afraid did not quite work for me ) .

The concert finished with a showy , jaunty full on version of ‘An American in Paris’ full of the wonderful dynamic, scurrying rhythms and leading to the powerful , exultant ending .

For the encore both Pham and Crowe (Crowe now in lovely yellow gown) were featured in a catchy , fluid version of ‘I’ve Got Rhythm’ which had the audience thrilled and clapping along .

This concert was a sell out.

It might be a very good idea to subscribe to next year’s very exciting season by the WSO if you haven’t already.

Running time 2 hours 20 (approx) including one interval 

The WSO in RHAPSODY IN BLUE played the Concourse Chatswood on the 27th and 28th September.