Saturday 20 September 1997
Hawthorn Town Hall, Burwood Road, Hawthorn
The Academy of Melbourne concert series
PROGRAM
Christopher Willcock Night Thoughts
Franz Schubert Mass in G, D.167
Franz Schubert Ninth Symphony, D.944
Singers unknown
REVIEW
Tuesday 23 September 1997, The Age [Melbourne], page 5. (extract)
Love long and prosper
Tony Way
[…]
MANY MSO players are to be found playing in the Academy of Melbourne, whose recent concert paid
homage to Schubert. Night Thoughts, a newly commissioned piece from Christopher Willcock, opened the
program. Scored for three trombones and mixed choir, its attractive and sustained lyricism would have
benefited from a more resonant room.
A “chamber” performance of Schubert’s Mass in G, D.167, followed. The 15 voices of Ensemble Gombert
had the virtue of clear and well-tuned delivery, but I would question the practice of drawing soloists from the
chorus. The Academy applied its customary enthusiasm both to the Mass and the Ninth Symphony, D.944.
In the symphony, Brett Kelly’s muscular rhythmic sense came to the fore, especially in the second and third
movements, allowing the orchestra and the listeners to make sense of Schubert’s long utterances. Kelly also
shaped the opening of the work to good effect, ensuring clarity of inner parts and effective dynamics. I
wonder whether the unobtrusive arrival of Markus Stenz during the symphony may have added a little extra
sparkle to the finale.
Tony Way/Courtesy of The Age