Music / Edge of the World, Canberra Symphony Orchestra. At Llewellyn Hall, May 22. Reviewed by GRAHAM McDONALD

This was the first of the CSO’s Llewellyn Hall concerts for the year with music by Ralph Vaughan Williams (curiously hyphenated in the program), Nigel Westlake and Jean Sibelius and a totally enjoyable couple of hours of music. 

The concert opened with Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending with concertmaster Kirsten Williams as violin soloist doing a fine job with the orchestra shimmering behind her. 

Conductor Jessica Cottis’ control of the orchestra allowed the violin to soar above when required and allowed the little fragments of folk song melody from the solo wind instruments to shine through. A perfectly balanced performance.

Inspired by Tasmania’s Tarkine wilderness, Nigel Westlake’s Towards Takayna is described as a concerto for two guitars. It really is a lot more than that with dense, complex orchestral scoring over three movements with some virtuoso solo guitar work from Slava and Leonard Grigoryan, for whom it was written. 

Including acoustic guitars with an orchestra is tricky, as unamplified guitars simply will not be heard with an orchestra at any more than a quarter power behind them. The modern solution is a little discrete reinforcement so they blend into the full orchestra but can stand out just a little in the less orchestrated passages. This was another skilfully realised performance of a most attractive work.

After the interval was the big work of the night, the Symphony No 2 from Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, written in 1901-02. This is big and loud music with four horns, three trumpets, three trombones and a tuba adding some bottom end grunt especially in the final movement. 

This movement is built around a very pretty melodic theme that is enveloped by the horns and the brass exchanging riffs as the music builds, over several minutes, to the finale. A most impressive way to finish a very satisfying concert.

There is a sense of great enjoyment in what the orchestra, under Jessica Cottis’ direction, is doing. Everyone seems to be having a good time, and this is reflected in the quality of their music making. Long may it continue.