Music / Sea and Stars, Debussy and Gershwin, Canberra Symphony Orchestra and CSO Chorus conducted by Carlo Antonioli, at Llewellyn Hall, until May 21. Reviewed by LEN POWER.
Plunging from the heavens to the depths of the sea, the second program for the Canberra Symphony Orchestra for 2026 continued with its season theme of Life Force: In the stream of life, with Carolo Antonioli replacing Jessica a Cottis as conductor.
Commencing with Deborah Cheetham Fraillon’s Dutala – Star Filled Sky, the orchestra and CSO chorus, directed by Toby Cole, painted the beauty of the sky above with all its mystery and majesty. The music ranged from a quiet and haunting sensitivity to a dramatic and grand expanse of sound, at times thrilling in its intensity.
Its connection with the sentiment of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony through Schiller’s final words of the text tied neatly with a similar statement in Yorta Yorta language.
On this journey from stars to sea, the second work presented also has its own life force. A popular, crowd-pleasing work, George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, composed in 1924, has an electrifying opening (played here superbly by Christopher Tingay on clarinet), busy, jazz-inflected melodies and a sense of being alone while still a part of a fast-moving world.
Piano soloist, Tamara Anna Cislowska, played this ever-changing work with sensitivity and boldness, working superbly with the orchestra to give this work the colour and intensity it needs. It was a crowd-pleasing performance richly deserving the wildly enthusiastic applause at its finish. Cislowska showed her appreciation with an encore of Gershwin’s Embraceable You.
The final work was La Mer by Claude Debussy. Composed in 1906, and sub-titled Three Symphonic Sketches, it creates an opportunity for personal imagination and ideas about the sea, rather than painting a picture in musical terms. Various aspects of the appearance and sound of the sea come subtly alive in the mind through this beautifully crafted work. The orchestra was particularly impressive in their playing of the final climactic moments of the first movement and the powerful conclusion of the work.
A nicely played encore of Satie’s Gymnopédie No. 1 gave a tender and reflective finish to this excellent concert.
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