Review: An evening with Stefan Cassomenos

Featuring Stefan Cassomenos on piano, and conducted by Jessica Cottis.

This was the final for the year in the TSO’s 6pm Series with violist Will Newbery once again the affable, amusing host. The programming of these concerts has been highly imaginative and some outstanding soloists have appeared, not least Melbourne based pianist Stefan Cassomenos who made such a powerful impression locally over recent years playing the virtuosic Liszt transcriptions of Beethoven symphonies at Pontville’s Epsom House.

Youthful high spirits abound in Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F, Op. 102. The piece was composed for the composer’s son Maxim who premiered it in May 1957. The first movement features a light-hearted march while the poignant central Andante is the heart of the work. The jaunty circus music finale brings things to a close with good humour. Cassomenos brought energy, lightness and flair to bear on this fun concerto. The orchestra under guest conductor Jessica Cottis accompanied with wit and style.

Australian-British conductor Jessica Cottis is currently artistic director and chief conductor of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra. The concert concluded with her performance of Kurt Weill’s rarely heard Symphony No.2. Weill (1900-1950) is largely remembered today for his German jazzy, satirical style and theatre collaborations with Berthold Brecht. He composed the Second Symphony in Paris (1933/4) in the wake of his expulsion from Germany. Early performances by the likes of Bruno Walter found favour with audiences but condemnation from the press as well as the Nazis. It is, in fact, a highly accomplished neoclassical 3-movement work full of intensity and distinctively original melodic material; the TSO’s rendition made a strong case for it. From the propulsive rhythms of most of the first movement to the, sometimes, explosive energy of the last, conductor Cottis and her players displayed tight ensemble and focus. They also brought out the darkness and ambivalent mood of the central Largo.