Vladimir Ashkenazy gets his Planets in perfect alignment

The Planets aligned perfectly when Vladimir Ashkenazy conducted the second of his Masterworks series with Sydney Symphony

Vladimir Ashkenazy conducted Sydney Symphony Orchestra in a magnificent performance of Gustav Holst’s The Planets. Picture: Keith Saunders

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The Russian conductor laureate continued his English music theme, but with a strong Russian element as well.

For not only did the maestro leave the Soviet Union to take up residence in London but so did the composer of the first work on the program, Nikolai Medtner, who settled there in the 1930s after America didn’t work out for him.

Medtner, a concert pianist and friend of Sergei Rachmaninov, was overshadowed both by him and his other Russian contemporary, Alexander Scriabin. Musically conservative, Medtner’s works have gradually gained popularity over the years and among them are three piano concertos — his only orchestral pieces — the first of which was performed in this concert by exciting Russian pianist Alexei Volodin.

Written during World War I, the four movements are played without pause and the outer sections — with their cadenzas — require romantic powerhouse technique, which Volodin was able to provide.

He also showed his sensitivity and deft touch in the slower “tranquil” theme and variations of the second movement, not to mention the encore, Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 15, No. 2 in F sharp major.

INHUMAN

But in all it was a performance that impressed but did not ignite the packed audience.

There was no lack of fireworks in the second half when Ashkenazy oversaw a wonderful performance of Gustav Holst’s The Planets, composed around the same time as Medtner’s concerto, and one of the top 10 most popular orchestral pieces in the repertoire.

From the ominous, dissonant and inhuman march of Mars, bringer of war, to the ethereal Neptune, the mystic, fading out with a wordless women’s voices off stage from the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, this was a feast for the ears.

Saturn, the bringer of old age, was an evocative relentless trudge, building heavily to its climax

Ashkenazy kept things tight but not too much, leaving some air around the gently rocking harp and celesta accompaniment of Venus while sprinkling specks of magic dust on Uranus.

Saturn, the bringer of old age, was an evocative relentless trudge, building heavily to its climax while Jupiter was irrepressibly bubbly in the opening section before the famous noble theme, later set as the hymn I Vow to Thee my Country.

The concert is repeated at 8pm at Sydney Opera House Concert Hall on Friday, September 27, and Saturday, September 28.

DETAILS

● CONCERT SSO The Planets

● WHERE Sydney Opera House Concert Hall

● WHEN Wednesday, September 26