Haydn’s Oratorio from “Die Schöpfung” (The Creation) presents us with a story of creation from 1797. While classical music is best known for its biblical inspiration, this piece travels well. The modern ear hears the solid presence of the wild mountains supporting the life of the busy city below, providing both fresh air and clean water. The protection of the mountains sits beautifully in the music with the flightiness in the foreground of creation. It’s a comforting piece, well chosen to provide a classical background to what follows.
Westlake’s “Spirit of the Wild” is a Concerto for Oboe written for Brisbane born Diana Doherty. Inspired by the wilds of the South West Coast of Tasmania, Westlake and Doherty collaborated to create a concerto full of the sounds of wild places. Diana is retiring from the public stage and, as the soloist in this piece, joyfully shared her prodigious talent with her hometown audience.
Adam’s “Become Ocean” came as a surprise to the many a QSO subscriber and Brisbane Festival goer in the audience. It made the full orchestra work very hard. It’s a difficult piece to play, and, despite this, they submerged us into the ocean while waves rolled over us calmly and then in a tumultuous storm and then subsiding away again to calm. Played in groups of 30 bars, there is no rest. The orchestra was rearranged to play this with the winds up in the back left corner, the brass in the back right. Each group had two harpists. The many strings players spanned the front of the stage. The lighting was superb, creating a calm and polished golden presence by which to listen. And the Orchestra brought us, onomatopoeically, the ocean. What a joy to submerge oneself and listen to her. And there was more: the piece is palindromic. The second half reverses the first half until we landed back from whence we began.
The appointment of Umberto Clerici as Conductor was inspired. What a successful transition he has made and he brings great inspiration to the QSO and her audiences. The thirty young musicians incorporated into the QSO for this performance give us hope, not only for their careers, but more broadly, for a future Queensland full of music.
The 2025 QSO Season is soon to be announced. If this concert provides a taste of what is to come, it would be a wise decision to subscribe. I expect 2025 to broaden the musical education of those of us lucky enough to attend the QSO’s concerts.
