Fabulous concert spans 200 years

Capacity audiences were treated to a superb programme of classical music spanning more than 200 years in the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra’s matinee concerts last weekend.

Under the precise and energetic baton of conductor Brent Stewart, the orchestra gave impressive performances of three widely varied works in Sunday’s concert, on its own account and in support of soloist Inbal Megiddo.

The show opened with Faure’s Masques et Bergamasques suite of four elegant dances, performed with a light and melodic touch.

Following an introduction by Dunedin composer Anthony Ritchie, cello soloist Megiddo then joined the DSO on-stage for only the second ever performance of Ritchie’s Cello Concerto.

Shifting in tone from melancholy to joyous, dark and moody to boisterous, Ritchie’s four movement Cello Concerto showcased the composer’s mastery of melody and rhythm.

Megiddo’s performance was brilliant throughout, bringing the emotional colours of the cello to the fore and tackling the work’s virtuosic passages with aplomb.

The DSO was sensitive in support, keeping the rhythm rolling forward and allowing the cello to sing throughout.

Thunderous and well-deserved applause greeted this impressive performance of an engaging and entertaining new work from a revered local taonga.

The concert’s second half featured Beethoven’s extraordinary Symphony No. 7, conducted entirely from memory by Stewart.

His exuberant energy carried the orchestra along at pace through the work’s many well-known themes in a delightful and hugely entertaining performance.

All in all, a fabulous concert. Bravo!