Won­der­ful per­form­ance by DSO, local uni­versity lec­tur­ers

As part of their 60th celebration year, Dunedin Symphony Orchestra collaborated with University of Otago’s School of Music, currently marking the Music Department’s centenary year. Patrons filled the Dunedin Town Hall to capacity last Saturday evening for a memorable concert conducted by Umberto Clerici.

The programme opened with New Zealand composer Dorothy Buchanan’s (Open Italics) Peace Fanfare (Close Italics) (1999). This work begins with a prominent Pacific log-drum (pate) solo, subtle timpani and vibraphone very definitely defining music being from our part of the world, continuing throughout while strings and brass develop a soundscape of waters and mountains.

Soloists are required for Beethoven’s Triple Concerto and it was such a pleasure to see our local university lecturers excelling as concerto soloists - Tessa Petersen (violin), Heleen du Plessis (cello) and pianist Terence Dennis. Many in the orchestra and audience have been taught by these soloists. This concerto is a forty-minute work of many themes and passages of interplay - (Open Italics) Allegro, Largo (Close Italics) and a (Open Italics) Finale: Rondo alla Polacca (Close Italics) inspired by the stately Polish dance popular in Europe at the time.

Prominence was accorded each soloist. Petersen is never overly heavy-toned in performance and Clerici chose his dynamics wisely, to never overshadow the soloists. So too did cellist and pianist and the trio maintained excellent balance and dynamic definition throughout as they interacted, each in turn advancing the many themes and statements. The cello delivered stunning cantabile melodies in the (Open Italics) Largo (Close Italics) and the many rapid piano scalic runs and double octave themes appeared effortless to Dennis. 

All in all a splendid performance by local professional musicians, which received long tumultuous applause. Clerici also called for applause to recognise the city’s superb musical talent and 2026 celebratory year. The concert ended with Brahms’s second symphony - (Open Italics) No.2 in D Major Op 73 (Close Italics). So many contrasts in this work - passionate lyricism, dark ominous moments, and scampering (Open Italics) scherzo prestos.(Close Italics) All sections excelled, with overall well-balanced string delivery and some very impressive brass when featured. “Bravo all!”