Movement and clarity captivating

Ashkar + Beethoven Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra Douglas Boyd, conductor Saleem Ashkar, piano Federation Concert Hall October 6

THE TSO continued what has been one of its most consistently accomplished seasons with this superb concert.

Douglas Boyd brought a highly individual approach in Mendelssohn’s The Hebrides (Fingal’s Cave) Op 26 with very precise rhythmic profiling in the strings allied to internal clarity of winds and brass. Israeli pianist Saleem Ashkar is clearly already a master musician; his interpretation of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 4 in G, Op 58 brought a fine balance of poetry and drama. The soloist/conductor partnership provided wonderful poise and the fullest contrasts in the slow movement — an immensely satisfying rendition of a great work.

Peter Sculthorpe’s Port Essington imaginatively depicts the unsuccessful attempts to establish a settlement in northern Australia in 1824 and 1838. A string trio played a facsimile of English drawing room music while the string orchestra atmospherically portrayed the inhospitable forces of nature.

Finally, conductor Boyd and his players achieved a spirited performance of the original 1841 version of Schumann’s Symphony No 4 in D minor, integrating the four continuous movements with marvellous clarity and impetus, the scherzo taken at a hair-raising fast tempo!