Two styles, one magical night
An American In Wellington by New Zealand School of Music performers Michael Fowler Centre, August 8 Reviewed by Colin Morris
There are two schools of thought on display, two diametrically opposed styles of music. In the red corner are the classical musicians, born of a discipline that states playing all the notes in the right order at a certain tempo that the composer ascertained.
In the blue corner, we have the jazz musicians: feisty, inventive, super-cool and ready for a solo that wants to break away from convention. Now imagine a world-class pianist from the United States in Shelly Berg, the lion tamer, conductor of experiments and master of the art of American compositional styles, ready and waiting to unite them all before our eyes.
Yes, we have a feast for the ears and there will be only one winner – music.
I’ve attended many of these concerts over the years where the New Zealand School of Music get to strut its stuff and they are wonderful events designed to showcase all that is best in today’s youth but nothing prepared me for this event. Call me romantic but for myself, nothing beats arrangements that marry the two disciplines. It’s like being in a Sinatra session sans Frank.
As much as I enjoyed the orchestral first half playing Bernstein and Gershwin, the second half really sealed it. Close to 70 musicians took to the stage running the gamut from Duke Ellington, Gershwin, Dave Grusin, John Clayton and Charlie Chaplin’s Smile (with gorgeous vocals from Ella Dunbar).
The secret to the longevity of these quintessential American songs is that they never sound like the tradition of European compositions. These tunes move us effortlessly from the Wild West to Broadway to the skyscrapers of Chicago and to the Mississippi River.
One can’t thank all the participants enough, too many to name. Shelly Berg delivered with such passion on a wonderfully miked piano. You all really did deserve the standing ovation.