Sunset Symphony at Gardens arts festival awe inspiring
What: Sunset Symphony
Who: Trust Waikato Symphony Orchestra
When: Saturday night
Where: The Rhododendron Lawn at the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival.
Music director: Rupert D’ Cruze
Reviewed by: Sam Edwards
The ‘‘awesome’’ Mr D’Cruze and his band arrived on stage with a crowd-pleasing programme that had the place rocking in moments.
Interestingly syncopated entries, beautifully tuned strings and brass to die for. And the music communicated with its audiences with new and unexpected ways. From the powerful brass driving Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, written as a result of the US joining its allies in WWII, and the evocative, mysterious Into the
Lair of the Cave Weta by New Zealand composer Leonie Holmes, some unexpected distractions in the musically featureless, but loud, instrumental theme from the video game, World of Warcraft, the programming demanded a full range of skills from the TWSO players. It was, as one patron cried, ‘‘Somewhat different from what one expects from a symphony orchestra of this quality . . .’’ Some consolation came with Nicolai’s Merry Wives Of Windsor, and final fireworks to match the orchestra’s and Mr D’Cruze’s interpretation of Handel’s classic overture where the orchestra excelled. A cautionary note needs to be sounded, however. It was not helpful to have cine interruptus cameramen intruding on stage to feed a television screen which kept losing its pepper-potting pictures.
Music from an orchestra needs to flow, so also needs a different style of compere/commentator in which snake skin syntax and wildly miscegenated vocabularies can be the stuff of industrial performances where thinking and appreciation is not part of the experience.
Messrs MC/ringmaster/ provocateur Matua X and shouting compere Chris Lam Sam constantly broke the flow with extended and ill-timed crowd calling. Conductor D’Cruze was ushered off the stage on several occasions, and did not/ was unable speak, despite his being the most informed voice. One would understand that it was his programme we were hearing. Sam and X appeared to be less prepared – Sam, on occasion, disappearing off stage to return saying he had just found information on trombones or John Williams or the fireworks music. They turned themselves into their own show, rather than acting as self-effacing conduits enabling stunning music to be enjoyed by a very big crowd. It gave X’s opening comment that they were ‘‘opening the festival in the manner we intend to continue’’ an irony which was not lost on people engaged with the arts.