Saxophone hour ends in fun and fireworks

On Friday for Perth Festival of the Arts 2021, the young Spanish saxophone virtuoso Manu Brazo introduced in personal and personable style an hour of melodious works arranged for saxophone.

Not bearing the sole weight himself, Claudia Gallardo, violin, and Prajna Indrawati, piano had their time in the spotlight, too. Speaking of which, Stagecraft had worked their magic in making Perth Concert Hall look spectacular.

Emotion and energy were in the first two items: depth of feeling in the heartfelt Intermezzo from Mascagni’s opera Cavalleria Rusticana and the Spanish verve of the Danza Española, arranged by Claudia Gallardo herself, from Manuel De Falla’s La Vida Breve.

Stunningly played, but a dubious bit of music, was an arrangement of Borne’s flute arrangement of the glorious tunes from Bizet’s Carmen. Though played by Manu Brazo with astonishing brilliance, Borne had already spoiled the tunes by hyper-active decoration – the Toreador’s Song almost sounding like a parody.

Back to real musical worth with four of Bruch’s Pieces Op83. The Romantic lyrical surge was there in No2, soulful warmth in No5, the Nocturne of No6 had sensitive duetting and an ecstatic middle section, ending with No7 as a sprightly scherzo, recalling Mendelssohn’s fairies.

In Ralph Martino’s Gershwin Fantasy the well-known tunes were all finely presented, some with humour: It Ain’t Necessarily So, Rhapsody in Blue, I Got Rhythm.

The sunny bustle of Spain was back in Albeniz’Sevilla with its contrasting slow, rhapsodic centre. The vocal qualities of Danny Boy came over with feeling and Monti’s Czardas had fun and swagger and a fireworks ending from all three.