TCHAIKOVSKY’S PATHETIQUE

This season’s program for the Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) is wonderfully curated. It brings lesser-known, sometimes unusual, pieces to the stage, juxtaposed against the more familiar compositions that bring a sense of comfort to the audience. Expanding our horizons, while appealing the sense of familiar and beloved.

Opening with Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, last weekend’s concert was conducted by Gábor Káli, and started off with a mischievous piece based on a German folk tale. This symphonic poem tells the story of Till Eulenspiegel, a prankster who delights in playing practical jokes on villagers from every social class. Put to music in 1894-95 by Richard Strauss, the piece follows Till's antics as he rides through a marketplace, pokes fun at the clergy, flirts with women, and mocks scholars, culminating in his trial and execution, only to reappear with a final mischievous laugh. This is a fun composition, and the busy orchestration reminds us of the bustle of a marketplace. The story was close to Strauss’s heart as the composer himself turned his nose up on society, and he turned to the German folk tale to express the timeless connection between art forms.

The next piece, Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Violin Concerto in D-major, features elegant melodies and sparkling themes that give the soloist plenty of room to shine. The Austrian composer fled to the USA in the mid-1930s and became a major Hollywood composer, scoring 16 films and winning two Oscars. The violin concerto was written as a “serious concert piece” in the period following his film scores, when Korngold realized that his scoring had damaged his reputation as a concert music composer. The quick changes of tempo, texture and mood of the concerto are reminiscent of a movie theme – and offer a lot of character to the soloist. Daniel Lozakovich, a young Swedish violinist with an impressive reputation and background, makes this an immensely enjoyable experience.

The final piece in this program is Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique symphony – a pearl for the lovers of great Russian classics. Can you hear the remnants of the Swan Lake theme in the first movement? What about the dances from The Nutcracker in the third movement? The uninhibited sweep of the composer’s ink turns the orchestra into a living, breathing organism. Every instrument is alive and every musician contributes his or her own pulse to this symphonic beast. The orchestra pulsates as the music continues to roll and sweep forward. Ending in an adagio movement, Pathétique oscillates between emotions, offering a kaleidoscope of rich phrases and passages, and even timing. Did you notice the 5/4 rhythm of the second movement?

Tchaikovsky does not ask his audience to strain while listening. It is almost as if his music is made to permeate through the audience, to shake them up and wake them up, to sweep underneath them and carry them away – lightly, easily, effortlessly. This symphony is rich and grandiose, and yet easy for the audience to metabolise. Tchaikovsky did not want to explain himself in it. When asked about the symphony’s meaning, he famously stated, “Let them guess”. But even if we have to guess the message behind the music, it is an agreeable and satisfying experience. With QSO’s masterful performance of this monumental work, we can really feel Tchaikovsky’s presence: “I have put my whole soul into this work.”

It seems the QSO is putting their soul into this year’s lush and powerful program, with something for every taste and age group.