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“The Venetian Carnival concert last night was superb”~ Andrew Buchanan-Smart ~ read full review
“alive, vibrant and very much music making of the moment”~ Andrew Buchanan-Smart ~ read full review
“a concert of polish and obvious enjoyment”~ John Button ~ read full review
“Bravo, the Wallfisch Band and its associates for a splendid evening!”~ Peter Mechen ~ read full review
“The concerts are always far more than the sum of their parts – our work is done, and the fun begins!”~ Elizabeth Wallfisch ~ read full review
“The faces on stage reveal at once the highest concentration and almost unrestrained delight in playing”~ Tobias Böcker ~ read full review
22 May 2010
Australian violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch is one of the most experienced, and accomplished, baroque violinists on the international music scene, and her formation of the Wallfisch Band in 2008 was one of the more interesting developments of recent times.
This group is not only a collection of pre-eminent performers, but a flexible "master class" as well. So, for this tour of New Zealand, Wallfisch brought just four players - herself, violist Raquel Massadas, cellist Jaap ter Linden and harpsichordist Albert-Jan Roelofs - and made up the balance with eight New Zealand players.
After rehearsals in Auckland, the tour kicked off with this well- attended concert, and what a fascinating experience it was. The music was a mix of the stylistically familiar - Vivaldi - and the relatively unknown - Pietro Locatelli - and, with Wallfisch offering an occasional relaxed commentary, the musical contrast between the two Italian composers offered fascinating insights.
Locatelli lived nearly a generation after Vivaldi and his violin technique is a link between the stylised baroque and the beginnings of the classical period - and the rise of the virtuoso violinist.
For this reason it was his works, in particular the Concerto Grosso "il pianto d'Arianna", that really caught the ear, and the opportunities for virtuoso display were taken up with relish by Wallfisch and Miranda Hutton.
In fact, all the works were chosen to offer all the players maximum opportunity for solo opportunities and, apart from a very occasional moment of uncertainty, everyone combined for a concert of polish and obvious enjoyment.
Perhaps it was all a little more relaxed than we might have experienced from one of the quicksilver Italian groups, but it was deeply rewarding nonetheless.
