BY THOMAS MISSON
Benjamin Beilman and Andrew Tyson
Musica Viva (Tasmania)
Sonata No. 35 in A major by Mozart, Violin Sonata by Janacek, Cerulean Orbits by Jane Stanley, Violin Sonata No. 1 by Saint-Saens
Hobart Town Hall, 17 October
Benjamin Beilman (violin) and Andrew Tyson (piano) have spent the past few weeks touring works old and new – including Jane Stanley’s Cerulean Orbits commissioned as part of Musica Viva’s Hildegard Project.
In an inspired musical risk at the Hobart Town Hall, Beilman took physicality and muscularity of tone to the Molto Allegro of Mozart’s Violin Sonata No. 35. The duo never overstated the their roles and characters in the musical dialogue. The balance of the ensemble was faultless in a playful, energetic and fresh performance.
The Andante is an emotionally weighty movement, as if graciously welcoming death. Tyson’s ornamentation was particularly beautiful in this movement. The music never trudged and yet was given a striking amount of space to breathe, allowing room for emotional introspection. In the Presto, the feuds and friendships between instruments were expressed beyond articulation, dynamics and tone. The physicality, stage positioning and even glances gave a thespian dimension to the brisk finale of this sonata. Everything was considered, never gratuitous but the music still sounded fresh, youthful and emotionally sincere all at once.
The Janacek followed with Beilman unleashing his gutsy romanticism upon the obsessive agony of the Con Moto. At times, the poetic performer appeared almost to strangle his violin, while Tyson made every chord a colourful and considered entity. Tyson and Beilman’s different playing styles were accentuated by the Ballada. Despite Tyson’s impressionist delicacy and Beilman’s rugged romanticism, they came together as a unit to breathe carefully shaped phrases into the performance space with ease, conviction and sincerity.
The Allegretto was full of jagged drama juxtaposed with lighter folk-inspired sections and slightly distant-sounding pizzicato lines before using their instruments to attack the bleak final chords.
The final Adagio is a highly distinctive movement with reflective piano chords interrupted by rougher electric current-like gestures from the violin. Elements of hope and agony, ultimately ending in rejection, were incorporated into all musical and physical details in a natural and organic experience of musical storytelling.
Next was a new Australian work – Jane Stanley’s Cerulean Orbits in which the parts “orbit” one another, bending in and out of each other’s paths. This piece was full of complex and endearing timbres, musical dialogue, warping pitches from the violin and dissonant chords phasing into focus as if the music were three-dimensional. Both performers took to this work so naturally despite its rigorous ensemble demands, and showcased a full dynamic range between them.
The audience was treated to high-order romantic virtuosity in Saint-Saens’ Sonata in D minor. Tyson’s octaves were impressively crisp and punchy in the opening Allegro Agitato, while Beilman produced a beautifully light tone in the Adagio – supported with gentle care from Tyson. Both musicians were unwavering in ensemble support in the Allegro that followed.
The final movement dominated my impression of this sonata having found the middle two movements overly sugary. Torrential streams of notes from both players spilled into the room at an electric pace. The individual playing styles of Tyson and Beilman suited this movement so well with the bold, endearingly brash and full sound from Beilman and sparkling, nimble Lisztian accompaniment from Tyson, together producing a thrilling performance of uninhibited youthful optimism.
The two Kreisler encores were trivial – but not in a fun or self-deprecating way, and they seemed superfluous to the concert experience. This was a shame, because I was free of reservations prior to unsatisfying encores. Before the encores, I felt all elements of my musical appetite had been sated and I was still buzzing from the wondrous energy of the Saint-Saens finale. Tyson and Beilman used flawless technique to astounding poetic effect in a balanced and effective program.
Image supplied.
