BY JOHN GLOVER
The Journey
Y-Squared (cellist Yelian He and pianist Yasmin Rowe)
Melbourne Recital Centre, October 26
What’d you miss?
- Dynamic audience-performer relationships
- A crying baby
- The best encores you’ve ever heard
The Journey with Y-Squared is best described as a pioneer of community.
I know this might sound a little strange considering a concert should be about the music, right? Well, you might be missing a few details.
Don’t get me wrong, concerts should always present performers at their peak technical and musical prowess. With that said, though, I believe that the audience is just as integral to the performance as the actual players.
In the same way that players must be connected onstage when performing, so too should the audience to truly appreciate the performance. The audience needs to be attuned to the expressions of the players during performance so it can embrace the music presented.
I have noticed the audience-performer relationship to appear most evidently during encores as the audience claps to attract the players to perform again; but not as often during an actual concert. However, I think it is the players’ responsibility to maintain this connection throughout a concert from start to finish. That way, the audience is there from the get-go.
Y-Squared understood this principle and made this its goal for the concert. In such a vast space like the Elisabeth Murdoch Hall, it can be difficult to unify audience and player. But the two host on the night, Brett Kelly and Shu-Cheen Yu, served a crucial role in building this relationship. The personal anecdotes of these artists identified Y-Squared not by piano and cello, but by Yelian and Yasmin. An explanation of the works was also well received, highlighting key musical features for which the audience could keep an ear out. This set the stage for what was to come.
Yelian and Yasmin did not disappoint, that’s for sure! The concert kicked off with a stunning rendition of Martinu’s Variations on a Theme of Rossini. The Sonata for Piano and Cello by Beethoven followed suit, showcasing Yasmin’s prowess over the ivory keys. Kapustin’s Nearly Waltz and Elegy were delicious musical treats that neatly tied off the first half of the program.
Across these works, I found myself most captivated by the facial expressions of Yelian and Yasmin. We could tell they were in performance gear and giving it their all, but they seemed to really get the audience. This was captured in my most favourite part of the concert; it was the nearing the end of one of the Beethoven movements when the hall was completely silent. A split second after the final note was played, the unthinkable happened…a baby started crying! In that instant, Yelian raised his head and gave just a little nod to the audience, not a huge one, but one of acknowledgement of the child, as if to say: “I know the baby is crying, but it’s fine!”
What I loved about this moment was that Yelian was truly aware of his surroundings; although he was performing, he was still in the present, observant, and, most importantly, human. This ultimately served to strengthen the duo’s relationship with the audience and support engaging performances.
The second half of the program featured the key work: Chopin’s Cello Sonata in G minor. This performance by Yelian and Yasmin was breath-taking from start to finish – quite literally! Each idea, each emotion, was thoughtfully considered and passionately delivered in a way I’ve never seen. The Largo was definitely my favourite movement in this work (definitely give it a listen if you haven’t heard it before!). The concert concluded with Rostropovich’s Humoresque, a dazzling work that set fireworks off across the hall. I vividly remember sitting on the edge of my seat in this work, watching Yelian’s fingers move at lighting speed, thinking: “How the hell can he do that?!”
Though that was the end of the program, it certainly wasn’t the end of the concert. Amongst the cheers across the hall, we were delighted to hear two more encores, personally introduced by the artists. In light of their cultural heritage, the encores presented captured the spirit of their distinct Chinese and English backgrounds. These performances were such a wonderful tribute and were both played with such conviction and passion. I must confess, I’m still humming the tune of the English encore to this day.
Y-Squared put on a stellar show that truly put the audience first. The musicians’ ability to connect with the audience and build such a tight-knit community in the space of two hours is definitely something that needs to be recognised. There were many moments in which the audience smiled, gasped, laughed (at a crying baby), and felt something because of these incredible performers. This is what we need in more concerts, and something I’ll always remember for future performances.
If you want to catch a dynamic cello and piano duo that knows how to work a stage, watch this space!
READ NEXT: Yelian He gives you his top tips for practice.
Disclaimer: You might’ve seen John Glover in his role as administrative and editorial assistant with CutCommon. When he’s not writing, he also works in administration at Music World, and assisted operations on the day of this performance. However, he did not undertake an employment role for Y-Squared and has no interest in the parties involved in this review.
Images supplied.
