Fairytales

Busy Artistic Director for the Brisbane Music Festival (BMF), Alex Raineri, was back in his creative place at the Kawai grand piano for a delightful mix of the magical and mystical in a weekend performance to get us in a Halloween mood. A world premiere of new work by Brisbane-born composer, Ian Whitney, was succinctly wedged between two longer pieces, all based on fairytales. The first selection was Ravel’s ‘Gaspard de la Nuit’, a folk horror in three movements, inspired by the writings of the 19th-century Romantic poet, Aloysius Bertrand – featuring mysterious night callers, gremlins and nightmares. Intricate, complicated and cinematic, Ravel’s swirling notes float like fairydust in Alex’s experienced hands, tackling what is thought by many pianists to be one of the most difficult works to play.

Ian Whitney was in Brisbane at the BMF for the world premiere performances of his new short piece, ‘Arborescent’ which was inspired by a theme of wolves, and brought to mind Angela Carter’s ‘The Company of Wolves’. This very short piece is like a little seed of unease, implanted in the consciousness by so many fairytales. Its calm melodic harmonies are harangued and ousted by jarring rhythmic tones, perfectly articulating the mindset of folktale horror and the eerie genetic memory of dark woods and the deadly wolves that may be hiding there.

The final fairytale in five movements was ‘Piano Sonata No. 2 – a Story from the Sand Dunes’ by Australian composer, Melody Eötvös. A piece commissioned by the BMF in the past, this finds its perfect place in an encore performance. Based on an obscure Hans Anderson tale, the music evokes the grandeur of vast landscapes contrasting with the claustrophobia of empty sand dunes, and all the mystery that lurks in between.

Alex Raineri is such an accomplished performer, it is a treat to hear his work at the keys in the small space of FourthWall Arts. He combines his musical talent with a skill at presenting and connecting with the audience that makes his gigs a must-see on the Brisbane musical landscape. 

The BMF presses ‘pause’ until its next performances on 13–15 December: brismusicfestival.com

Beth Keehn

Photo credit: Brisbane Music Festival