QSO Favourites
Artistic Directors and Producers everywhere take note. If you’d like an excellent example of programming that’s going to appeal to wide demographics, Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) has been doing it right for years. 2022 is no exception, with the talented musicians treating us to our favourite orchestral works from their past performances. In preparing the program, which ranged from Beethoven’s Symphony No.5 to the theme from Star Wars, QSO asked audiences to vote for the ones we loved most. Fans responded enthusiastically with votes rolling in ‘thick and fast’ and members of the orchestra allowed to cast their own votes too.
This formula was a sure-fire way to ensure exultant enthusiasm for the performance from the orchestra and the audience alike. The energy and love for the work was palpable and it was delightful to see people from all walks of life, young and old, enjoying the music. The enjoyment wasn’t just limited to audiences in Brisbane either! The 7:30pm concert was livestreamed to concertgoers in six regional venues, including Empire Theatre in Toowoomba, Edkins Park in Longreach and Outer Barcoo Interpretation Centre, Isisford.
The moment the first four striking notes of Beethoven’s fifth echoed through the Concert Hall we knew we were in for a thrilling show. Effervescent Conductor Johannes Fritzsch had the orchestra playing at a cracking pace that enhanced the excitement and drama of the work. It was a great pleasure to see how much the orchestra was enjoying playing Berlioz’s Hungarian March, from The Damnation of Faust, with its tripping little melodies on the flute, piccolo and clarinet adding a lightness to the bellicose brass. After such a dynamic start, it was nice to have a change of mood in Scheherazade, Op.35 mvt. 3: The Young Prince and the Princess (Andantino quasi allegretto) by Rimsky-Korsakov. The next work, Mahler’s Adagietto, from Symphony No.5 seemed a very fitting inclusion given the show’s proximity to Valentine’s Day. If you’ve ever wondered what love sounds like, this work is it. It’s Mahler’s love letter to his new bride, composed shortly after they wed. The final piece prior to interval made use of the massive organ in the Concert Hall - Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No.3 in C minor, Op.78 (Organ Symphony) mvt 4. Maestoso – Allegro had the audience literally whooping with glee during the applause.
After interval a very special treat indeed, the world premiere work Fanfare for the Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra by Craig Allister Young. Young has been a cellist with QSO for over 30 years as well as being a talented composer and arranger of music. Magnanimously, he’s written a piece that really allows every section of the orchestra to shine. Unsurprisingly he and his colleagues genuinely appeared to enjoy performing the exciting and spirited work. Keeping the drama going, next on the program was Suite No.2 from Romeo and Juliet, Op.64 mvt 1: The Montagues and the Capulets by Prokofiev. The interplay between brass and strings as they battled through trudging dissonance was a perfect representation of the friction between the feuding Shakespearean families. Just when we thought we’d heard all the most recognisable classical music refrains, the final four compositions Excerpts from Suite from Swan Lake, Op.20a (Tchaikovsky), On the Beautiful Blue Danube (J Strauss Jr.), Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity (Holst) and Star Wars Main Theme (Williams) serve to remind us that this QSO Favourites concert is merely scratching the surface of the hundreds of wonderful works they’ve performed for us over the decades. The transition through Tchaikovsky and J Strauss Jr. works to the Holst and finally Williams felt very climactic and exciting. There may be a lot of concertgoers out there today nursing sore hands after the rousing applause QSO earned.
This isn’t the first time the QSO Favourites concept has spoiled the audience rotten and we hope it will be back again for many years to come. Cheers to QSO, here’s to the next 75 years of symphonic treats.
Kitty Goodall
Photographer Peter Wallis
Subscribe to our E-Newsletter, buy our latest print edition or find a Performing Arts book at Book Nook.