LUDWIG AND DIEDRE
Review of May 2025 Concert
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Despite dire warnings of thunderstorms and storms, the loyal audience of St Matthew’s Chamber Orchestra turned up to fill the church for their May concert. More than rain would deter them from the chance to hear their favourite pianist Diedre Irons play Beethoven with the orchestra.
Esther Oh was guest concertmaster and the orchestra’s musical director Michael Joel was conductor.
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s music is not often heard in orchestral concerts in New Zealand so his Symphony W183 No. 1 in D was a welcome work. Written in Hamburg in the early 1770s it was one of four symphonies written with twelve obbligato parts. The symphony was quite challenging with tricky triplet passages for the strings. The work, in three movements, fully lived up to the description of a rollercoaster ride, giving lots of room for thrilling virtuosic playing, as with the solo bassoon.
Diedre Irons, one of New Zealand’s greatest musical treasures, is always given a warm welcome. Her performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Op. 58 was outstanding. Her superb technique, clarity of tone, and cherishing of every note were supreme. The concerto’s solo piano opening was serene and dream-like. This was followed by full orchestra in more assertive mode – the pattern was followed throughout the movement with virtuosic runs up and down the piano and then some intimate playing from both piano and orchestra. Irons’ bell-like rippling effects were really impressive, as was the immaculate pizzicato playing of cellos and basses.
The second movement, Andante moderato, with its gentle piano ‘answers’ to the orchestra’s abrupt ‘questions’ saw all players rise to the challenges.
The virtuosic demands of the Rondo: Vivace were well met by Irons – long runs up and down the keyboard interspersed with quiet reflection and then cheerful martial orchestral themes which all came together at the end. A real tour de force for soloist and orchestra. The standing ovation for Irons was not only a reflection of the audience’s regard for her wonderful playing but the warmth of their regard for her modesty and respect for the music she performs.
Haydn’s Symphony No 99 in E flat is the first of the second set of his ‘London’ symphonies, commissioned by the impresario Johann Peter Salomon, to be played in six London concerts conducted by Haydn. Although less well-known than some of the later symphonies in this set, it is full of delightfully bright and cheerful melodies. The energetic opening for full orchestra provided a spacious ‘canvas’ for all the sections to paint on. The first movement featured a repetitive four note motif which was tossed between the sections. The bass players were kept particularly active throughout.
The second movement, a gentle Adagio, saw the strings and woodwind tossing questions and answers between them, as well as passages featuring the wind section led by flutes, while the Menuet, was more of a cheerful galop than a gentle dance. The strings began the Finale: Vivace but there was bright ensemble work for the woodwinds. The strings were kept very busy with fast bowing. Haydn’s music is always positive, joyful and tuneful. The SMCO demonstrated this with real enthusiasm. The concert ended on a well-deserved happy note.
Review by Rogan Falla