Maestro Bernhard Gueller had flown in from Canada, very well knowing that he probably would never be paid for this stint of four concerts in Johannesburg. Yet, faithful to the last, he came anyway and tonight displayed magnanimous solidarity with the dutiful, dedicated and ardent members of the orchestra – an orchestra that refused to roll over and die; an orchestra that clearly loves an respects this man who has guided them for the past years.
The electricity started sparking from the very moment Gueller lifted his baton on Glinka’s Overture to Russlan & Ludmilla. A fast-paced and accurate reading from the first to the closing bars set the tempo for the evening.
Next in line was Saint-Saens’ Piano Concerto No.2 – one of the great pianistic warhorses. Tonight the capricious changes in style that is characteristic of this popular concerto were beautifully but tightly controlled by young pianist Inon Barnatan. A true poet of the keyboard, he combined insightful interpretation with impeccable technique. He received the second standing ovation of the evening. And then, having given almost all of his energy in the concerto, he sat down in front of the great black Steinway and played as his encore – and from his heart – Debussy’s Clair de lune. Certainly the best ever interpretation that I have heard in my long life of concert-going.
After the interval we heard a near perfect reading of Dvořák’s Symphony No.9 – known as the symphony from the New World. The great Czech composer was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic to write this work while he was the director of the New York Conservatory from 1892 to 1895. When it was premiered in 1893 he said “In the negro melodies of America I discover all that is needed for a great and noble school of music.” In the symphony he develops the different themes with all the resources of modern rhythms, counterpoint, and orchestral colour. This symphony became a symphonic symbol of renewal, of brilliance and of hope.
Tonight when the last notes faded softly into a balmy Highveld night my thoughts turned to a country where gloom and misery mingles on a daily basis - the dark forebodings of decline, despair and denial.
As the audience stood for the third time tonight, applauding Gueller and the brave members of the JPO for on 20 minutes, the lights suddenly faded away and we continued clapping hands in total darkness. Was this a symbolic moment or, maybe just another one of the Highveld’s power outages?
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