There was an unusual opening to this wonderful concert.
Konstantin Shamray took the microphone and gave a heartfelt, brave and bold support for the people of Ukraine, in defiance of his native Russia. The Adelaide based pianist naturally received overwhelming support for his announcement.
Then it was on with the show, and what a show. The first half of this one hour performance was taken up with Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet. First mention, however, must be concerning the Australian String Quartet whose playing and impeccable musicianship was simply outstanding. Throughout this concert their playing not only faultless but inspired playing brought to life both works preformed.
The work is, of course, a quintet and in that context Shamray’s piano, so expertly played, melded in perfectly with the quartet in all five movements. It is hard to really to say much more than this as there was nothing to criticise and all to praise.
The second half brought the ASQ back to the stage to perform Beethoven’s String Quartet No 9. Simply put they again gave us another flawless performance with a fluid playing. The individual instruments blended together to deliver sublime music and an almost perfect reading of Beethoven’s composition. It would be trite to praise any one member of the quartet as there was no standout, they all stood out.
As is evident, a great performance from the ASQ and Shamray. Pity it was for one night only.
8 March
Musica Viva
Adelaide Town Hall
Michael Prescott
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