Yesterday's mid-week lunchtime concert at Marama Hall featured compositions from father and son German composers Richard Wagner (1813-83) and Siegfried Wagner (1869-1930), whose mother, Cosima, was the daughter of Franz Liszt.
Wagner senior is well-known for his intensely dramatic operas and strong, colourful orchestration, and the programme began with a trio arrangement of themes from Tannhauser, arranged by Ernest Adler for flute, cello and piano.
Local musicians Luca Manghi (flute), Heleen Du Plessis (cello) and pianist Terence Dennis, all professional musicians with international performing experience, brought their individual strengths and interpretative skills to this work in a totally thrilling and inspirational performance.
Arpeggios and broken chord textures seemed magnified beneath Dennis' hands and with judicious pedalling created a magnificent texture for the instrumental lyricism of several famous operatic themes - such rich passionate cello refrains and exquisitely shaped flute lines, never harsh, just emotionally spine-chilling.
Dennis was joined by pianist Liew Jie Ying for an impressive delivery of a two-piano version of Wagner's Siegfried-Idyll, originally an instrumental ensemble work written for his wife Cosima in celebration of the birth of their son Siegfried.
Filled with musical references of personal significance, this was softer in character, with contrapuntal textures and a recurring gently flowing principal theme. The final work in this Wagnerian recital was by Siegfried Wagner, Konzertstuck for Flute and Piano (1913).
This rarely performed work was written before World War 1, and yesterday was probably its first New Zealand public performance.
Again, the clarity and preciseness of articulation from Manghi generated a stunning interpretation, matching pianoforte nuance in a musical conversation from two outstanding performers.
-By Elizabeth Bouman
