A near-capacity crowd packed the Dunedin Town Hall for the world premiere of Anthony Ritchie’s Symphony No 6.
Local pride came to the fore in the accolades Ritchie received, although applause for the work itself was less than enthusiastic.
The work traverses several years of personal trauma but is characteristically undemonstrative. It rises with captivating ethereal tones from silence; its theme is hauntingly beautiful; its technical demands of deeply expressive interpretation were well met by the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Simon Over.
It is predominantly gentle.
Those waiting for dramatic outburst may have been disappointed by the lack of rounded resolution. Some beautiful rhythms, juxtaposed orchestral colour and sonorities emerge and are left hanging in the air.
Life can be a bit like that. Sometimes psychic trauma is best expressed through stunned silence.
Dvorak’s New World Symphony is well known and loved for its patriotic excess but predominantly for its beautiful second movement, Largo.
Over’s rounded direction lent it poetic warmth and lyricism, without losing sight of its building layers. He saved it from the worst expressions of self-assurance prevalent at its conception.
Sadly, Over now bids his appearances with the DSO farewell. His departure is brought about primarily by rising costs which its budget cannot sustain.
Over said he was grateful for opportunities to visit Dunedin.
As he said, cultural practices are but one of the losses we face in our world, troubled on too many fronts.
