From left, Kirsten Williams, Tahlia Petrosian Rachel Johnston and Sally Walker. Photo: Yun Hu
"THIS concert was the only Canberra performance outing for ANU School of Music guest violist Tahlia Petrosian, the Leipzig-based Australian now famous for her “Klassik Underground” project where she takes music into unusual spaces.
In a more conventional concert, it gave an opportunity for her to pair for the first time with the ANU’s flute expert, Sally Walker, once a member of the very same orchestra Petrosian now plays with.
Two works, Hoffmeister’s “Three Concertante Duos for Flute and Viola”, and Bloch’s “Concertino for Flute and Viola”, gave us an opportunity to see this rare combination in full flight, the second supported by the ANU Chamber Orchestra conducted by Tor Frømyhr.
In both we saw Petrosian’s powerful viola in dialogue with Walker’s flute, sometimes imitating the viola but more often soaring high in the sky.
Earlier in the evening Walker and Petrosian had been joined by Kirsten Williams on violin and Rachel Johnston on cello for two dramatically contrasting works.
After interval, Frømyhr and his young instrumentalists came forward to perform first the aforementioned Bloch’s Concertino, where the composer’s use of traditional Jewish melodies was evident. This began with a pizzicato over which Petrosian’s viola asserted itself and wound up with a jocose polka. This composition was perfectly suited to the talents of the young instrumentalists..."