Concert 5

Joe Chindamo & Zoë Black

Saturday 17th October 7.45pm

Dynamic Musicians, Joe and Zoe, Stun Yass Audience.

At the fifth concert in its 2015 subscription series, the Yass Music Club presented the wonderful duo, Joe Chindamo (piano) with Zoe Black on violin, in a musical partnership which had only last week had played in Carnegie Hall, New York.

Their move to the Yass Memorial Hall confirmed their international reputation and they gave us a performance that was unforgettable providing them with every opportunity to display their amazing talents in the unique program which they’ve developed.

Joe last performed in Yass in 2013 with a trio and the emphasis at that time was on Joe’s repertoire as a jazz musician. The development of his style in his work since then, in conjunction with Zoe Black, is quite remarkable as Joe has tapped into compositions from the classics where he has recognised the fruitful path of borrowing from works and, in the great tradition of musical inventiveness, has transformed them into the nuanced delights that he and Zoe were able to give us in their unique performance. Very special was a delightful and easy rapport between them as they collaborated to perfection delving deep into the possibilities of classical music.

This was no more evident than their re-working of ‘Dido’s Lament’ from Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas”, where they took this beautiful melody to newer and more passionate heights and they did a similar makeover of Handel’s ‘Ombra Mai Fu’, where the colour of this superb melody were also re-invented, as it was, before our very eyes.

‘Spiegelhaus’ (House of Mirrors) written by Joe gave them an great opportunity to liven up the piece with a little madness as “a passionate burlesque which evoked Fellini-esque(ness) of the wonderfully bizarre.”

Joe and Zoe also took a musical journey through ‘It Ain’t Necessarily So’ from George Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess” and it was great fun to enjoy a new look at this piece through Joe’s harmonies on the original tune, with its rapid plunge to a conclusion in a frenzied coda reminding us of the vibrancy and decadence of Gershwin’s New York.

There were also references to Duke Ellington in ‘Harlem Nocturne’ and the dialogue between piano and violin here was edgy and sharp. In this number the violin’s part is fully scored, while the piano part is largely improvised and the frisson between the two of them in its development was electric.

The only regrets that the Music Club had were that Joe and Zoe finally had to end their recital (We could have listened to them all night!!) and that there was only a relatively small audience, but those who weren’t there were ultimately the losers.

A fine Supper was provided by the Friends of Cooma Cottage and we again had the excellent services of Yazzbar with the service of drinks.

Very special to the Music Club was a performance from one of our RAG Holmes Scholars, Samuel Giddy, in a superb rendition of Mozart’s Sonata K332. This was to help us give notice of the RAG Holmes Scholars’ Gold Coin Concert to be given at St Clements Church on 25th October at 2.30pm. We have appreciated the financial assistance of the Glenlothian Trust Fund here, though the conduit of the Rotary Club of Yass.

The Crisp Galleries will be presenting a Fund Raising Concert for the Canberra International Music Festival, featuring the famous Rohn family on Saturday, 5th December and there will be a Benefit Concert for us on Sunday, 6th December with David Pereira and Evgeny Ukanov.

2015 has been a very successful year for the Music Club, though we’re crying out for community support with new members, and our 2016 program looks spectacular with a big name presentation from The Three Tenors from Melbourne to start the year on Saturday, 13th February.

Submitted by Brian Millett.