Perth Concert Hall

Friday 7 March 2014

In an auspicious start to WASO’s 2014 season and his tenure as the orchestra’s Principal Conductor, Israeli-born Asher Fisch presided over an intimate, chamber-like account of Mozart’s D minor piano concerto from the keyboard before switching to expansive mode for orchestral works by Richard Strauss and Wagner.

First, however, came a fleet, detailed performance of Mozart’s Overture to The Magic Flute, its compact sound-world making even more of an impression for the orchestra’s having tuned up unheard and unseen beforehand – they simply plonked themselves down and played. Also of interest both here and throughout the evening was Fisch’s layout of the orchestra – for example, the woodwinds were placed off to the right – which added a different spatial dimension to the orchestral conversations which ensued.

Conversation was at the core of the D minor concerto, with Fisch engaging with soloists and sections as equals while – and not least through some stylish yet imaginative phrasing, weighting of inner voices and pedalling, most apparent in the cadenzas...