City Recital Hall, Sydney
October 26, 2016

With the mien of a rock star and the technique of a virtuoso, Israeli-born mandolinist Avi Avital is an incredibly engaging performer. It is no wonder, then, that the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra brought him back to Australia after only two years away. While the concert in 2014 focussed on Bach, in this offering Avital and the ABO explored the music of Vivaldi – with a few surprises thrown in – on a stage decorated with candles and hung with luminous stained glass lanterns.

In the first half of the concert Avital was used sparingly, his performances alternating with two works for the nine-musician-strong ABO alone, the ensemble opening proceedings with a lively rendition of Vivaldi’s Concerto for Strings in C Major, RV 110. The Allegro brimmed with energy, the dynamics neatly gradated. Artistic Director and harpsichordist Paul Dyer entwined chords from the strings with soloistic flourishes in the Largo before the vibrant – yet stately – final movement brought the concerto to a close with a perfectly synced lighting change on the cut-off.

^{Avi Avital and Paul Dyer, photo © Steven Godbee}

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