★★★★½ Nicholas Carter brings electric zeal to a banquet of symphonic fireworks.

Adelaide Town Hall
June 24, 2016

Just six months into his tenure as Principal Conductor of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Nicholas Carter is already proving to be a rejuvenating and inspirational force, heralding an exciting new era of music-making as the orchestra celebrates its 80th anniversary. At just 30 years of age, Carter has proven successful across a wide variety of repertoire, and this concert, comprised almost exclusively of works from the 20th century, was no exception. The apparent ease with which Carter and the ASO navigated through this formidably taxing programme could not have been easily replicated by even the most experienced of conductors.

Opening with The Sorcerer’s Apprentice by Paul Dukas, the cohesion and flair of the orchestra was immediately impressive. This was sorcery of a different kind: Carter’s baton commanded a magician’s control over an astonishing diversity of dynamic contrast, and the orchestra responded to each carefully nuanced inflection with a display of unity that propels them into the highest echelons of orchestral playing in the country. Perhaps most striking about this performance was how clearly and vividly the work’s programmatic premise sprung to life...