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A Sunday at the Symphony

Lila McRae-Palmer (writer)

Photograph credit: Melbourne Chamber Orchestra

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To my fellow music fans,

My name is Lila, a freshly blossomed reviews writer for Farrago.

As my first piece, I hope you enjoy my critiques and commendations.

A Sunday at the Symphony: what’s not to love?

On Sunday 2^nd June, the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra (MCO) presented a performance as part of the Melbourne Rising Festival 2024 at the Elisabeth Murdoch Hall.

‘Blazing Trails’ featured a cacophony of heart-wrenching and fun pieces from Vivaldi, Beethoven, Florence Price, and Natalie Williams.

Sophie Rowell is the artistic director of the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, and one can really see why.

Rowell’s mastery of the violin is something to be marveled at, as she transforms each song into something truly special.

The MCO was then joined by Claire Edwardes – an iconic Australian percussionist – to perform pieces which depict the feminist fight for the women steelworkers of Wollongong in 1980. These pieces were written specifically for Edwardes by Williams.

Edwardes harnesses pieces of machinery and metal-based instruments, like the vibraphone – a metal xylophone, a waterphone, cymbals and chimes. Though the waterphone married well with the high tones of the violins, the vibraphone unfortunately did not.

I found that the vibraphone had quite a juvenile tone due to my own experiences of using a xylophone as a child, and the classical instruments highlighted their differences.

On its own, I can understand the metallic sounds that elicit the hardships and memories of women’s fight for industrial working rights, as well as acknowledging Edwardes’ undeniable talent. However, I found that the metallic sounds were difficult to listen to, with the strings feeling contradictory in the background.

With Beethoven’s more lively pieces, the metal instruments worked harmoniously with the orchestra in an immersive dichotomy – truly an enjoyable experience of emotion and movement.

I’d love to see the MCO and Edwardes perform separately to truly appreciate the beauty of their respective art forms, as I struggled to appreciate their merged charms during ‘Blazing Trails’.

Below is a synesthetic rendition of my feeling during the performance, as you shall get to know throughout my pieces: