The West Australian Symphony Orchestra sees an array of soloists of the highest quality ever year. However, the 4th of July’s performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto led by soloist Benjamin Beilman and conductor Anja Bihlmaier was a class above any I have seen. Anja Bihlmaier is a world-renowned conductor, known primarily for her annual performances at the BBC Proms with the BBC Philharmonic, and appearances with many of the world’s leading orchestras. In this program Bihlmaier brought fluidity and cohesion to a program of Eötvös, Mendelssohn, and Shostakovich.
Naarm based composer Melody Eötvös’ Saqqara Bird was commissioned by the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in 2016. WASO’s performance was only a month shy of being the piece’s 10-year anniversary and provided a virtuosic orchestral texture exploring the story of an ancient Egyptian relic uncovered in Saqqara. Concertmaster Lawrence Jackson and principal piccolo Sonia Croucher sang vivacious birdsongs as they were excavated from the substrate of the orchestra.
One of only five women programmed in WASO’s 2026 season*, Eötvös is arguably Australia’s most prolific contemporary composer for reasons demonstrated in Saqqara Bird. Eötvös’ music is complex and challenging yet immensely evocative and emotional, conjuring landscapes and experience amidst its dense textures.
WASO’s Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. Credit Daniel James Grant.
Benjamin Beilman is the youngest ever faculty member at the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and has performed with the Berlin Philharmonic and Chicago, Oslo, and Antwerp Symphonies. Beilman brought to WASO a rendition of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto filled with intention. The concerto is one of the most well known in the violin repertoire and as a result can be dusted off by most soloists to be performed with some competence, despite its difficulty, at relatively short notice. Beilman’s performance was anything but fresh out of the closet; his interpretation was rich in detail, breathing life into the intricacies of phrases indicative of precise and intentional rehearsal.
The performance was not without error but despite some errant bow strokes Beilman’s 1740 Guarneri sang through the hall with ease. Perhaps most remarkable of the performance was Beilman’s ability to project in the softest moments; the lightest phrases of piece were fragile but powerful to great emotional effect.
The Largo from Bach’s C Major Sonata was Beilman’s encore. Beilman set himself a hard act to follow and the encore may not have been as evocative as the concerto, but its meditative consistency paired well with the drama of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto.
WASO’s Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. Credit Daniel James Grant.
The evening concluded with Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5. Known for the blaring brass and thunderous percussion of its fourth movement, the piece is thrilling and intense. As is not uncommon for programs featuring a concerto, this work was not as tightly rehearsed as the last. Throughout the Mendelssohn, the orchestra breathed as one; moments like the first movements sforzpiano (loud then immediately soft) were in perfect unison as they grew and subsided with Beilman’s violin. The Shostakovich began to show some cracks in WASO’s, up until this point, impenetrable ensembleship. Issues with balance amongst the strings as the celli struggled to sing over the violins and one particularly noticeable moment in the horns during the second movement gave away something of the orchestra’s tightly packed rehearsal schedule over the week prior. Nevertheless, the orchestra served intensity and punch in the pivotal moments.
If WASO can continue to deliver world class performances and programs which incorporate so easily the music of today alongside the greats of yesterday, I believe they will set their audiences up for delight and longevity in their support. WASO next returns with their fan favourite film score series featuring John Powell’s How to Train Your Dragon.