As we near the end of the 2025 season for Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the countdown is on for their followers to squeeze as many of the few remaining concerts as possible into the diary. The orchestra did not play all their cards up front at the beginning of the year. Their programming has reserved some really special concerts for last, including this one.
Tonight was the opening of a short series of concerts starring two truly wonderful guest artists — French conductor Lionel Bringuier and renowned German cellist Daniel Müller-Schott.
Bringuier has been on the circuit for about 20 years now, travelling far and wide. He’s not limited to Europe but also appeared as guest conductor in USA, China, Japan and the Middle East. Predominantly a concert conductor, plus being a cellist himself, Bringuier brings an artistic perspective to his interpretations that values the space between the notes. This allows each orchestral section to be highlighted which adds much musical appreciation to the compositions.
Here in Australia, we seem to collect many conductors who think that racing through the tempi is a way of making music exciting. Yet, it often muddies the delicate harmonies and the intricacy is lost in the race to keep pace. Bringuier is highly sensitive to all that is needed for the musicians to make the most of their parts and for the audience to fully appreciate what is on offer. His movements were very graceful and our world class Sydney Symphony followed keenly from delicate phrases through to the wilder moments.
Every work in this program was easily recognisable. Bringuier didn’t fall for the temptation of interpreting the works in a weird way just for the sake of being different. Surprisingly, what made it unique was the slowing of the tempi. This gave the audience time to relax into the familiar phrases. The musicians were able to make the most of their parts in a most concise and crystal clear manner. It was brilliant.
The opening work was “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice“, best known as accompaniment to Walt Disney’s 1940 cartoon film “Fantasia”. It’s still amazing to me that such a work was first published in 1897. It must have sounded incredibly modern at the time with those bouncy rhythms. It was written as a symphonic poem by composer Paul Dukas who followed the story to the “T” from the original poem by Goethe “Der Zauberlehrling”. At the relaxed pace, you could feel every expression and thought passing through the apprentice’s head as his problems get worse and worse. Bringuier’s version was even clearer than the 1940 film soundtrack version.
Next Müller-Schott joined the orchestra, performing Tchaikovsky’s “Variation on a Rococo Theme“. Müller-Schott’s fame has spread due to a wonderful early launch of his career. Coached by Steven Isserlis, Anne-Sophie Mutter in her foundation and Mstislav Rostropovich; Müller-Schott won the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians at the age of just 15. By his early 20’s he had secured a recording contract and has since recorded more than 30 albums.
With a tall, lanky figure, he sets the end pin of his Baroque cello (“Ex Shapiro” made by Matteo Goffriller, Venice, 1727) to very long so the instrument sits high in front of his body. He plays as though the cello is a part of him, fully relaxed, masterly and highly expressive, frequently flashing a smile at the audience. He clearly loves his art and we love to enjoy it with him.
The applause was lengthy and impassioned. Müller-Schott received several curtain calls and offered his gratitude with an encore from Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Cellosuite”. It was a lusty, fun solo that was pure delight.
After interval, Bringuier lead the orchestra through Stravinsky’s “Petrushka“. It was an interesting interpretation with the same spacial application. Without dancers to follow, Bringuier was able to almost pull the work apart making it easier to understand resulting in less of a “crush”. The opening and closing scenes, in particular, depict a busy Fairground with many different parts clashing for attention. A slightly slower pace allowed the audience to identify each part and how it fits together.
The audience loved it and gave Bringuier his own curtain calls to close the evening. We would very much love to see him return to work with the Sydney Symphony again for more great concerts.
Over all, it was a very satisfying evening of Arts and Entertainment. The weather earlier in the day had been a heavy 36 degrees with strong winds in the afternoon. As the audience left the theatre, the temperature had dropped to about 30, still with a bold wind. All tidy hair dos were abandoned by this stage as we fought our way back towards the carparks and public transport with a delicious smile on our faces and a soul full of the masterly performance.
Artists
Conductor – Lionel Bringuier
Cello solo – Daniel Müller-Schott
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Program
PAUL DUKAS – The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (1897)
PYOTR TCHAIKOVSKY – Variations on a Rococo theme Op 33 (Fitzenhagen version 1877)
Encore: JS BACH – Cellosuite nr. 3 in c, BWV 1009: VI. : Gigue
IGOR STRAVINSKY – Petrushka (1946 version)
Related Links
Remaining concerts for 2025 from Sydney Symphony Orchestra: https://www.sydneysymphony.com/#whatson
Daniel Müller-Schott: https://daniel-mueller-schott.com/
Lionel Bringuier: https://www.lionelbringuier.org/
