Brahms' Triumph
MORNING SYMPHONY SERIES
Thu 28 November 2024, 11am
Perth Concert Hall
West Australian Symphony Orchestra respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and Elders of Country throughout Western Australia, and the Whadjuk Noongar people on whose lands we work and share music.
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Brahms' Triumph
Johannes BRAHMS Academic Festival Overture (10 mins)
Johannes BRAHMS Symphony No. 4 (40 mins)
Allegro non troppo
Andante moderato
Allegro giocoso
Allegro energico e passionate
Asher Fisch conductor
Asher Fisch appears courtesy of Wesfarmers Arts.
Wesfarmers Arts Pre-concert Talk
Find out more about the music in the concert with this week’s speaker, Philip Everall. The Pre-concert Talk will take place at 9.40am in the main auditorium.
2025 Season Briefing
Get a first look at what's in store for our exciting 2025 Season from WASO's Executive Manager Artistic Planning, Evan Kennea. The 2025 Season Briefing will take place at 10am in the main auditorium. Enjoy a complimentary glass of red or white wine on arrival. Tea and coffee is also available.
Listen to WASO
This performance is recorded for broadcast on Friday 13 December, 1pm (AWST) on ABC Classic. Date subject to change. For further details visit abc.net.au/classic
Welcome
A New Look for WASO in 2025
Welcome to our final classical concert for 2024. Thank you for being a part of what’s been a very special season for WASO. As we close the chapter on another momentous year of performances, we look ahead to an exciting and vibrant program for 2025. This year we celebrated the glorious acoustics of our beloved Perth Concert Hall with epic works such as Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben, Beethoven’s Symphony No.9, excerpts from Wagner’s Ring and, of course, our unforgettable performances of Mahler’s Symphony No.8. We also had the pleasure of expanding the orchestral music canon by presenting the world premieres of new music by Australian composers James Ledger, Lachlan Skipworth, Olivia Davies and Holly Harrison. With the Perth Concert Hall redevelopment set to commence early next year, we are thrilled to announce our 2025 season.
Presented in a range of iconic venues across Perth, we’re excited to be bringing you a collection of classic works in new places and ways, while continuing to produce world-class entertainment for Perth audiences. If you love our Masters and MACA Classics series, you will enjoy thrilling classical repertoire at UWA’s iconic Winthrop Hall. Morning Symphony subscribers will find a new home in the comfort of the Heath Ledger Theatre at the State Theatre Centre of WA. A Baroque Series, New Music Series and special events will all be enjoyed throughout our city.
I am delighted to return for my 12th season with this wonderful orchestra, and look forward to welcoming you to experience an exciting new season with us in 2025.
Asher Fisch
Principal Conductor & Artistic Adviser
Asher Fisch appears courtesy of Wesfarmers Arts.
WASO On Stage
About the Artists
Asher Fisch
Principal Conductor & Artistic Adviser
A renowned conductor in both the operatic and symphonic worlds, Asher Fisch is especially celebrated for his interpretative command of core German and Italian repertoire of the Romantic and post-Romantic eras. He conducts a wide variety of repertoire from Gluck to contemporary works by living composers. Asher is now the longest serving Principal Conductor of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO), commencing his tenure in 2014. His former posts include Principal Guest Conductor of the Seattle Opera (2007- 2013), Music Director of the New Israeli Opera (1998-2008), and Music Director of the Wiener Volksoper (1995-2000).Born in Israel, Asher began his conducting career as Daniel Barenboim’s assistant and Kappellmeister at the Berlin Staatsoper. He has built his versatile repertoire at the major opera houses such as the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, and Semperoper Dresden. Fisch has conducted at leading American symphony orchestras including those of Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, New York, and Philadelphia. In Europe he has appeared with the Berlin Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and the Orchestre National de France, among others.
In addition to his concerts with WASO, Asher’s 2024 season includes Aribert Reimann’s Lear at the Teatro Real de Madrid, Carmen at the Wiener Staatsoper, and Dialogues des Carmélites at the Israeli Opera. Guest engagements with orchestras include a return to the Queensland Symphony in Brisbane. His recent seasons featured Lohengrin and La forza del destino at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Cavalleria Rusticana & Pagliacci at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre and concerts with the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, Queensland Symphony, Sydney Symphony, and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.
Asher’s award-winning recordings include Bruckner’s Symphony No.8, Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde and tenor Stuart Skelton’s first solo album “Shining Knight” - all recorded with WASO - and Ravel’s L’heure espagnole with the Munich Radio Orchestra. In 2016, the complete Brahms symphonies with Asher Fisch and WASO were released on ABC Classic to great acclaim. His recording of Wagner’s Ring Cycle with the Seattle Opera was released in 2014. His first Ring Cycle recording, with the State Opera of South Australia, won ten Helpmann Awards, including best opera and best music direction. Asher Fisch is an accomplished pianist and has released a solo recording of Wagner piano transcriptions for the Melba label.
Asher Fisch appears courtesy of Wesfarmers Arts.
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About the Artists
Allan Meyer
WASO Principal Clarinet
Allan Meyer has been Principal Clarinet with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) since 1990. His distinguished career has seen him perform in many parts of Australia, as well as in the USA. He has been guest Principal Clarinet with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, USA.Allan was born in Perth and studied with WASO’s former Principal Clarinet, Jack Harrison. A Masters graduate of the University of Western Australia (UWA), he completed post-graduate studies in London with John McCaw, Antony Pay and Jack Brymer.
After 7 years with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Allan returned to Perth as Principal Clarinet of WASO. He has appeared as soloist in the Masters and Classics Series, Mostly Mozart Series, Symphony Under the Stars, and with the WASO Chamber Players. Allan teaches at the Conservatorium of Music at UWA, and he has also performed and taught at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA.
Allan has enjoyed performing the Mozart Concerto many times with WASO. He has also premiered a number of works including the Australian premiere of Richard Mills’ Concerto for Clarinet and Violin and world premieres of Andrew Shultz’s Maali, James Ledger’s Clarinet Quintet, and Blackwood by Iain Grandage and Kevin Gillam. Blackwood was commissioned by Jody Harrison and especially written for Allan, Sara Macliver and Graeme Gilling.
Allan Meyer’s Chair is supported by Leanne & Sam Walsh AO through the Duet program.
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About the Music
Johannes Brahms
(1833-1897)
Academic Festival Overture, Op.80 Brahms had never been a formally enrolled university student, but in 1853 he’d had a rattling good time leading a student-style existence in Göttingen, singing drinking songs with the local student population. In 1880, after receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Breslau, the by-now-famous composer responded with a concert overture in honour of the occasion. But rather than writing an ‘academic’ work, Brahms set out to complete a jovial piece based on the convivial aspects of student life which he had known firsthand.
Brahms took four of his favourite student drinking songs and worked them into a free sonata structure using the largest and most percussion-dominated orchestra that he had ever employed. He noted that it was ‘a very boisterous potpourri of student songs à la Suppé’ – a reference to Suppé’s opera Flotte Bursch, which is constructed in the same way.
The four songs on which the work is based are Wir hatten gebauet ein stattliches Haus (We had built a stately house), which is introduced in chorale-like fashion by the brass; Der Landesvater (The father of our country), heard first on the second violins; the undergraduate initiation song Was kommt dort von der Hoh, introduced by bassoons over pizzicato figures in the violas and cellos; and finally, a full orchestral version of Gaudeamus igitur, a medieval student song that Suppé had also used in Flotte Bursch. The fun starts right at the beginning, with a pompously solemn opening, rapidly giving way to the high spirits which characterise the piece as a whole.
Abridged from a note by Martin Buzacott © Symphony Australia
First performance:
4 January 1881, Breslau, composer conducting.
First WASO performance:
6 July 1951. Rudolf Pekárek, conductor.
Most recent WASO performance:
4-5 August 2017. Simone Young AM, conductor.
Instrumentation:
piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, strings.
Glossary
Chorale – a type of slow, stately hymn tune.
Pizzicato – plucking, rather than bowing, the strings.
Sonata form – a term conceived in the 19th century to describe the way most Classical composers structured at least the first movement of a symphonic work or a sonata. It involves the exposition or presentation of themes or subjects: the first subject is in the tonic or home key, the second in a contrasting key. The resulting tension between keys is intensified in the development, where recognisable melodic and rhythmic aspects of the themes are manipulated as the music moves further and further away from the ultimate goal of the home key. Tension is resolved at the recapitulation where both subjects are fully restated in the tonic. There is sometimes a coda (literally, ‘tail’) to enhance the sense of finality.
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About the Music
Johannes Brahms
(1833-1897)
Allegro non troppo
Andante moderato
Allegro giocoso
Allegro energico e passionato
In 1885 Brahms, as was his wont, convened a group of trusted friends to listen to a play-through of the Fourth Symphony, with the composer and his friend Ignaz Brüll at the piano. Feedback from knowledgeable people had been invaluable throughout his career, and on this occasion the listeners included the conductor Hans Richter and the critic Eduard Hanslick. But this time the response was a baffled silence. Even Hanslick, Brahms’ greatest supporter in print, tried to joke that he felt like he had been ‘beaten up by two intelligent people’ at the end of the first movement. Later, after the work’s politely-received Viennese premiere, a less well-disposed wit composed a verse to the theme of the first movement to the effect that Brahms had run out of ideas.
The Third Symphony had, of course, enjoyed an unqualified success and it says much for Brahms’ artistic integrity that he was prepared to take a quite different approach in the new work; that the Fourth was written over not one but two summers suggests that Brahms had to work hard at it.
So, what baffled the listeners in the first movement? In fact the ‘run out of ideas’ guy was wrong, but nevertheless onto something, in that a large chunk of Brahms’ first theme consists of practically no material: two chains of thirds (and sixths, their inversion) are sounded in a rhythm that consists entirely of a repeated short-long pattern.
Eventually a more elaborate motif is sounded, but then immediately repeated in sequence. The thirds provide the basis for a fanfare-like transition into the second theme, and here again Brahms goes against convention with a melody that is not, as expected, ‘lyrical’ but is much more assertive, sounded in the orchestra’s tenor register, and again based on sequences of a repeated rhythmic cell (long, long, short, short, short). Fragmentary patterns of thirds provide the accompaniment.
All of which is to say that Brahms was writing in, to the Viennese, a disturbingly abstract and ‘modern’ way. Haydn, of course, and Beethoven – especially in the Fifth Symphony – had worked in just this way, and it is no accident that such rigorous design attracted the approval of Schoenberg in his 1933 lecture, Brahms the Progressive. But it put Brahms out of step with current musical fashion in Vienna.
The piece is frequently intensely contrapuntal (and thus requires a ‘classical’ orchestra), reflecting Brahms’ lifelong love of the Baroque, but there are profoundly poetic moments. The recapitulation of the first movement’s main theme should, by convention, be a rhetorically powerful moment of arrival; Brahms instead dwells on a distant but radiant C major chord and then, radically, continues to develop his themes.
The second movement is in what has sometimes been called Brahms’ ‘bardic’ manner. The young Richard Strauss, who regarded the ‘gigantic work’ as ‘new and original in its greatness of conception and invention, its genius in treatment of form’, captured the slow movement’s essence in his image of a ‘funeral procession moving across moonlit heights’.
This movement, which relies heavily on mysterious wind scoring and the occasional archaic inflections of the Phrygian mode, could not offer a greater contrast to the scherzo, with what Karl Geiringer calls its ‘sturdy gaiety’. In two, rather than three, beats to a bar, it has a rustic air, but its most curious feature is the way in which Brahms, again creating music out of nothing, offers a serious of monolithic chords, octaves apart, that interrupt the rhythmic drive of the movement towards its end. These chords, however, also pave the way for the finale, in which Brahms abandons any vestige of classical precedent, instead using the Baroque form of the passacaglia, in which a repeated harmonic pattern, or ground, serves as a vehicle for variations. Brahms’ ground is a series of rhythmically equal chords (adumbrated at the end of the scherzo) over which he elaborates a movement unlike anything heard in symphonic music before.
In 1886, Vienna’s response was tepid, partly as Hans Richter’s rehearsals were inadequate. But by then the work had enjoyed triumphant success in 14 German and Dutch cities under Hans von Bülow. Vienna finally embraced it, and the mortally ill Brahms, at the last concert the composer was able attend before his death in 1897.
© Gordon Kerry 2015
First performance:
25 October 1885, Meiningen.
First WASO performance:
14 July 1951; Rudolf Pekárek, conductor.
Most recent WASO performance:
27/29 November 2020; Peter Moore, conductor.
Instrumentation:
two flutes (second doubling piccolo), two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, percussion, strings.
Glossary
Counterpoint – two or more lines of music or melodies that are played at the same time. Music which uses counterpoint is said to be ‘contrapuntal’. ‘Imitative’ counterpoint is when the various parts are playing similar or identical melodies one after the other – canons and fugues are examples.
Passacaglia – a musical form with Baroque origins, which, since its revival in the 19th century, has been characterised by its recurring ground bass, providing the support for an extended set of variations, and its serious tone. Many composers have taken inspiration from the impressive but atypical passacaglias of Bach and Handel.
Recapitulation – a return to the opening material of a piece or a movement.
Scherzo – literally, a joke; the term generally refers to a movement in a fast, light triple time which may involve whimsical, startling or playful elements.
The Phrygian mode – a mode that’s in many ways similar to minor, but features a flattened second as its distinguishing feature.
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Farewell Tim
Cellist Tim South will retire from the West Australian Symphony Orchestra in December 2024 after 36 years with the Orchestra. On his retirement, Tim will become WASO’s longest-serving emeritus cellist.
Tim joined WASO in 1988, the same year that he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in music from the Victorian College of the Arts and toured Europe with the Australian Youth Orchestra. For more than three decades, Tim’s dedication has helped WASO bring outstanding musical experiences to audiences across the state.
Since joining WASO, Tim has taught cello at Churchlands Senior High School and Perth Modern School, and continued to be active as a chamber musician. Off-stage Tim has pursued interests in web development and photography, and he’s even been known to take to the sky with his pilot’s license!
Of his passion for aviation and career in music, Tim said “Both involve learning on an ongoing basis, memorising complex tasks, plus a great sense of satisfaction over what you've accomplished.”
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Tim for his contribution to WASO and congratulate him on an exceptional career.
Tim South’s final WASO performance with his distinctive carbon fibre cello is The Cat Empire with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra on December 5-7.
About WASO
Engage | Excite | Experience | Educate
From the centre of Perth to the furthest corners of the state, we have provided the soundtrack to life in WA since 1928.
As the State Orchestra, Perth’s first and finest, WASO is the largest employer of performing artists in Western Australia and reaches two million people with musical experiences each year on stage, in our community, and online.
From concert halls to classrooms, hospitals to aged care, we bring joy, inspire learning, and nurture participation in our community, because everybody deserves the opportunity to experience live music. Every year, through community and leading industry partnerships, we engage a new generation of young and emerging artists to help secure a bright future for music in Australia.
We celebrate our rich classical music heritage with great artists from all over the world and commission and perform new repertoire to renew and expand it.
The Orchestra collaborates widely with major arts companies and independent artists, performing opera to ballet, movies to musicals, jazz to rock. We champion the diversity of music in all its forms, with a team of talented and passionate people who create unforgettable experiences for all West Australians to enjoy.
Asher Fisch is Principal Conductor and Artistic Adviser of our Orchestra and we are proud to call Perth Concert Hall home.
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Your Concert Experience
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- Explore the music
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For information about our services such as assisted listening and accessible toilets please search “Perth Concert Hall Access” online. - Latecomers admitted at a suitable time
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The Wardle Kitchen is open for casual dining, serving delicious hot meals before each performance, while our Grab and Go stations offer quick bites such as sushi and sandwiches. Bars are available on the first two levels, and you are welcome to bring your cold drink into the auditorium. - First Aid available
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Get tickets to your next WASO experience at the Box Office located on the ground floor (Level 1). Our Box Office is open one hour prior to each performance, and during interval, or you can email us anytime at boxoffice@waso.com.au. You can also visit us Mon-Fri 9am-5pm.
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WASO's Education Chamber Orchestra
The Musical Tale of Echo the Gecko
To kick off Term Four, Echo the Gecko (WASO’s inquisitive fly-eating friend) has been adventuring to schools all over Perth. Echo the Gecko has been making young audiences smile for 21 years and what better way to celebrate than performing a completely revamped version of the original concert. Alongside WASO’s Education Chamber Orchestra, Echo the Gecko has featured in family concerts and school incursions across our vast state since 2003, captivating and enriching the lives of children by making orchestral music accessible and fun.Led by presenter and creator Lee Stanley, and Genevieve Wilkins, the concert is full of adventure, excitement and education about the instruments in the 10-piece ensemble. With stories by Mark Tooby (WASO Double Bass) and original music composed by Joshua Davis (WASO Principal Trombone), the audience members have been dancing and singing as they discover how music is created out of a handful of instruments and musical elements.
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Making a Difference Through Music
Music has always been about more than entertainment — it’s about connection, creativity, and making a difference in the world. A gift to WASO will support the Orchestra’s mission to bring the joy of live music to everyone, including those in underserved communities. Whether it’s inspiring a child’s love for music or bringing the magic of a live performance to a remote region, your gift will help make the world a brighter place. One of the ways you can make a gift is by leaving a bequest to WASO.
Your bequest can support the Orchestra’s wide range of initiatives — from groundbreaking performances and educational outreach to bringing music to those who need it most. Every gift helps to sustain our mission.
For more information about how your bequest can support WASO, please contact our Philanthropy Team on (08) 9326 0014 for a confidential conversation or visit our website.
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Our Supporters
2024 Trusts and Foundations
Lead Partner of Crescendo
Crescendo / Hospital Orchestra Project
First Nations Creative Collaborations / Composition Project
Associate Conductor Program
About the Speaker
Our 2025 Season
Introducing our 2025 Season!
Prepare for an exciting musical journey through some of the most iconic venues in Perth as our home, Perth Concert Hall, undergoes renovations.
Experience your classical favourites at our MACA Symphonic Series evening concerts at UWA's magnificent Winthrop Hall or our Matinee Symphony Series daytime performances at Heath Ledger Theatre. Join us for the Baroque Series at His Majesty’s Theatre, our intimate Chamber Music Series at the beautiful Government House Ballroom, or explore bold and contemporary compositions in our new music series, Underground, at the State Theatre Centre of WA.
There’s so much to experience in 2025. Season Brochures are available now.
