A musical crash test and a 100-year-old love letter

Posted on 17 October, 2019

Acclaimed cellist Umberto Clerici joins Canberra Symphony for a mainstage finale.

Umberto Clerici loves Canberra for its openness to cultural experiences. For the Italian-born cellist, it’s a reminder, in a way, of Europe—there’s a platform for artistic daring.

“[In Canberra] I’ve always found that the narrative that I can have with the audience around the concert is always well-taken, when I introduce them to the journey that we are going to have,” he says.

Next week, that journey belongs to Edward Elgar, one of England’s most iconic composers. Elgar is famous for ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ (with AC Benson’s lyrics)—England’s Waltzing Matilda. However, Clerici will be performing Elgar’s cello concerto, made famous by Jacqueline du Pré. It was written in the context of considerable personal and professional challenges for the composer, against the backdrop of the First World War.

“Elgar was watching, in a way, the destruction of the imperial idea that was. There is a context in history…but in the same moment, there is this personal story,” Clerici explains.

“The Adagio is so beautiful. Elgar’s wife was severely sick and then she died. This is, in a way—for me—a sort of love letter…and also it’s a reflection of where the world was going after the First World War that killed so many people and destroyed so much of the world…the end of a political moment.”

Umberto Clerici by Laura Stanca.

Clerici describes how the only constant was change—even in Elgar’s musical world, where experimental composers were questioning “all the boundaries that there were before.”

While in Canberra, Clerici will also give an afternoon recital with pianist Benjamin Kopp. It’s a completely different experience for the audience—an opportunity to experience the music up close.

“Cello is a very physical instrument. You can see the physical effort, you can feel the breathing of the player in a recital environment. Everything becomes more spectacular on the mainstage with the orchestra—but you completely lose this personal contact between the player and the audience.”

It’s also a more personal dynamic between two musicians, which he likens to a conversation, “a dialogue between different instruments.”

As for the music itself, Clerici and Kopp will perform two contrasting sonatas—one a rare and “incredibly touching” sonata from Rachmaninov, almost never performed in Australia, and the other composed by Beethoven.

Clerici calls the latter a ‘crash test’ of the sonata form, compressed into just 15 minutes—and composed at a time when Beethoven had already lost his hearing.

“There are all the elements, just they are so compacted. It’s like…a scaffolding of the music of Beethoven,” he says.

“There is all the extremity of the gestures of his music but with no rendering on top. It relates very well to the Rachmaninov—one is so dry and essential and the other one is so luxurious…they make a great pair.”

the essentials

What: Umberto Clerici in recital, followed by complimentary afternoon tea
When: Sunday 20 October, 2 pm
Where: Grand Hall, University House
Tickets: $29 – $40
More information: cso.org.au/recitalfour

What: ActewAGL Llewellyn Four featuring Umberto Clerici
When: Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 October, 7.30 pm, Pre-concert talk at 6.45 pm
Where: Llewellyn Hall, ANU
Tickets: $29 – $95
More information: cso.org.au/llewellyn-four