ECHOES OF HUMANITY - NCO (CONCERT)

 

National Capital Orchestra

Louis Sharpe, conductor

Lucas Krupinski, solo piano

Llewellyn Hall, September 12

 

Reviewed by Len Power

 

Joining forces with the St Vincent de Paul Society, Canberra/Goulburn, the National Capital Orchestra presented a charity concert to help support people in our region experiencing hardship.

Echoes of Humanity described perfectly the emotive and famous works presented. That they were also a formidable challenge to perform created quite a sense of anticipation before the concert began.

Conducted by Louis Sharpe, the program commenced with the much-loved Piano Concerto No. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninov.

The piano was played by Lucas Krupinski. This British-Polish pianist made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2018 and has appeared with major orchestras across Asia, Europe and North America. He has also won many competitions. He performed at the Canberra International Music Festival in 2022.

Lucas Krupinski

From the outset, Krupinski’s playing was notable for its sensitivity, bringing out the richness in the melodies while stirring heightened emotions. The orchestra, guided by Sharpe, played confidently and with great clarity. Together, Krupinski and the orchestra gave this work an excellent performance, showing why this work’s fame has endured since its first full performance in 1901. It was thrilling to have the opportunity to experience it live.

National Capital Orchestra

After interval, Louis Sharpe and the orchestra returned to play another possibly even more formidable work – Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 (Titan). Premiered in 1889, this deeply personal work is also highly emotional. It required a large orchestra to play, and Louis Sharpe advised the audience that the orchestra on stage was the largest ever for the company.

Lucas Krupinski, piano, and Louis Sharpe, conductor

From its quiet beginning, the orchestra showed great control. Through the various melodies and dramatic passages, they brought out all the shifting emotions of the work with enormous clarity and strength. There was particularly fine work by the French horns and the bassoons, and every part of the orchestra gave Mahler’s work a rousing performance of which they should all feel proud.

This was an exhilarating concert of two highly challenging works. Louis Sharpe, the orchestra and Lucas Krupinski made this an event to remember.

 

Photos by Peter Hislop

 

This review was first published by Canberra CityNews digital edition on 13 September 2026.

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs.

Len Power also presents the weekly Concert Hall program on Artsound FM, playing recordings of some of the best concerts from in and around Canberra. Concert Hall can be heard on Sundays at 8pm and is repeated on Wednesdays at 2pm.

DAISY PULLS IT OFF (PLAY)

 

Written by Denise Deegan

Directed by Kate Blackhurst

Canberra REP production at the Canberra REP Theatre, Acton to 26 September

 

 

Reviewed by Len Power 11 September 2026

 

It’s a rare play that gives 13 women, no men, a chance to play a set of colourful characters in a parody of a ‘Girls Own’ adventure in the style of the much-loved fiction of Angela Brazil, Ellinor Brent-Dyer and Enid Blyton.

 

Set in 1927 England in the elite Grangewood School for Young Ladies, Daisy Meredith, the first scholarship student, has to deal with practical jokes, snobbery and hockey while pluckily managing to solve a mystery at the same time.

 

This mystery story is performed as a play probably written by the school’s students themselves. As expected in a school play, props are minimal. The passing scenery outside a train window and the framed school portraits are particularly imaginative and amusing.

 

The characters are mostly schoolgirls with a couple of staff members, and they are played by actors of all ages. As part of the play, a couple of “male” characters turn up with false beards and moustaches to add to the fun.

Ashleigh Butler (Daisy) and Alex McPherson (Sybil)

This play is a golden opportunity for actors to play the characters encountered in this type of period fiction. Everyone has their moment and there are some outstanding performances. Ashleigh Butler as Daisy is a fine heroine filled with determination and moral courage. Alex McPherson plays Sybil Burlington, the nasty snob, with relish and the best performance in the show is Elaine Noon as the eccentric best friend, Trixie Martin. Noon shows a true understanding of the style required with her particularly uninhibited and delightful playing.

 

The play seemed a bit long and wordy for what it is and the pace was a bit slow at times. However, this is a funny play and a nostalgic dive back into the literature that people of a certain age grew up with.

 

 

Photo by Alex Unikowski

 

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs.

 

ARCADIAN SPRING - MUSICA DA CAMERA (CONCERT)

 

Musica Da Camera String Orchestra

John Ma, musical director

Holy Covenant Church, Cook, September 5

 

Reviewed by Len Power

 

It might not have looked like spring outside, but Musica Da Camera ensured their concert showed us the promise and glory that the season can offer.

With a thoughtful and apt collection of music works by Bach, Fischer, Scarlatti, Telemann and Vivaldi, this spring concert, directed by Early Music specialist, John Ma, was a delight for the senses.

Violinist, John Ma, gave entertaining and educational information about the chosen works and he was really in fine form with this concert. He could make anyone love baroque music.

The program commenced with Alessandro Scarlatti’s Sinfonia suite from Clori, Dorino e Amore. With harpsichordist, Ariana Odermatt, Ma led the orchestra in a spirited playing of this work with its grand opening, elegant melodies and charming rhythms.

Ariana Odermatt, harpsichordist

Ouverture Burlesque by Georg Philipp Telemann was next. Burlesque in the 18^th century saw music provoke laughter through parody or cartoonish exaggeration. The work provided musical portraits of Commedia del Arte characters such as Scaramouches, Harlequinade, Colombine and Pierrot. Ma’s colourful descriptions of these characters provided a welcome and amusing depth to the music.

John Ma with Musica Da Camera orchestra members

The orchestra then played Bach’s sparkling Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor. This was a wonderfully clear and graceful playing of this timeless work. In three movements, Ma and the orchestra excelled with a particularly beautiful and sensitive playing of the central Andante. It was the highlight of the concert.

The next work, Vivaldi’s Concerto for Strings in B-flat major (Conca) was inspired by the strings mimicking the resonant blasts of a conch shell. It was a good example of the Baroque era’s spirit of experimentation and everyone clearly had fun playing it.

Johann Fischer, a German composer, was a good choice for spring with his 3^rd Suite from Le Journal du Printemps. The elegance of the French Court style blended with the contrapuntal traditions of German music and this fine work was very well played.

Telemann’s Excerpts from Die Satyn in Arcadien was the final work on the program. The introduction was rhythmic and full of atmosphere and the dances in the second half were witty, colourful and rousing. They were played with gusto and skill by Ma and the orchestra. By the end, there was definitely a feeling of spring in the air.

 

Photos by Dalice Trost

 

This review was first published by Canberra CityNews digital edition on 6 September 2026.

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs.

Len Power also presents the weekly Concert Hall program on Artsound FM, playing recordings of some of the best concerts from in and around Canberra. Concert Hall can be heard on Sundays at 8pm and is repeated on Wednesdays at 2pm.