{"id":18920,"date":"2015-07-24T22:39:24","date_gmt":"2015-07-24T12:39:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/?p=18920"},"modified":"2015-07-24T22:39:24","modified_gmt":"2015-07-24T12:39:24","slug":"concert-review-mahlers-fourthomega-ensemble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/?p=18920","title":{"rendered":"Concert Review: Mahler’s Fourth\/Omega ensemble"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"logo\"<\/p>\n

Omega Ensemble<\/em><\/p>\n

Mahler\u2019s Fourth<\/em><\/p>\n

City Recital Hall<\/em><\/p>\n

Monday July 20 at 7.30pm<\/em><\/p>\n

Now in their tenth year, Sydney\u2019s Omega Ensemble continues to live up to its stellar reputation. Artistic director\/clarinettist David Rowden and his all-star squad of chamber musicians draw from a vibrant and diverse palette of styles, and are just as at home with Mozart divertimenti<\/em> as they are with exciting modern commissions and collaborations. This concert\u2019s centrepiece \u2013 Mahler\u2019s tersely composed fourth Symphony \u2013 sat more than comfortably alongside Paul Stanhope\u2019s Songs for the Shadowland<\/i> and the world premiere of Mark Isaacs\u2019 Chamber Symphony<\/i>, with extraordinary guest soprano Lee Abrahmsen (filling in at short notice for Jane Sheldon) joining Omega Ensemble for all three works.<\/p>\n

The Stanhope, which set three poems of indigenous literary icon Oodgeroo Noonuccal, was performed with subtlety and gorgeous understatement by Abrahmsen, whose hushed and gentle timbre brought truly engaging pathos to sombre imagery of the poetry. Richly constructed woodwind chords and bubbling piano supported the three songs which spoke of unbearable loss, but with the Ensemble\u2019s keen sense of textural and emotional climax adding a glimmer of optimism. A wailing horn interlude linking the second and third songs was especially effective, ably handled by Michael Dixon.<\/p>\n

Commissioned for the Omega Ensemble by Harry and Julie Johnson, Mark Isaacs\u2019 Chamber Symphony<\/i> was a generously melodic creation, a neo-romantic symphony laced with Cole Porter-esque elements which betrayed the composer\u2019s jazz roots. Lee Abrahmsen re-joined the ensemble for the Symphony\u2019s inner Berceuse<\/i> (cradle song) movement, and her wordless musings floating over this gentle lullaby proving to be the highlight of the work. Issacs, conducting from memory, drew a remarkable performance from the Omega Ensemble, particularly in the buoyant final movement which crackled with rhythmic energy.<\/p>\n

Mahler\u2019s fourth symphony is his shortest \u2013 and, at nearly an hour-long, it\u2019s still a journey of a piece. Having had his third symphony bashed by critics, Mahler returned to Des Knaben Wunderhorn<\/i> (a famous collection of folk poetry), basing his fourth symphony on the poem Das Himmlische Leben<\/i>, a child\u2019s vision of heaven, set for soprano in the final movement. Omega Ensemble convincingly navigated Mahler\u2019s abrupt shifts of colour and mood, playing with a gloriously three-dimensional sound and displaying a naturally elastic approach to texture and tempi. Thematic material was etched with clarity, with no nuance ever lost or compromised. The vaguely menacing second movement gave the floor to David Rowden\u2019s crystalline clarinet tone, while cellist Teije Hylkema\u2019s expressive phrasing was the focal point of the third. The famous final movement, sung with spellbinding innocence by Lee Abrahmsen, left listeners with the sense of having experienced something mightily uplifting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Luke Iredale for SoundsLikeSydney\u00a9<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em>Luke is a choral tenor, clarinetist and writer, and earns a crust working in Arts Management with UNSW’s Music Performance Unit. He enjoys the music of Schubert, Howells, Dylan and Hetfield.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Omega Ensemble Mahler\u2019s Fourth City Recital Hall Monday July 20 at 7.30pm Now in their tenth year, Sydney\u2019s Omega Ensemble continues to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18921,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"sls_format":[],"class_list":["post-18920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews"],"acf":{"deck":"","is_featured":false,"media_type":"standard","audio_embed":"","video_url":""},"yoast_head":"\nConcert Review: Mahler's Fourth\/Omega ensemble - Sounds Like Sydney<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/?p=18920\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Concert Review: Mahler's Fourth\/Omega ensemble - Sounds Like Sydney\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Omega Ensemble Mahler\u2019s Fourth City Recital Hall Monday July 20 at 7.30pm Now in their tenth year, Sydney\u2019s Omega Ensemble continues to…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/?p=18920\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sounds Like Sydney\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-07-24T12:39:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/logo.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"212\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/?p=18920#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/?p=18920\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0a3852eddeb5f8e3971a7ee828b5176e\"},\"headline\":\"Concert Review: Mahler’s Fourth\\\/Omega ensemble\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-07-24T12:39:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/?p=18920\"},\"wordCount\":493,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/?p=18920#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/07\\\/logo.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Reviews\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/?p=18920#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/?p=18920\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/?p=18920\",\"name\":\"Concert Review: Mahler's Fourth\\\/Omega ensemble - Sounds Like Sydney\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/?p=18920#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/?p=18920#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/07\\\/logo.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-07-24T12:39:24+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/?p=18920#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/?p=18920\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/?p=18920#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/07\\\/logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/07\\\/logo.png\",\"width\":212,\"height\":280},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/?p=18920#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Concert Review: Mahler’s Fourth\\\/Omega ensemble\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/\",\"name\":\"Sounds Like Sydney\",\"description\":\"Connecting with Music\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Sounds Like Sydney\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/SLS-LOGO.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/SLS-LOGO.png\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":361,\"caption\":\"Sounds Like Sydney\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0a3852eddeb5f8e3971a7ee828b5176e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/25547aeb88bd329b67e6faa3eceee732614589699ca47c42b4e7638f39d89257?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/25547aeb88bd329b67e6faa3eceee732614589699ca47c42b4e7638f39d89257?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/25547aeb88bd329b67e6faa3eceee732614589699ca47c42b4e7638f39d89257?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/soundslikesydney.com.au\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Concert Review: Mahler's Fourth\/Omega ensemble - Sounds Like Sydney","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/?p=18920","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Concert Review: Mahler's Fourth\/Omega ensemble - Sounds Like Sydney","og_description":"Omega Ensemble Mahler\u2019s Fourth City Recital Hall Monday July 20 at 7.30pm Now in their tenth year, Sydney\u2019s Omega Ensemble continues to…","og_url":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/?p=18920","og_site_name":"Sounds Like Sydney","article_published_time":"2015-07-24T12:39:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":212,"height":280,"url":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/logo.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/?p=18920#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/?p=18920"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/#\/schema\/person\/0a3852eddeb5f8e3971a7ee828b5176e"},"headline":"Concert Review: Mahler’s Fourth\/Omega ensemble","datePublished":"2015-07-24T12:39:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/?p=18920"},"wordCount":493,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/?p=18920#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/logo.png","articleSection":["Reviews"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/?p=18920#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/?p=18920","url":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/?p=18920","name":"Concert Review: Mahler's Fourth\/Omega ensemble - Sounds Like Sydney","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/?p=18920#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/?p=18920#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/logo.png","datePublished":"2015-07-24T12:39:24+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/?p=18920#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/?p=18920"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/?p=18920#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/logo.png","width":212,"height":280},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/?p=18920#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Concert Review: Mahler’s Fourth\/Omega ensemble"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/#website","url":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/","name":"Sounds Like Sydney","description":"Connecting with Music","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/#organization","name":"Sounds Like Sydney","url":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SLS-LOGO.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SLS-LOGO.png","width":1000,"height":361,"caption":"Sounds Like Sydney"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/#\/schema\/person\/0a3852eddeb5f8e3971a7ee828b5176e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25547aeb88bd329b67e6faa3eceee732614589699ca47c42b4e7638f39d89257?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25547aeb88bd329b67e6faa3eceee732614589699ca47c42b4e7638f39d89257?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25547aeb88bd329b67e6faa3eceee732614589699ca47c42b4e7638f39d89257?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au"],"url":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18920\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18920"},{"taxonomy":"sls_format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fsls_format&post=18920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}