Stephanie Jones, The Black Cockatoo: Melbourne Guitar Festival Concert Review

Sem 2 Wk 12

Andrea Ko, Janelle Koh

Friday 21st September – Sunday 23rd September 2018
A: The guitar is not usually an instrument you’d immediately associate with classical music.
J: Indeed, when someone says they play guitar, the thought of a fuckboi asking you if you would like to hear their staggered rendition of ‘Wonderwall’ springs to mind.

A: Yet, it is becoming increasingly prominent as a classical instrument and is sure to be a delight for those who have yet to discover it. Many Melburnians (Janelle and I among them) had the pleasure of enjoying a weekend of sublime classical guitar music by various classical guitarists at the Melbourne Guitar Festival, each showcasing their own style and flair.

In the weeks leading up to the Festival season, our musical palates were teased by short videos posted on the Melbourne Guitar Festival page with short snippets of what each artist would be performing. Our attention was instantly captured by Stephanie Jones, a charismatic young classical guitarist who happened to be a woman (so basically a unicorn in the classical guitar world). It was extremely exciting to finally see her playing live at Melba Hall in Parkville.

J: The evening got off to a good start, as Andrea and I exchanged pleasantries and classical music puns. Ah, a kindred spirit! Stephanie came onstage soon after, maintaining a presence that was not exactly commanding, but her aloofness had a charm of its own. My favourite piece in the first half of the performance was her rendition of Richard Charlton’s ‘The Black Cockatoo Flying Alone’, where she seemed incredibly comfortable leaning into the lows and highs of the piece, bringing out its distinctive textural blend of optimism and pathos. The piece in some ways seemed like it was made for her, this ‘lone wolf’ figure who played to the beat of her own drum.

A: I greatly enjoyed Stephanie’s performance of Bach’s sonata in the first half. Although the Baroque style of the piece did not appear to be the most comfortable fit for her, it’s really something when a guitarist can make a violin sonata sound better than you ever could on your own violin. Bach’s pieces are deceptively simple to the ear, but the layers of harmony creates great complexity. It hence requires highly developed technique in order to bring out the multiple voices that Bach has incorporated into his music. The magic of Stephanie’s playing was that if you closed your eyes, it sounded as though more than one guitar was being played simultaneously. She had that punk-rocker look, yet created so many colourful sounds on just six strings.

J: The intermission was a good twenty minutes of us stuffing our faces and marvelling at the amazing spread the Melbourne Guitar Festival had put together. A number of cocktail weenies were ingested at rapid speed, and Andrea saved a Tim Tam in hand for dessert.

A: The second half was even more magnetic than the first. Janelle’s favourite piece was obviously Stephanie’s rendition of Astor Piazzolla’s ‘Invierno Porteno’, where she was literally about to jump out of her seat next to me from emotion. Being a classical guitarist herself, Janelle could probably more fully appreciate the difficulty in developing good technique.

J: I felt that piece was really Stephanie at her best. Piazzolla is a composer who is hard to please, as his pieces are a blend of jazz-classical-tango elements, finished off with an Argentinean flair. Stephanie delivered the piece with tenacity, stomping out bass notes at apparent whim while delivering heartfelt vibratos on the higher strings, competently guiding the piece as it oscillated between its purposeful and playful ends.

Despite all the wonderful aspects of her performance, we must admit we were a little disappointed with the final piece of the concert - ‘Five Bagatelles’ by William Walton. Ending on a set of five short pieces is not much of a bang, and it was also a shame that it was a slightly stuttered performance.


A: Overall, we were extremely impressed with Stephanie’s performance and humbled by the opportunity to rediscover the guitar and how versatile it is as an instrument. Once again, we would like to extend our gratitude to the Melbourne Guitar Foundation for providing us the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful season of music. We are still in awe.

Some music puns for the road:

• ‘Baroque is not really her forte’ – Andrea, in reference to the Bach Violin Sonata
  
• ‘It really tugged on our heartSTRINGS’ – Janelle, at the end of the first half
  
• ‘Should we put the criticism at the end? Don’t want this review to end...on a bad note’ – Andrea, while writing this review
  
• ‘Thanks for ko(h)-writing this with me’ – Andrea to Janelle, in appreciation for Janelle’s hard work this year as Managing Editor
  

Janelle and Andrea received complimentary tickets to the Melbourne Guitar Festival