BY JO ST LEON
Jonathan Békés in recital
TSO studio, 21 November
Jonathan Békés (Jono) is the newest recruit to the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra’s outstanding cello section. He has fitted an enormous amount of music into his 25 years. He studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with Susan Blake and Julian Smiles, and then at the Australian National Academy of Music with Howard Penny. Jono’s career with the TSO began in January 2018. In a recent chat, he’d told me that what makes it truly special to him is playing in a section with another of his past teachers, Martin Penicka. Last Wednesday evening, he treated us to a recital in the TSO studio prior to his participation in the 2018 Gisborne International Music Competition.
The recital opened with Trois Strophes sure le nom de SACHER, by 20th Century French composer Henri Dutilleux. This is an unaccompanied work which begins very quietly, with an other-worldly tone that slowly seeped into the consciousness of the audience.
I cannot imagine a scarier way to open a recital, but Jono displayed remarkable self-assurance.
Dutilleux explored the farther reaches of cellistic expression in this work characterised by extreme contrasts, a rainbow of sounds and effects, and great virtuosity. Of course, to do justice to this requires a cellist with vision, imagination, and enormous skill, and Jono proved himself more than equal to the task. The writing is quite fragmented, but he created a narrative that seemed to explore the true inner world of the composer, uniting the fragments and giving meaning to the wonderful array of colours he produced. The virtuosity seemed effortless, with the most difficult of passages executed with aplomb.
The Prelude from the sixth of Bach’s unaccompanied suites for cello followed. Jono displayed artistic maturity as he gave us a performance that showed an understanding of the movement as a whole. From a somewhat understated opening, which highlighted the rhetorical nature of the music and took time to emphasise its speaking qualities, he slowly built momentum with both dynamic and rhythmic intensity, reaching the climactic moments in one seamless gesture.
Jono was joined by pianist Meriel Owen for the second half of the program. Tchaikovsky’s Pezzo Capriccioso was spellbinding, with the beautiful simplicity of the theme complemented by another masterful display of contrasts and colours, and some wonderfully sensitive accompanying.
Prokofiev’s Cello Sonata in C major was the final work on the program. Here Jono and Meriel displayed their consummate skill as chamber musicians, with a beautiful rapport between them as they wove between foreground and background. The strength of the cello sound in the lower register, the beautiful singing tone of the middle register, and the pianistic drama all combined to produce an unforgettable performance of this great sonata.
Jono is no stranger to competition, having most notably reached the semifinal round of the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition with his Clarendon Trio earlier this year. Gisborne is his first solo competition. Regardless of the result, if he produces anything like the quality of music making that he gave us on Wednesday night, he can come home with his head held high.
Jonathan will compete in the Gisborne International Music Competition at 7.30pm this evening.
Images supplied. Headshot courtesy TSO.
