Music / “Blown Away!”, David Pereira, cello; Edward Neeman, piano; Amanda Tao, flute and Anna Chung, clarinet. At the Australian Centre for Christianity & Culture, Barton, December 10. Reviewed by LEN POWER.

AN end-of-year concert, “Blown Away!” was the fifth “70 Not Out!” program of David Pereira’s 70^th birthday year celebrations.

His guest performers were the pianist and Pereira’s regular collaborator Edward Neeman, and two young professionals, Amanda Tao on flute and Anna Chung on clarinet. Each of the four performers have a formidable list of credentials from the music world, so it was no surprise that the concert included a wide range of challenging works by several composers from the 19^th century to the present day.

The first half of the program began with “Trio for flute, cello and piano” by the Czech composer, Bohuslav Martinů. The first movement was bright and rich, giving way to a reflective second movement and finishing dramatically. The trio gave it an exciting and colourful performance.

The second work was “Trio for clarinet, cello and piano Op. 114” by Johannes Brahms. This more familiar work was romantic, reflective and dramatic in places. The trio played it superbly.

The second half of the program commenced with a new work by David Pereira – “Sounds for Sylvia, for clarinet and cello”.  The three parts were described in the program as “Free Spirit – Mother – Playful” and the music certainly evoked images that were joyful, edgy, warm and, with the tune of “Three Blind Mice” suddenly appearing in the third part, the description of “Playful” was certainly apt.

Astor Piazzolla’s well-known work “Oblivion” followed and was given a beautifully passionate and romantic performance. Swedish contemporary composer, Svante Henryson, was represented with “Off Piste for clarinet and cello”, a quirky, cheerful, often sly work that the performers clearly enjoyed playing.

The final work played was Ukraine-born Nikolai Kapustin’s “Trio for flute, cello and piano”, a modern, jazz-inflected work that was melodic, haunting and, with its rousing finale, was the perfect end to a delightful concert that truly was a celebration in itself.