Jazz / Joe Chindamo and  Zoe Black, Tuggeranong Arts Centre, June 13. Reviewed by BILL STEPHENS.

The leap from Carnegie Hall and Melbourne Recital Centre to the intimate theatre at Tuggeranong Arts Centre might seem considerable, yet TAC proved the ideal setting to savour the virtuosity of two of Australia’s most accomplished musicians on a cold Canberra evening.

Pianist Joe Chindamo, currently the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s composer in residence, and violinist Zoe Black, who led the Australian Chamber Orchestra at 23, have graced all three venues and many more.

Even so, the strong impression was that the duo relished the occasion as much as the audience, moving through a program spanning Bach, Handel, Piazzolla, Gershwin and Chindamo himself.

Chindamo and Black do more than perform these works faithfully; they reinvent them with virtuosity and imagination. Their interpretations honour each composer’s original impulse while exploring its possibilities with dazzling technical command.

Each piece was introduced informally, Chindamo at greater length, Black with more brevity, before both players seemed to disappear into the music, teasing fresh ideas from familiar melodies.

They set the tone with a tantalising arrangement of an aria from Bach’s Goldberg Variations, then raised the stakes with a dazzling account of Astor Piazzolla’s La Muerte del Angel. Chindamo’s own Three Spaces preceded a blissful rendition of Ennio Morricone’s theme from Cinema Paradiso.

Every piece was a highlight, but especially memorable were their inventive arrangements of Earle Hagen’s Harlem Nocturne, George Gershwin’s It Ain’t Necessarily So from Porgy and Bess, and Giacomo Puccini’s aria Nessun Dorma from Turandot.

Other standouts included the glorious Lascia ch’io piango from Handel’s Rinaldo, a stunning take on the Habanera from Bizet’s Carmen and Carter Burwell’s theme from Raising Arizona. Chindamo’s own works, especially Toccata, Into the Light and Reverie, likewise showcased the duo’s formidable technical brilliance.

Chris Deacon recorded the concert for Artsound FM, offering another chance to hear these highlights, and others not mentioned here, when the broadcast airs.

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