2 o 1 n a t i o n a c o n c e r s e a s o
1 l t n
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Richard TognettI AO Artistic Director and Lead Violin
Helena Rathbone Principal 2nd Violin
Satu Vänskä Assistant Leader
Madeleine Boud Violin
Alice Evans Violin
Aiko Goto Violin
Mark Ingwersen Violin
Ilya Isakovich Violin
Christopher Moore Principal Viola
Nicole Divall Viola
Stephen King Viola
Timo-Veikko Valve Principal Cello
Melissa Barnard Cello
Julian Thompson Cello
Maxime Bibeau Principal Double Bass
part-time musicians ZOË BLACK Violin
Veronique Serret Violin
Caroline Henbest Viola
Daniel Yeadon Cello
Internationally renowned for inspired programming and the rapturous response of audiences and critics, the Australian Chamber Orchestra is a product of our country’s vibrant, adventurous and enquiring spirit. In performances around Australia, around the world and on many recordings, the ACO moves hearts and stimulates minds with repertoire spanning six centuries and a vitality and virtuosity unmatched by other ensembles. Under the inspiring leadership of Richard Tognetti AO, the ACO performs as a versatile ‘ensemble of soloists’, a chamber group and a symphony orchestra, on modern and period instruments. Only the cellists are seated and the resulting sense of energy and individuality is one of the most commented-upon elements of an ACO concert experience. The ACO tours Australia seven times annually with subscription concerts in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth, Sydney and Wollongong. As Australia’s flagship orchestra, the ACO regularly tours Europe, the USA and Asia, performing in the world’s most prestigious venues, including London’s Wigmore Hall, New York’s Carnegie Hall and Vienna’s Musikverein. Such celebrated soloists as Emmanuel Pahud, Steven Isserlis, Dawn Upshaw, Imogen Cooper, Christian Lindberg, Melvyn Tan and Pieter Wispelwey regularly perform with the Orchestra. The ACO is renowned for collaborating with artists from diverse genres, including singers Tim Freedman, Neil Finn, Katie Noonan, Paul Capsis, Danny Spooner and Barry Humphries and visual artists Michael Leunig, Bill Henson, Shaun Tan and Jon Frank. Uniquely among Australian orchestras, several musicians perform on spectacularly fine instruments. Tognetti’s 1743 Guarneri del Gesù violin and Principal Cellist Timo-Veikko Valve’s 1729 Giuseppe Guarneri filius Andreæ cello are on loan from anonymous benefactors. Principal Second Violinist Helena Rathbone plays a 1759 J.B. Guadagnini violin on loan from the Commonwealth Bank Group. The entrusting of these precious instruments to the ACO’s care is proof of the high esteem in which the Orchestra is held. The ACO has many acclaimed recordings on labels including ABC Classics, BIS, Chandos, EMI, Hyperion and Sony. Recordings of Bach’s violin works won three consecutive ARIA Awards in 2006-8. Recent releases include the television series Classical Destinations II, the award-winning film Musica Surfica and Luminous. Through the ACO’s ambitious national Education, Qantas Emerging Artists and ACO2 Programs, thousands of students all over Australia watch and participate in outstanding music-making every year.
4 Mark Ingwersen Richard Tognetti Stephen King Daniel Yeadon Ilya Isakovich
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win a trip to japan Subscribe by 27 September 2010 and you will automatically go into the draw to win a holiday for two in Japan, courtesy of Cox & Kings, the longest established travel company in the world with a 250 year history (coxandkings.com.au). This journey offers a taste of the fascinating culture of historic and modern Japan, and its enchanting scenery of mountains and gardens.
Amongst many highlights you will stay in a traditional Japanese ryokan, visit Mount Fuji and Hiroshima Castle and experience the world famous bullet train.
Japan’s Cultural Treasures Escorted Small Group Journey 9 days/8 nights Terms and conditions at aco.com.au. Permit number ACT TP 10/02876.1, NSW LTPS/10/06306, SA T10/1550, VIC 10/2539
Preferred Tr avel Partner
6 Nicole Divall
fr o m richard t o gnet ti, artistic direc t o r
The performer in Les Murray’s poem is not only the performer on the stage, but also the listener as performer.
Performance 7 Madeleine Boud
I starred that night, I shone: I was footwork and firework in one, a rocket that wriggled up and shot darkness with a parasol of brilliants and a peewee descant on a flung bit; I was busters of glitter-bombs expanding to mantle and aurora from a crown, I was fouéttes, falls of blazing paint, para-flares spot-welding cloudy heaven, loose gold off fierce toeholds of white, a finale red-tongued as a haka leap: that too was a butt of all right! As usual after any triumph, I was of course, inconsolable.
So welcome to all listeners; performers all, not just passive sitters out there in the hall. If open-minded, your darkness might be shot with a parasol of brilliants and with busters of glitter-bombs expanding... We’ll aim our para-flares to a spot-welding cloudy heaven, aiming on high to console those inconsolable, tame the untamable, fathom the incomprehensible and offer you a butt of all right. Well, that’s our hope!
tour 1
TEDDY TAHU RH o DES Presented by Commonwealth Bank
The name, Teddy, is wonderfully old-fashioned, but when you hear the voice, you’re not transported back in time, rather across time. This is something of a homecoming as Teddy is one of our dearest musical friends.
Richard Tognetti
9
Impassioned outpourings of love and longing, Mahler’s rapt Adagietto and the first Romantic song-cycle open the season. Teddy Tahu Rhodes is Beethoven’s yearning hero, singing to the distant beloved.
Julian Thompson Melissa Barnard
Teddy Tahu Rhodes
“He oozed star quality.” Washington Post
MAHLER Adagietto BEETHOVEN An die ferne Geliebte BENNETT Songs Before Sleep SAXTON Birthday Piece for RRB PROKOFIEV Five Melodies MENDELSSOHN String Quartet No.3
Richard Tognetti Artistic Director and Lead Violin Teddy Tahu Rhodes Bass-Baritone
Teddy also sings nursery rhymes like There Was An Old Lady and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star with an ingenious, Roald Dahl-esque twist by the cosmopolitan Richard Rodney Bennett. Richard Tognetti performs Prokofiev’s sweet, haunting melodies and leads a new arrangement of Mendelssohn’s breezy and vigorous String Quartet No.3.
4 – 21 February Adelaide Tue 8 Feb 8pm Brisbane Mon 14 Feb 8pm Canberra Fri 4 Feb 8pm Melbourne Sun 6 Feb 2.30pm Mon 7 Feb 8pm Newcastle Mon 21 Feb 7.30pm Perth Wed 9 Feb 7.30pm Sydney City Recital Hall Tue 15 Feb 8pm Wed 16 Feb 7pm Sat 19 Feb 7pm Sydney Opera House Sun 13 Feb 2pm
NATIONAL tour partner
tour 2
LISTEN T o THIS THE REST IS N o ISE Presented by BNP PARIBAS
Is there any other writer who can make music seem as vital and important as Alex Ross? He makes sense of the chaos and kaleidoscopic variety of a century of music.
Richard Tognetti
The Rest is Noise
Alex Ross
“He has an almost uncanny gift for putting music into words.” The Economist Alex Ross, The New Yorker music critic and best-selling author of The Rest is Noise and Listen to This, curates and presents two programs of the music that matters to him and to history. Ross will give a pre-concert talk one hour before every performance.
TAKEMITSU Nostalghia BRITTEN Variations on a theme of Frank Bridge STRAVINSKY Apollo: Apotheosis WEBERN Five Movements, Op.5 XENAKIS Voile STRAUSS Metamorphosen Listen to This ARAÑÉS Chacona: a la vida bona BACH Chaconne from Partita No.2 DOWLAND (arr. Bruce) Two Laments PURCELL Chacony; Dido’s Lament ADAMS Shaker Loops CLYNE Within her arms (Australian Premiere) BARBER Adagio for strings RAMEAU Chaconne from Dardanus
Richard Tognetti Artistic Director and Lead Violin
Alex Ross Curator & Presenter
Fiona Campbell Mezzo Soprano (Listen to This)
The Rest is Noise “The twentieth century in music was, above all, an age of extremes. In this program I want to capture the stunning diversity of a muchmisunderstood epoch. The first half focuses on lyricism, nostalgia, variations on the past; the second half brings sonic revolution and upheaval. Strauss’ Metamorphosen , finished in the last weeks of World War II, is at once cerebral and confessional, a message from the century’s dark heart.” Alex Ross
Listen to This “Music may not be a universal language, but it does possess a basic grammar that keeps surfacing across the centuries. In this program, you’ll hear how a bawdy Spanish dance evolved into Bach’s immensely serious Chaconne, how a descending figure of lament echoed from the Renaissance into the twentieth century. In Anna Clyne’s recent piece Within her arms, ancient and modern voices hauntingly intermingle.” Alex Ross
5–19 March Adelaide Tue 8 Mar 8pm (Listen to This) Brisbane Mon 14 Mar 8pm (Listen to This) Canberra Sat 5 Mar 8pm (The Rest is Noise) Melbourne Sun 6 Mar 2.30pm (Listen to This) Mon 7 Mar 8pm (The Rest is Noise) Perth Wed 9 Mar 7.30pm (The Rest is Noise) Sydney City Recital Hall Tue 15 Mar 8pm (The Rest is Noise) Wed 16 Mar 7pm (Listen to This) Sat 19 Mar 7pm (Listen to This) Sydney Opera House Sun 13 Mar 2pm (The Rest is Noise) Wollongong Thu 17 Mar 7.30pm (The Rest is Noise) NATIONAL tour partner
12 Aiko Goto
tour 3
glit tering fr Ö st Presented by VANGUARD INVESTMENTS
I hadn’t so much as heard, let alone listened to, Eine kleine Nachtmusik in years. My immediate reaction to the idea of playing it was no, until I listened and realised anew that it is a masterpiece worth performing well. No introduction will do justice to Martin Fröst. Quite simply, he is the most exciting clarinettist alive.
Richard Tognetti
13
After centuries in the hands of street corner buskers, a fresh, definitive performance of Mozart’s most popular piece, Eine kleine Nachtmusik .
Satu Vänskä
Martin Fröst
“A true performance artist, as unpredictable as he is brilliant.” Art Desk
MOZART Eine kleine Nachtmusik BRAHMS (arr. Fröst) Hungarian Dances HILLBORG Peacock Tales (Australian Premiere) COPLAND Clarinet Concerto RAVEL (arr. Tognetti) String Quartet
Richard Tognetti Artistic Director and Lead Violin Martin Fröst Clarinety
Mesmerising as a snake-charmer, lissom as a faun, with a technique that makes him the finest clarinettist of his generation, Martin Fröst has redefined the clarinet – you’ll never hear such range and expression – and classical music, with the inclusion of mime in his performance of Peacock Tales and a new arrangement of Brahms’ exuberant gypsy music. Then, music like a warm Sunday morning: Copland’s Latin and jazz-influenced Clarinet Concerto and Ravel’s delicate yet passionate String Quartet.
12–28 May Adelaide Tue 17 May 8pm Canberra Sat 14 May 8pm Melbourne Sun 15 May 2.30pm Mon 16 May 8pm Newcastle Thu 12 May 7.30pm Perth Wed 18 May 7.30pm Sydney City Recital Hall Tue 24 May 8pm Wed 25 May 7pm Sat 28 May 7pm Sydney Opera House Sun 22 May 2pm Wollongong Thu 26 May 7.30pm NATIONAL tour partner
tour 4
BAR o QUE VIRTU o SI Presented by transfield
I always wanted to put Sculthorpe and Vivaldi side by side, wondering whether these strange bedfellows might actually make congenial compadres. We’ve gone a step further here, interweaving a few Australian miniatures amid the virtuosic sounds of the Baroque, placing ACO musicians centre-stage.
Richard Tognetti
CORELLI Concerto Grosso, Op.6 No.2 VIVALDI Concerto for four violins, RV580 TELEMANN Viola Concerto HANDEL Concerto Grosso, Op.6 No.12 TARTINI (arr. Kreisler) Violin Sonata, Op.1 No.4, “Devil’s Trill” GREENBAUM Moments of Falling BRUMBY The Phoenix and the Turtle I and III LEDGER Johann has left the building (World Premiere) SCULTHORPE Port Essington
Helena Rathbone Lead Violin Satu Vänskä Violin Christopher Moore Viola “It says a lot of a small chamber orchestra that they can put on a concert featuring their own soloists which sounds as if they’ve flown in top international names for the job.” Wentworth Courier
The concerto – the contests and concord between soloist and orchestra we enjoy so much – was born in 18th century Italy, starting out with small groups of musicians from the orchestra sparring with the larger group – perfect for an orchestra full of stars like the ACO. Discover the Baroque concerto: Corelli invents it; Vivaldi turns it into a showstopper for four dazzling violinists; Telemann writes a dashing turn for viola; and Handel assimilates styles and dances from across Europe and fuses them into an instrumental masterwork. Satu Vänskä performs the diabolically difficult “Devil’s Trill”, written note for note from a performance by Satan dreamt by Tartini, first ever owner of a Stradivarius violin. Two hundred years later, Australian composers such as Peter Sculthorpe are still extending this wonderful medium, the string orchestra. Committed to Australian composition, the ACO has given 1700 performances of over 250 works by 80 Australian composers (aco.com.au/australianmusic).
3–14 July Adelaide Tue 5 Jul 8pm Brisbane Mon 11 Jul 8pm Melbourne Sun 3 Jul 2.30pm Mon 4 Jul 8pm Sydney City Recital Hall Tue 12 Jul 8pm Wed 13 Jul 7pm Sat 9 Jul 7pm Sydney Opera House Sun 10 Jul 2pm Wollongong Thu 14 Jul 7.30pm NATIONAL tour partner
16 Timo-Veikko Valve Christopher Moore Maxime Bibeau
tour 5
SCHUBERT STRING Q UINTET Presented by IBM
I met Finnish cellist Jan-Erik Gustafsson at the Maribor Festival: what a strong, dazzling player he is, a great partner for our resident Finnish cellist Timo-Veikko Valve.
Richard Tognetti
17 Maxime Bibeau
Jan-Erik Gustafsson
“Playing with fire and commitment.” The Independent
SCHUBERT String Quintet, D956 BACH A Musical Offering, BWV1079 (excerpts) STRAVINSKY Concertino; Double Canon “Raoul Dufy in Memoriam”; Three Pieces for string quartet WEBERN Two Pieces for cello
Richard Tognetti Artistic Director and Lead Violin Satu Vänskä Violin Christopher Moore Viola Timo-Veikko Valve Cello Jan-Erik Gustafsson Cello
Dramatic, vulnerable, consoling, inspiring, sublime: Schubert’s String Quintet is a perfect masterpiece. Contrasting uplifting outbursts with moments of the utmost tenderness, Schubert is at the height of his powers and classical music at its most transcendent. Bach’s Musical Offering, an ingenious response to a musical challenge from Frederick the Great, is interwoven with Webern’s exquisite cello miniatures and Stravinsky’s extraordinary chamber music, which distils in a few brief phrases ideas he elsewhere turns into exuberant ballets.
5–21 August Adelaide Tue 16 Aug 8pm Brisbane Mon 8 Aug 8pm Canberra Sat 13 Aug 8pm Melbourne Sun 14 Aug 2.30pm Mon 15 Aug 8pm Newcastle Thu 11 Aug 7.30pm Perth Wed 17 Aug 7.30pm Sydney City Recital Hall Tue 9 Aug 8pm Wed 10 Aug 7pm Sat 20 Aug 7pm Sydney Opera House Sun 21 Aug 2pm Wollongong Fri 5 Aug 7.30pm NATIONAL tour and founding partner
tour 6
VIENNESE SERENADE I love introducing new guest directors to the ACO, and Benjamin Schmid is definitely something special. Not only a great violinist, but an interesting and thoughtful individual, who brings his unique outlook to the ACO.
Richard Tognetti
Benjamin Schmid
“A genius on the way to becoming Austria’s most important violinist since Fritz Kreisler.” Wiener Zeitung
BACH Concerto for two violins, BWV1043 SCHUBERT Rondo in A, D438 KORNGOLD Lento religioso (from Symphonic Serenade) HK GRUBER Violin Concerto, “Nebelsteinmusik” (Australian Premiere) LANNER Die Werber BREINSCHMID Musette pour Elisabeth & Wien Bleibt Krk (Australian Premiere)
Benjamin Schmid Guest Director and Lead Violin Helena Rathbone Violin
From the world’s most famous musical city, Viennese violinist Benjamin Schmid is the ideal guide to its hidden gems: opulently Romantic Korngold; quirky postmodern HK Gruber; enthralling Schubert; and the other Waltz King, Joseph Lanner. Schmid’s mastery gives him the freedom to play with Viennese traditions, to improvise, to swing waltzes as Grappelli might have done as the night goes on. Of Schmid’s Bach, Gramophone said: “Performances with more interest per bar than most can manage for an entire sonata.”
12–25 September Adelaide Tue 20 Sep 8pm Brisbane Mon 12 Sep 8pm Canberra Sat 17 Sep 8pm Melbourne Sun 18 Sep 2.30pm Mon 19 Sep 8pm Newcastle Thu 15 Sep 7.30pm Sydney City Recital Hall Tue 13 Sep 8pm Wed 14 Sep 7pm Sat 24 Sep 7pm Sydney Opera House Sun 25 Sep 2pm
20 Caroline Henbest Alice Evans Nicole Divall
tÜÜr 7
BEETH o VEN PAST o RAL SYMPH o NY Beethoven frightened the heavens with his forceful genius and so even more astonishing is the contrasting of such a character with the ineffable tenderness of this symphony. Wieniawski is not the best known of Polish composers but he certainly ought to be on account of his gift for melody and drama. It’s a pleasure to bring another work by Erkki-Sven Tüür to life.
Richard Tognetti
21 Richard Tognetti
TÜÜR New Work (2011 Barbara Blackman Commission) WIENIAWSKI Violin Concerto No.2 BEETHOVEN Symphony No.6, “Pastoral”
Richard Tognetti Artistic Director and Lead Violin “Tognetti has given us Beethoven that is alive and hot, fresh and memorable.” The Australian
The most unashamedly beautiful of Beethoven's symphonies, perfect for the sweet, burnished sound of the ACO strings, the radiant Pastoral swirls with the sounds of bucolic breezes, brooks, birds and storms. Richard Tognetti performs the quintessential Romantic violin concerto, full of dazzling technique, lush harmonies and swooning melodies. Critically acclaimed as “inspired, compelling”, Tüür’s music for the ACO is both clever and moving.
5–19 November Brisbane Fri 18 Nov 8pm Canberra Sat 5 Nov 8pm Melbourne Sun 6 Nov 2.30pm Mon 7 Nov 8pm Perth Wed 9 Nov 7.30pm Sydney City Recital Hall Tue 15 Nov 8pm Wed 16 Nov 7pm Sat 19 Nov 7pm Sydney Opera House Sun 13 Nov 2pm
Australian Chamber Orchestra Pty Ltd a not for profit company registered in NSW ABN 45 001 335 182
Artistic Director Richard Tognetti AO General manager Timothy Calnin Post PO Box R21, Royal Exchange NSW 1225 Street Opera Quays Street 2 East Circular Quay, Sydney NSW 2000 Phone 1800 444 444 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm) Fax (02) 8274 3887 Email boxoffice@aco.com.au Website aco.com.au