Romantic Symphony — 2010 National Concert Season
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ROMANTIC SYMPHONY — 2010 NATIONAL CONCERT SEASON ASSOCIATE TOUR PARTNER ASSOCIATE TOUR PARTNER Transfi eld began life over half a century ago and although its activities were in the realm of construction, its founder, my father Franco, saw no distinction between the creative process of artists and engineers. The company began supporting the arts when it founded the Transfi eld Art Prize in 1960. This initiative quickly established itself as the premier contemporary prize for art in Australia. In 1973 the company founded the Biennale of Sydney and remains its founding partner. Continuing our history of supporting cutting-edge, contemporary culture, Transfi eld celebrates over a decade of support for the ACO. This year we are proud to announce a new vehicle, the Transfi eld Foundation, which will continue this patronage. As Chairman of the ACO, few activities have given me more pleasure and a greater sense of pride than seeing this home-grown orchestra reach and capture the imagination of local and international audiences. Under the direction of Richard Tognetti the orchestra continues to demonstrate breathtaking creativity and the performance of Romantic Symphony you are about to experience will be no exception. ASSOCIATE TOUR PARTNER GUIDO BELGIORNO-NETTIS AM JOINT MANAGING DIRECTOR, TRANSFIELD HOLDINGS TOUR FOUR ROMANTIC SYMPHONY RICHARD TOGNETTI Artistic Director SPEED READ GREENWOOD Jonny Greenwood leads a Popcorn Superhet Receiver double life as rock guitarist (with [Australian premiere] Radiohead) and burgeoning classical composer, with awards both for his concert works and fi lm soundtracks. Popcorn SCHUBERT Superhet Receiver distils his Symphony No.8, “Unfi nished” many infl uences, particularly Messiaen and Penderecki, into what Alex Ross dubs “avant-garde INTERVAL Romanticism”: a luxuriantly sonorous — but thoroughly modern — take on both the lush and jagged potentialities of BRAHMS massed strings. Symphony No.1 Schubert’s Eighth Symphony, even though incomplete (we have only two of a projected four movements) Approximate durations (minutes): has been described by Donald Tovey as “the most perfect of 18 • 25 • INTERVAL • 45 his large instrumental works”. Th e concert will last approximately two hours including interval. As radical a departure from Schubert’s previous orchestral works as was Beethoven’s “Eroica” from his, the “Unfi nished” — even as a frustrating torso — remains SYDNEY one of Schubert’s best-loved Angel Place compositions. (Interestingly, Sat 29 May 8pm, Tue 1 Jun 8pm, Wed 2 Jun 7pm Tovey thought that the Rondo Brilliante — which the ACO is playing around the country in SYDNEY September and October — would Opera House be perfect material for the never- Sun 30 May 2.30pm written fi nale.) Meet Richard Tognetti, signing his new CD Borges likened Brahms’ music Richard Tognetti will sign copies of his new recording of Dvoˇrák’s to “fi re and crystal”, and as Violin Concerto (BISCD1708) in the Sydney Opera House foyer after a description of the radiant, the concert on Sunday 30 May. To listen to excerpts and watch footage dramatic First Symphony it is from the recording session, visit savd.com.au/ecards/tognetti. completely apt. Schumann had hailed the young Brahms a genius MELBOURNE and urged him to assume the mantle of Beethoven, but as a Hamer Hall symphonist Brahms was slow to Sun 6 Jun 2.30pm, Mon 7 Jun 8pm mature. His perfectionism and his struggle with the example of Beethoven proved hard to overcome. For its troubled genesis, however, the First is a hugely ambitious and dignifi ed work, and a four-movement Th e Australian Chamber Orchestra reserves the right to alter scheduled journey from tragedy to triumph. programs or artists as necessary. AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA 3 MESSAGE FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER FREE PROGRAMS Spreading our wings to encompass the full symphonic C To save trees and money, we sweep of Brahms, the ACO combines forces with A O2 ask that you share one program in our year’s biggest orchestral concert – Romantic between two people where possible. Symphony. Richard Tognetti and the musicians of the ACO have scaled the heights of several Beethoven symphonies in past seasons, but now the border between PREPARE IN ADVANCE Classical and Romantic is decisively crossed and we get Read the program before the the chance to hear Schubert and Brahms brought to life concert. A PDF version of the program will be available at with the verve and vigour which has illuminated the aco.com.au one week before ACO’s performances of earlier symphonies. each tour begins, together with music clips and podcasts. For a chamber orchestra, such a huge undertaking would be impossible to imagine without the generous and ACO COMMUNITY sustained support of Th e Transfi eld Foundation, our Become a Facebook fan or visit Associate Tour Partner for these concerts in Sydney and aco.com.au/blog to read ACO Melbourne. Richard and I sincerely thank Th e Transfi eld news and chat to other fans, Foundation for supporting the ACO’s vision and enabling listen to music and see behind- the-scenes videos and photos. us to turn it into reality. Final arrangements are being made for the ACO’s Trans- HAVE YOUR SAY Atlantic tour in August and September. An impressive We invite your feedback series of invitations has formed into a wonderful series of about this concert at concerts in both North America and Europe, including aco.com.au/yoursay or by email to [email protected]. the prestigious Tanglewood Festival, the summer home of the Boston Symphony, and Aldeburgh’s Snape Proms in the UK. Th e tour will culminate in two concerts in the FREE MONTHLY enchanting city of Maribor in Slovenia where Richard is E-NEWSLETTER the Artistic Director of Festival Maribor. While we’re on For news, special offers and to be sent background information tour, you can track the Orchestra’s progress on aco.com.au about the concerts, sign up or our Facebook page. for the ACO’s free monthly e-newsletter at aco.com.au. TIMOTHY CALNIN GENERAL MANAGER, ACO ACO ON THE RADIO 2MBS FM Wed 7 July 12pm LONDON CONCERT Interview with a musician from the Barefoot Fiddler tour. Please let friends in London know that the ACO will perform at Cadogan Hall on Tuesday 31 August at 7pm. Th e program includes Beethoven’s Symphony No.5 and NEXT TOUR Piano Concerto No.4 with soloist Dejan Lazić and the UK BAREFOOT FIDDLER premiere of Vasks’ Vox Amoris with Richard Tognetti as 8—22 July soloist. Tickets may be booked at the Cadogan Hall Box Offi ce at cadoganhall.com or +44 020 7730 4500. AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA 5 ABOUT THE MUSIC GREENWOOD Popcorn Superhet Receiver (Composed 2005, revised 2007) About the composer: Jonny Greenwood is no stranger to classical music. His early musical interests included Messiaen and Ligeti and he started out as a viola player. He plays several other instruments too, including piano, organ, banjo, glockenspiel and harmonica, and he has a particular Jonny Greenwood love for the ondes martenot. His fi rst published classical (born Oxford, England, 1971) composition was smear (for two ondes martenots and Jonny Greenwood is lead ensemble), which was commissioned by the FuseLeeds guitarist of the band Radiohead. Festival and premiered there in 2004 by the London Alongside their phenomenal Sinfonietta. In 2005 Greenwood was Featured Composer success over the past decade — at the South Bank Centre’s cutting-edge Ether Festival, multi-platinum album sales and where the revised version of smear was performed by the an ever-growing international fanbase — Greenwood has London Sinfonietta in the Royal Festival Hall, one of its been building a career as an two sell-out concerts there. Piano for Children, a new orchestral composer, both in commission for John Constable and the London fi lm soundtracks (Bodysong, Sinfonietta, was also in the program, which included Norwegian Wood, There Will Be music by Dutilleux, Penderecki, Ligeti, Messiaen and Blood) and through an ongoing Mohammed Abdel Wahab. smear was later released association with the BBC Concert Orchestra. on CD on the London Sinfonietta Label as part of their Jerwood Series. ACO Performance History In 2004 Greenwood was made Composer in Residence Unlike the symphonies of with the BBC Concert Orchestra. Th e fi rst fruit of Schubert, the ACO has never this association was Popcorn Superhet Receiver, a BBC played any of Brahms’ four commission, premiered by the BBC Concert Orchestra symphonies. So, along with Jonny Greenwood’s Popcorn in 2005. Th e piece was inspired by radio static and Superhet Receiver, which is an the extended, dissonant chords of Polish composer Australian premiere, Brahms’ Penderecki’s Th renody for the Victims of Hiroshima. First Symphony is an ACO Popcorn Superhet Receiver won the BBC Radio 3 Listeners’ premiere! Award at the 2006 British Composer Awards and, as Schubert’s music fi ts well with part of the award, Greenwood received funding from a chamber orchestra and his the PRS Foundation towards the commission of a new early symphonies 2, 5 & 6 have orchestral work, Doghouse, which was premiered in been played in a number of ACO concerts. The “Unfi nished” February this year. has also been performed previously, in 1986 and again in 2002. AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA 7 About the music: A superhet (superheterodyne) receiver generates a fi xed tone as a result of the frequency diff erence between two carrier waves – in the early days of wireless transmission, this was a frequency equivalent to a note at the very top of glissando to move from one the violin’s range. Popcorn is a low-fat, high-fi bre, maize note to another by sliding (best foodstuff . achieved by a string player dragging a fi nger up the string, When Jonny Greenwood was a child, he listened to or by a trombonist extending cassettes of music in the family car.