After a sell-out 2018 residency, Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra return for their second Barbican season in October 2019

21 FEBRUARY 2019

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›› Pioneers of cross art form, multi-media productions, Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) reunite with acclaimed Australian artist and photographer Bill Henson to present the European premiere of Luminous, a music and visual feast for the senses ›› The ACO also perform Bernard Labadie’s string orchestra arrangement of JS Bach’s iconic keyboard masterwork Goldberg Variations ›› The final mixed programme is a quintessential ACO offering including two much loved British orchestral works – Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending performed by Richard Tognetti and Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, plus Schoenberg’s Transfigured Night featuring students from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama

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Marking the mid-point of the ACO’s three-year residency as International Associate Ensemble at Milton Court, Artistic Director, Richard Tognetti and the ACO have today announced the 2019 season as a highlight of the Barbican Centre’s classical programme for the year. The concerts will take place 3-5 October 2019.

Following a sell-out 2018 residency, this year’s programmes are a typically eclectic and bold mix, embodying Tognetti and the ACO’s signature, boundary pushing twist on the concept of what a ‘chamber orchestra’ is back to the London stage. Once again, ACO will collaborate with an inspiring and diverse collection of artists; presenting work which straddles art forms and sheds new light on the great music of the past and present.

Richard Tognetti said “Our residency with Milton Court and close relationship with the Barbican Centre has allowed us to build a relationship with London like never before. In 2018 we were overwhelmed by audience responses to our season which was equally thrilling for us as performers. It felt like a festival in both its intensity and the creation of a shared experience. I can’t wait to recreate this again in October with this specially selected programme which we are performing in the UK for the first time”

Opening the 2019 programme, the Australian Chamber Orchestra will perform Canadian conductor Bernard Labadie’s string orchestra arrangement of JS Bach’s iconic Goldberg Variations (3 October). The Goldberg Variations has been heralded as one of the greatest pieces of music ever conceived with much written on the obsessive hold the hypnotic music often casts over performers and listeners alike. Bach’s ability to veil music that

For further information please contact PRINCIPAL PARTNER GOVERNMENT PARTNERS The Corner Shop PR on 020 7831 7657 Philippa Redfern: [email protected] 2 is fiendishly complex behind a deceptively simple melodic line is unparalleled. This programme marks the latest in the ACO’s canon of innovative and insightful performances of Bach’s music.

The ACO, Richard Tognetti and acclaimed Australian artist and photographer Bill Henson will revisit their achingly beautiful, ground-breaking musical and visual feast, Luminous (4 October). First performed in 2005, Henson’s haunting, dramatic photography will remain the visual focus as the ACO are joined on stage by Israeli-Australian singer-songwriter Lior on vocals. The revival will feature music from R.E.M., Benjamin Britten and Piazzolla, with the centrepiece being Peteris Vasks’ sublime violin concerto, Distant Light performed by Richard Tognetti.

On 5 October, the ACO will close their second residency with a programme charting a collection of work with a deeply personal connection to Tognetti including two of Britain’s most cherished orchestral pieces. Vaughan Williams’ Lark Ascending has been one of Tognetti’s signature works throughout his career, and his last performance of this beloved work in the UK was for HRH Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace with the ACO. Witnessing this performance within the stunning acoustic of Milton Court will doubtless be an unforgettable experience. The Lark will be accompanied by Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge, a tribute to his teacher and the work that brought him to international fame. Throughout the three-year residency, the ACO is working closely with musicians of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and will welcome performers to join them on stage for this closing concert.

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Goldberg Variations The Lark Ascending Thursday 3 October Saturday 5 October MILTON COURT, BARBICAN CENTRE MILTON COURT, BARBICAN CENTRE

PROGRAM PROGRAM STRAVINSKY (arr, strings) WEBERN Five Movements for Strings Op.5 Three Pieces for String Quartet BRITTEN Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge THOMAS ADÈS (arr. strings) VAUGHAN WILLIAMS The Lark Ascending The Four Quarters, Op.28: I.Nightfalls SCHOENBERG Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night) JS BACH (arr. Tognetti) Canons on a Goldberg Ground, BWV1087 ARTISTS JS BACH (arr. Labadie) Richard Tognetti Director & Violin Goldberg Variations Australian Chamber Orchestra Students from the ARTISTS Guildhall School of Music and Drama Richard Tognetti violin Erin Helyard keyboards Australian Chamber Orchestra

Luminous Friday 4 October MILTON COURT, BARBICAN CENTRE

PROGRAM Featuring music by R.E.M., Britten, Piazzolla, Janác�ek and Vasks. ARTISTS Richard Tognetti Director & Violin Bill Henson Photography, Cinematography, Editing Lior Vocals Australian Chamber Orchestra

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Richard Tognetti ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & LEAD VIOLIN “…it’s our job to bring the listener in through our portal. A numinous moment when, hopefully, we can make time stand still.” Richard Tognetti is the Artistic Director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra. After studying both in with William Primrose and Alice Waten, and overseas at the Bern Conservatory with Igor Ozim, he returned home in 1989 to lead several performances with the ACO and was appointed the Orchestra’s Artistic Director and Lead Violin later that year. He was Artistic Director of the Festival Maribor in Slovenia from 2008 to 2015. As director or soloist, Richard has appeared with many of the world’s leading orchestras, and in 2016 was the first Artist-in-Residence at the Barbican Centre’s Milton Court Concert Hall. Richard is also an acclaimed composer, having curated and co- composed the scores for the ACO’s documentary filmsMountain , The Reef and Musica Surfica. In addition, he co-composed the scores for Peter Weir’s Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World and the soundtrack to Tom Carroll’s filmStorm Surfers. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2010. He holds honorary doctorates from three Australian universities and was made a National Living Treasure in 1999. He performs on a 1743 Guarneri del Gesù violin, lent to him by an anonymous Australian private benefactor.

Bill Henson Bill Henson is one of Australia’s most notable leading contemporary photographers. Henson’s stark, signature aesthetic is characterised by his use of dramatic chiaroscuro lighting and bokeh blurred backgrounds, carefully employing light as a tool to highlight drama, terror, or awe. Born on October 7, 1955 in , Australia, he briefly studied photography at the Prahran College of Advanced Education. Though Henson dropped out at 19, through the recommendation of a teacher he had his first solo show at the National Gallery in Victoria in 1975, with exhibitions soon following at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, and the Venice Biennale. Henson has since shown his work at the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the National Portrait Gallery in Melbourne, among others.

For further information please contact PRINCIPAL PARTNER GOVERNMENT PARTNERS The Corner Shop PR on 020 7831 7657 Philippa Redfern: [email protected] 5 Lior Lior is one of Australia’s most successful singer-songwriters, renowned for his beautiful voice and songs that radiate truth and sincerity. Lior burst on to the Australian music scene in 2005 with his acclaimed debut album - ‘Autumn Flow’. Since, Lior has accrued a string of accolades including three Aria nominations (including Best Male Artist), as well as Triple J’s prestigious ‘J Award’ nomination for Album of the Year. Lior has toured extensively both in Australia and internationally and has been a regular performer at WOMAD and art festivals around the world, including an entire season at the Edinburgh Festival.

AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA The Australian Chamber Orchestra lives and breathes music, making waves around the world for their explosive performances and brave interpretations. Steeped in history but always looking to the future, ACO programs embrace celebrated classics alongside new commissions, and adventurous cross artform collaborations. Led by Artistic Director Richard Tognetti since 1990, the ACO performs more than 100 concerts each year. Whether performing in Manhattan, New York, or Wollongong, NSW, the ACO is unwavering in their commitment to creating transformative musical experiences. The Orchestra regularly collaborates with artists and musicians who share their ideology: from Emmanuel Pahud, Steven Isserlis, Dawn Upshaw, Olli Mustonen, Brett Dean and Ivry Gitlis, to Neil Finn, Jonny Greenwood, Barry Humphries and Meow Meow; to visual artists and fim makers such as Michael Leunig, Bill Henson, Shaun Tan, Jon Frank, and Jennifer Peedom, who have co-created unique, hybrid productions for which the ACO has become renowned. Testament to their international reputation, the ACO were invited to commence a three-year residency as International Associate Ensemble at Milton Court in partnership with London’s Barbican Centre from the 2018/19 season. This residency at one of Europe’s most prestigious concert venues follows on from the success of ACO Artistic Director Richard Tognetti’s time as the Barbican’s fist ever Artist-in-Residence at Milton Court Concert Hall. In addition to their national and international touring schedule, the Orchestra has an active recording program across CD, vinyl and digital formats. Their recordings of Bach’s violin works won three consecutive ARIA Awards. Recent releases include Water | Night Music, the first Australian-produced classical vinyl for two decades, Mozart’s Last Symphonies, Bach Beethoven: Fugue and the soundtrack to the acclaimed cinematic collaboration, Mountain.

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