ACO SOLOISTS — 2010 NATIONAL CONCERT SEASON

NATIONAL TOUR PARTNER

PRINCIPAL INNOVATION PARTNER TOUR TWO ACO SOLOISTS HELENA RATHBONE Guest Director and Lead CHRISTOPHER MOORE Viola TIMO-VEIKKO VALVE Cello SPEED READ MAXIME BIBEAU Double Bass Oboe Schreker’s Intermezzo won the New Musical Press composition SCHREKER award in 1901, setting him on his path as a and Scherzo introducing his sinewy melodies and scrunchy harmonies to VAUGHAN WILLIAMS audiences for the fi rst time. His Oboe Concerto Scherzo of the same period, however, languished unheard and CPE BACH unpublished for over a century. Cello Concerto in A minor Wq170 Vaughan Williams’ Oboe Concerto, written during the Second World War, hints at an idyllic, pastoral INTERVAL world all but lost. As a purely nostalgic work, though, the SCHREKER Concerto is refreshingly free from the angst of some of the Intermezzo composer’s symphonies. HINDSON C.P.E. Bach’s Cello Concerto started life as a harpsichord Crime and Punishment concerto and was re-arranged [2010 Barbara Blackman Commission: world premiere] by the composer fi rst for fl ute and then for cello. Such re- BRITTEN and borrowing from Lachrymae one’s own work has been a tool of from earliest times JS BACH to now. Concerto for Violin and Oboe BWV1060 Hindson’s Crime and Punishment is the much-anticipated 2010 Approximate durations (minutes): Barbara Blackman commission. 6 • 18 • 19 • INTERVAL • 6 • 10 • 14 • 13 This is the fi rst time the ACO has commissioned this composer — Th e concert will last approximately one and three-quarter hours one of ’s best-known — including interval. and is a celebration of our Principal Double Bass Maxime Bibeau. NEWCASTLE City Hall Town Hall QPAC Britten’s Lachrymae is an Th u 11 Mar 7.30pm Tue 16 Mar 8pm Mon 22 Mar 8pm example of his indebtedness to music of earlier times, in this case the lute songs of the Elizabethan Llewellyn Hall Concert Hall Opera House John Dowland, but also of his Sat 13 Mar 8pm Wed 17 Mar 8pm Sun 21 Mar 2.30pm startling compositional originality in dealing with such material. SYDNEY Bach’s Oboe and Violin Concerto Th e Arts Centre City Recital Hall is known only to us in an Sun 14 Mar 2.30pm Angel Place arrangement Bach made of Mon 15 Mar 8pm Sat 20 Mar 8pm the work for two harpsichords, Tue 23 Mar 8pm but its original form has been Wed 24 Mar 7pm reconstructed by scholars, and is now one of Bach’s best-loved Th e Australian Chamber Orchestra reserves the right to alter scheduled instrumental works. programs or artists as necessary.

AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA 3 MESSAGE FROM THE GENERAL MANAGER

FREE PROGRAMS Welcome to this concert in which our Principal musicians To save trees and money, we Helena Rathbone, Christopher Moore, Timo-Veikko Valve ask that you share one program and Maxime Bibeau shine like the stars they are. We between two people where possible. are fortunate to have so many outstanding soloists in the Orchestra, today sharing with us some of the masterpieces for their instruments. Welcome also to guest oboist PREPARE IN ADVANCE Diana Doherty. Read the program before the concert. A PDF version of the Th is is Helena Rathbone’s fi nal tour for a little while as program will be available at her fi rst child is due in May. I’m sure you will join me in aco.com.au one week before each tour begins. congratulating her and wishing her all the best. Barbara Blackman’s support for the ACO over many years ACO COMMUNITY has facilitated the creation of some remarkable music. Visit aco.com.au/community Th e 2010 Barbara Blackman commission is a new work to read ACO news and blog, chat by one of Australia’s most exciting composers, Matthew to other fans, listen to music and see behind-the-scenes videos Hindson, for Maxime Bibeau and the ACO. Th ank you to and photos. Barbara for her ongoing support.

It gives us great pleasure to acknowledge our Principal HAVE YOUR SAY Innovation Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, as our We invite your feedback about National Tour Partner for this second tour of the 2010 this concert at aco.com.au/yoursay. season. Th is year marks the sixth in a highly successful partnership, and I thank PricewaterhouseCoopers sincerely for their ongoing and highly valued support. FREE MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER Th is is my fi nal tour with the Orchestra as I retire as For news, special offers and General Manager after nearly eight years in the position. priority booking, sign up for the During that time, the ACO has doubled its turnover, ACO’s e-newsletter at aco.com.au. gained a record number of national subscribers, C established our second orchestra, A O2, and made ten ACO ON THE RADIO international tours. It has been a privilege to work with ABC CLASSIC FM Richard, the musicians, the Board, the staff and all our Fri 26 Mar stakeholders, sponsors and donors. Richard Tognetti conducts the ASO Many thanks and, as always, enjoy the concert! 2MBS FM Wed 7 Apr 12pm Interview with a musician from the Bach and Beyond tour. BILL GILLESPIE OAM GENERAL MANAGER, ACO NEXT TOUR BACH AND BEYOND 10–21 April

AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA 5 ABOUT THE MUSIC

SCHREKER Scherzo (Composed 1900) Intermezzo for strings, Op.8 (Composed 1900)

Schreker was a champion of Schoenberg and Hindemith, a friend of Berg and Webern, a teacher of Krenek and Brand, and described in his lifetime as the most noteworthy operatic composer after Wagner. An Austrian Jew whose Franz Schreker livelihood was eradicated by the Nazi regime, he died two (born Monaco, 1878 — died days short of his 56th birthday following a career which Berlin, 1934) burst into fl ame in the fi rst decade of the 20th century and fl ickered out in the 1930s. Th e Intermezzo and The missing link between Strauss and Schoenberg, Schreker was Scherzo are among the earliest extant of his compositions. greatly esteemed in his time but Originally fêted, with Schoenberg, as a champion of the is nearly forgotten now. Works New Music, later he found himself derided by modernists such as his Chamber Symphony as a Romantic throwback. But even Adorno, who and various song cycles are essentially disliked Schreker’s “garishness”, could not help leading the way in his gradual rehabilitation as a composer. but be captivated by his famous sound, which he described as “mellifl uous…seductive…iridescent”. His pieces “shimmer: the individual detail lights up for an instant Literally meaning “in and then subsides into the mass where it can no longer the middle” (Italian), the be distinguished, and barely even felt… Consonance and Intermezzo for many years dissonance are interwoven. Melodious sounds are enriched was simply an interlude; during the 19th century it was by searing pain.” After decades of unjust neglect, Schreker’s frequently a pithy (often slower) music is beginning to return to the concert hall and opera movement in a symphony or house stage. concerto, but increasingly also a short, stand-alone piano piece. Of those composers who contributed to the golden age of Schreker’s use of the term is in mainstream German opera in the 1910s and 1920s, only this vein, although here for an Richard Strauss could today be considered a repertoire independent orchestral work. staple of the world’s leading houses. Although this is not Although accurately translated just an unwitting side-eff ect of Nazi cultural policy, it is a as joke, or jest, the Scherzo has come to be associated fact that most of the other leading fi gures in that milieu – with vigorous rapidity, and a Schoenberg, Berg, Korngold, Zemlinsky, Krenek, Schreker, rhythmic, dance-like (usually and, to a lesser extent, Hindemith – fell foul of the Nazi in 3/4 time) character. Often regime in one way or another. For those unable to resurrect inserted into a symphony or their careers elsewhere, the ignominy was terminal: like string quartet as a lively middle movement, from Chopin on Berg, who died in poverty at age 50 after being blacklisted the scherzo has also become a by the Nazis, Schreker was targeted by Fascists in the early concert form in its own right. 1930s. His premieres were greeted by riots, he was forced

AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA 7 to resign his position as Director of the Musikhochschule in Berlin and, on 11 December 1933, was stripped of his membership of the Prussian Academy of the Arts. Later that month he suff ered a stroke, and he died the following March.

…his operas had garnered In the previous decade, though, his operas had garnered more performances than more performances than those of Strauss, and he was those of Strauss, and he pivotal in the musical and social milieu of the time. He was pivotal in the musical conducted the premiere performance of Gurrelieder and social milieu of the in 1913, thereby making Schoenberg’s reputation, and time. he was an infl uential teacher of composition at the Musikhochschule. Nonetheless, as his composition style failed to keep pace with musical modernism through the late 1920s and early 1930s his reputation fell to the extent that when he tried, like Schoenberg, to attract overseas employment which would enable him to leave Germany, his eff orts failed.

But there is his sound, described by Adorno as containing “a subliminal seething, sulphurous quality… and, in its supreme moments, a sweetness of the kind which thrives where tears are as little repressed as exultation.” A master of the expressive use of tonal colour, Schreker melds sinewy, erotic melodies with harmonies that seem an individual amalgam of Strauss and Debussy, even in these very early works. Th e Intermezzo and Scherzo both date from 1900 and are brief occasional works written most Further Reading and probably as competition entries. Only the Intermezzo was Listening performed and published in Schreker’s time, receiving its Spearheading the Schreker premiere in in December 1902. Th e Scherzo is a revival is the Franz Schreker more recent discovery, only being performed and recorded Foundation, who maintain a website containing a myriad for the fi rst time in the last couple of years. Both, though, of resources pertaining to display the sort of post-Romantic, sultry, passionate the composer at schreker.org. lyricism that is a hallmark of Schreker’s mature style. The only full-length study of the composer is Christopher Hailey’s Franz Schreker, MICHAEL STEVENS 1878—1934: a cultural biography © ACO 2010 (Cambridge UP, 1993). Key works to listen to include the Chamber Symphony (recorded by the Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra on ECM 476 3098), the Romantic Suite (in which James Conlon conducts the Cologne Philharmonic on EMI 56784) and the opera Die ferne Klang, available in a few versions including one featuring Elena Grigorescu on Naxos 8.660074/75.

8 AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA VAUGHAN WILLIAMS Oboe Concerto (Composed 1944) Rondo pastorale: Allegro moderato Minuet and Musette: Allegro moderato Finale (Scherzo): Presto – Lento – Presto

Léon Goossens, for whom Vaughan Williams wrote his Concerto for oboe and strings, “took,” so said his New York Times obituary, “an ancient instrument and gave it modern refi nement and fl exibility.” Or, as his biographer Carole Rosen put it more bluntly, he “transformed the oboe from necessary but often unpleasant, bleating noise in the a orchestra to an instrument capable of producing unimagined refi nement and beauty of tone.” He also contributed greatly to its solo repertoire: among the composers who wrote for Ralph Vaughan him were Britten, Elgar, Poulenc, and his brother Eugene, one-time conductor of the Sydney Symphony. Williams (born Down Ampney, 1872 — Goossens commissioned this Concerto from Vaughan died , 1958) Williams during World War Two, and as the composer was A musical visionary, Vaughan completing his 5th Symphony. Indeed it owes that work, Williams was one of England’s as it grew out of a scherzo written for the Symphony but great 20th-century composers, then discarded. Th e 5th is an affi rmative work of both and its greatest symphonist. tenderness and yearning, and those characteristics pervade With other collectors such as the Concerto, which is tinged with a temperament both Cecil Sharp and Percy Grainger, Vaughan Williams was pivotal in bucolic and nostalgic. Eschewing the full orchestral line-up reinvigorating English folk song, for a more relaxed string orchestra sound more suited to which informed his own the gentle timbre of the solo instrument, the work moves composition. from an emotional lyricism in the fi rst movement through Scherzo (see page 7). a more formal second movement (the title of which Further Reading and refers to a musette, in this case neither the dance nor the Listening French bagpipe, but a soft pastoral air) to the more virtuosic The Oboe Concerto has been Finale in which introspective interludes vie with suppressed described as a “satellite work” pyrotechnical aspirations in the solo part. of Vaughan Williams’ Fifth Whimsical and poetic, Vaughan Williams’ Oboe Concerto Symphony. A key recording of that piece features the LSO manages to feel both urbane and intimate. Th ough written conducted by Richard Hickox with a smaller-scale orchestra in keeping with the work’s (Chandos CHAN9666). RVW’s Baroque predecessors, it is very much a work of its time other major work for the oboe, and place, off ering an optimistic antidote to the frightening the Ten Blake Songs, can be soundtrack of wartime Britain (although, as luck would heard in a fi ne performance by tenor Ian Partridge and oboist have it, the premiere was postponed due to an air raid). Janet Craxton (EMI CDM 769170 2). Vaughan Williams made one other spectacular contribution Tony Palmer’s deeply moving to the oboist’s arsenal: the Ten Blake Songs for voice and fi lm about Vaughan Williams, oboe, written when he was 85, an unfortunately rarely- O Thou Transcendent, is widely heard cycle of masterful concision and meticulousness. available on DVD. An introductory excerpt is at youtube.com/ MICHAEL STEVENS watch?v=hIzBvNJM0D4. © ACO 2010

AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA 9 CPE BACH Cello Concerto in A minor, Wq170 Allegro assai Andante Allegro assai

Th e second surviving son of J.S. Bach and the godson of Telemann, C.P.E. Bach was born into music, and became the most prolifi c and famous member of the Bach family after “the old wig” (as he referred to J.S.B.). As a child he followed his father’s work to Cöthen and Leipzig, then did as several other eminent German composers (including Handel, Heinichen and Schütz) had done before him, temporarily forsaking music for studies in the law. It was J.S. Bach’s ambition that his sons should attend university if possible, to give them greater intellectual insulation than Carl Philipp Emanuel he had enjoyed from the vagaries of freelance employment. Bach After his graduation in 1738, though, C.P.E. Bach returned (born Weimar, 1714 — died to music, and passed the next fi fty years in only two Hamburg, 1788) positions: fi rst as court harpsichordist and personal accompanist to Frederick the Great in Berlin; then, from C.P.E. Bach achieved a popularity in his lifetime which 1768, as Kantor at the Johanneum in Hamburg, where he overshadowed that of his succeeded Telemann. father Johann Sebastian, but also developed a compositional Th is stability in employment no doubt contributed to his palette far removed from that prolifi c output, although there must also have been some of his father. Something of a frustration involved in his employment in Berlin where bridge between the Baroque it seems that Frederick did not appreciate him as highly and Classical periods, C.P.E. as other court musicians, and where composition played was a key infl uence on Mozart. no part in his offi cial duties. Nevertheless his 30-year employment at Berlin in a music-friendly (if conservative) court brought him great acclaim, and by the time he moved to Hamburg he was the most famous keyboard player in Europe. With good reason, if we are to believe the testimony of Charles Burney, who visited Emanuel in 1773: “I prevailed upon him to sit down again to a clavichord, and he played, with little intermission, till near eleven o’clock at night. During this time, he grew so animated and possessed, that he not only played, but looked like one inspired. His eyes were fi xed, his under lip fell, and drops of eff ervescence distilled from his countenance.”

Unsurprisingly, therefore, keyboard music dominates C.P.E. Bach’s compositional output. Th e Berlin court held regular evenings centred around Frederick the Great’s own fl ute playing, and although J.J. Quantz (Frederick’s fl ute tutor) was in charge, Emanuel wrote a large amount of music for these evenings as well,

10 AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Wq is the cataloguing system often with himself as soloist. Hugely practical, though, his of C.P.E. Bach’s work (analogous work-list contains masses of re-writings, revisions and to J.S. Bach’s BWV numbers). adaptations, both of his own music and that of others. The list was published in 1905 by Alfred Wotquenne (hence An example of this are three harpsichord concertos from Wq). Confusingly, there is a around 1750–53, catalogued as Wq170, 171 and 172, which later, more complete, and up- emerged fi rst (it is thought) as harpsichord concertos, to-date thematic catalogue of before being adapted both as fl ute concertos – for either C.P.E. Bach’s work compiled Frederick or Quantz to perform – and lastly as cello by E. Eugene Helm (hence, concertos. Although played by cellists and fl autists alike, H numbers). Despite its superiority over Wotquenne’s with the comparative paucity of cello music of the period numbers, Helm’s system simply the three concertos have become greatly beloved of cellists hasn’t caught on — or, where it in particular. is used, it is used alongside the more familiar Wq numbers. Like much of C.P.E. Bach’s music, the A minor Cello In Helm’s system the A minor Concerto is hugely dramatic, although its stately, Cello Concerto is H432. Baroquesque Allegro assai introduction gives little immediate indication of the storms to follow. Gradually the cello develops its melodic material – a roiling, Assai means “much” or “very” melancholy cantabile – while the orchestra accompanies which is why it is often seen in with thorny outbursts based on a constantly repeated connection with more familiar fi ve note motto. Th e Andante is a passionate and long- tempo markings, such as Lento assai (very slow) or Allegro lined love-song which so luxuriates in the particular assai (very fast). Allegro sound-world of the cello it is impossible to imagine any usually denotes mood as well as other version (fl autists: please don’t write in). And the time, being translated as “fast last of the three movements, also Allegro assai, moves and lively” or “fast and bright”. between courtly dance and something more sorrowful, but Andante walking pace. maintains an insistent and edgy rhythmic energy. Cantabile refers to melodic lines written or played in a smooth, singing style. MICHAEL STEVENS © ACO 2010

Further Reading and Performing parts based on the critical edition Carl Philipp Listening Emanuel Bach: Th e Complete Works (www.cpebach.org) were BIS Records is mid-way through made available by the publisher, the Packard Humanities Institute a project to record the complete of Los Altos, California. keyboard works of C.P.E. Bach; the original harpsichord version of the A minor concerto (Wq26) forms part of Volume 14, played by Miklós Spányi (BIS CD1487). And the fl ute version of the same work (Wq166) can be heard in Patrick Gallois’ complete collection of C.P.E. Bach’s fl ute concertos (Naxos 8.555715/16). Eugene Helm’s chapter on C.P.E. Bach in The New Grove Bach Family, edited by Christoph Wolff (Macmillan, 1983) provides a very readable introduction to the composer’s life and work, set in the wider context of his remarkable family.

AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA 11 HINDSON Crime and Punishment 2010 Barbara Blackman commission

Th e composer writes: Much of contemporary media seems obsessed with crime and punishment. Th is particularly applies to dramatic action on TV, fi lm and video games. In reality, being a victim of such crime is never a pleasant experience, and society rightfully expects that the perpetrators of violent crimes are made to pay for their actions. We, the public, demand justice be delivered in one form or another. In relating these concepts to this musical work, the solo double bass largely assumes the role of the criminal. Th is repeat off ender demonstrates great virtuosity and skill within an often menacing environment. Yet it is capable of tenderness and beauty, even when surrounded by brutality. (born , 1968) Even it was loved as a child by someone. It is not my intention to glamorise criminal intent – in fact, quite the opposite. As will become quite apparent, perhaps Hindson is one of Australia’s most prominent contemporary the solo double bass part, with its extremely strenuous composers internationally. demands upon the soloist, is a form of punishment in itself. Unafraid of popular musical Th e string orchestra “chorus” demands nothing less. styles, his work has been successful in breaking down About the composer: barriers between new music and mainstream audiences. Matthew Hindson AM is one of the most-performed and most-commissioned composers of his generation with works performed throughout Australia and internationally. He has been the featured composer at national and international festivals, with orchestras and . Matthew’s music Further Reading and has been used for dance by the Royal Ballet, Listening , Ballett Schindowski and the Sydney Matthew Hindson’s website Dance Company. (hindson.com) is a mine of information, and includes Matthew’s music often displays infl uences of popular music links to several articles by and styles within a classical music context, and, as a result, about the composer. He is also directness and immediacy are common features. mentioned in despatches in Gordon Kerry’s New Classical Matthew is chair of the Arts Music Unit at the Sydney Music: Composing Australia Conservatorium of Music. He has co-authored a book entitled (UNSW Press, 2009). The New Music Composition Toolbox, published by Science Press. Zealand Symphony Orchestra Hindson is the artistic director of the award-winning Aurora recently released a CD of Festival and was recently appointed Guest Music Curator for Hindson’s Symphony of Modern Objects, Violin Concerto, and the Campbelltown Arts Centre. In 2006 Matthew was made a Headbanger (Trust TRI3004). Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his contributions The Violin Concerto has also to music composition and music education. Matthew is the been recorded by Lara St John Chair of the Music Board of the Australia Council. with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Ancalagon ANC133). © 2010 MATTHEW HINDSON

12 AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA BRITTEN Lachrymae: Refl ections on a song of Dowland, for viola and string orchestra, Op.48a (Composed 1950; orchestrated 1976) Th eme Variation 1. Allegretto, andante molto Variation 2. Animato Variation 3. Tranquillo Variation 4. Allegro con moto Variation 5. Largamente Variation 6. Appassionato Variation 7. Alla valse moderato Variation 8. Allegro marcia Variation 9. Lento Variation 10. L’istesso tempo

Benjamin Britten Britten wrote Lachrymae for , “to reward (born Lowestoft, Suffolk, 1913 — him for coming to the [Aldeburgh] Festival”. He had met the died Aldeburgh, Suffolk, 1976) exceptional violist while in the USA in 1949, and Primrose One of the central fi gures of agreed to play at the 1950 Aldeburgh Festival where he British musical life in the last premiered Lachrymae – originally for viola and piano – century, Britten almost single- with Britten accompanying. Subtitled “Refl ections on a song handedly revived the English opera tradition. An immensely of Dowland”, it is in essence a set of variations but one which practical and highly prolifi c uses Dowland’s lute song (in this case, “If my complaints composer, he developed a could passions move”) more as fi nishing-point than starting strong relationship both with point. Th at is, the ten variations themselves detail only the audiences and with the many musicians for whom he wrote fi rst eight melancholy bars of the song: it is not until the and with whom he worked. very end of Lachrymae that the full form of Dowland’s song emerges for the fi rst time like a new dawn.

It’s one of surprisingly few instrumental works from the period, though – between the completion of the second string quartet in 1945 until the cello sonata in 1961, the only purely instrumental compositions Brittten published (in what was otherwise his most fertile period) were Lachrymae and Six Metamorphoses after Ovid, for solo oboe, the following year. Britten’s compositional oeuvre is dominated by music for voices – opera, song, choral works – and it is fascinating that so much of his instrumental music also relies either on vocal lines and the suggestion of text (such as in Lachrymae) or on programmatic or dramatic stimuli (such as the Lachrymae is Latin for Metamorphoses), for their impetus. Even those two works, “tears”, and comes from written while Britten was wrestling with the completion of the same root as lacrimosa Billy Budd, were essentially occasional pieces with specifi c (“weeping”) familiar from settings of the Requiem, performers in mind and written for particular performance Mozart’s perhaps being the opportunities at Aldeburgh, the only interruptions in an most instantly recognisable. extraordinary 16-year hiatus in instrumental composition.

AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA 13 Britten later returned to Dowland: his Nocturnal after John Dowland, based on the song “Come heavy sleep”, was written for the guitarist Julian Bream in 1963. Dowland’s songs, seemingly simple in their construction, hinge on the balance between fl eeting shafts of hopeful light and the resultant plunges into desolate gloom. Britten’s “refl ections” show …it is fascinating that this harmonic ambiguity writ large. In the sixth variation he so much of Britten’s quotes Dowland’s own Lachrymae song, “Flow my tears”, and instrumental music also mimics Dowland’s falling sequences to represent tear drops. relies either on vocal lines and the suggestion of text In Britten’s fi nal year he made good a promise to the violist (such as in Lachrymae). Cecil Aronowitz to arrange Lachrymae for solo viola and string orchestra. One of Britten’s closest musical companions, Aronowitz played at every Aldeburgh Festival from 1949 until his death. Britten (himself an accomplished violist) had given Aronowitz his viola, which had been a gift to Britten from his teacher, Frank Bridge. After Britten’s death, Aronowitz founded the Britten-Pears Summer Schools at Snape, but died shortly after, suff ering a fatal stroke while performing a Mozart quintet during one of the inaugural courses. William Primrose, on the other hand, moved to Wollongong in his retirement, where one of his students was a young Richard Tognetti.

MICHAEL STEVENS © ACO 2010

If my complaints could passions move, Further Reading and Or make Love see wherein I suff er wrong; Listening My passions were enough to prove Th at my despairs had governed me too long. Dowland’s lute songs have O Love, I live and die in thee! been recorded by everyone Th y grief in my deep sighs still speaks. from Emma Kirkby to Sting. A favourite is Barbara Th y wounds do freshly bleed in me, Bonney’s rendition of “If my My heart for thy unkindness breaks; complaints”, on her album Yet thou dost hope when I despair, Fairest Isle (Decca 466 132). And when I hope: thou mak’st me hope in vain! The main Britten biography is Th ou say’st, “Th ou canst my harms repair,” that by Humphrey Carpenter Yet for redress, thou let’st me still complain! (Faber, 1992) but the ongoing Can Love be rich, and yet I want? publication of Britten’s Is Love my judge, and yet I am condemned? correspondence (under the Th ou plenty hast, yet me dost scant; collective title Letters from Th ou made a God, and yet thy power contemned! a Life) provides even more Th at I do live, it is thy power; illuminating insights. Britten Th at I desire, it is thy worth. was the subject of one of Tony Palmer’s fi rst composer If Love doth make men’s lives too sour, fi lms, A Time There Was Let me not love, nor live henceforth! (preview at youtube.com/ Die shall my hopes, but not my faith, watch?v=cj0wsLggNf8). Th at you, that of my fall may hearers be, Playing the Viola: May hear Despair, which truly saith, Conversations with William “I was more true to Love than Love to me.” Primrose (Oxford UP, 1988) paints an enlightening picture From First Book of Songs and Airs (1597) by John Dowland of the dedicatee of Lachrymae. (1563–1626)

14 AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA BACH Concerto in C minor for oboe and violin, BWV1060 Allegro Adagio Allegro

During Bach’s time as court organist and then Konzertmeister at Weimar (1708–17) he became well acquainted with the Italian concerto in its solo and group forms. He made a number of transcriptions of works by composers such as Vivaldi and Telemann. When he moved to the court of Cöthen to take up the post of Kapellmeister, the range of his compositional duties shifted from choral to instrumental music: Cöthen had adopted the Reformed Calvinistic faith, so there was Johann Sebastian little requirement for Lutheran-style choral music, thus Bach instruments consequently held sway. Bach’s patron Prince Leopold had already studied with J.D. Heinichen (born Eisenach, 1685 — died in Rome as part of his coming-of-age Grand Tour. Leipzig, 1750) He was thus a tolerably good bass singer, violinist, gambist J.S. Bach is one of the and harpsichordist. greatest, if not the single greatest, of all composers. A Th ese enthusiasms spurred a considerable upgrade of the working musician his entire Cöthen orchestra. Th e “Soldier King” Friedrich Wilhelm life, his composition ranges I disbanded the court orchestra in Berlin in 1713, and from the deeply spiritual to the Berlin’s loss was Cöthen’s gain. Prince Leopold picked up fl amboyantly virtuosic, radiating an irresistible energy and fi ve players from the dissolved orchestra, and they formed joy which continues to touch the experienced core of a 17-strong band that J.S. Bach listeners profoundly. encountered on his arrival in December 1717 (including a

ACO Performance History The ACO’s inaugural concert on 21 September 1975 included Bach’s Violin & Oboe Concerto and it has appeared in several “Bach in Churches” programs. Its only Subscription Series The Palace at Cöthen — where Bach served as Kapellmeister to performances were in 2003. Prince Leopold (1717—1723).

AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA 15 part-time timpanist, Unger, who doubled up as the tenant innkeeper at the local Grosser Gasthof: imagine the demand from his instrumental colleagues for free beer after a concert).

Much of the music from this period in Bach’s life is BWV represents the defi nitive lost, or its provenance obscured. We know about the cataloguing system of Bach’s “Brandenburg” concertos; but little is known about works (BWV = Bach-Werke- the circumstances which led to the composition of the Verzeichnis = Bach Works “double” concerto for oboe and violin, lost in its original Catalogue). Published by Wolfgang Schmieder in 1950, this system version, but which exists – like other concertos of this differs from many other such period – only through his Leipzig for cataloguing systems (including one or more harpsichords. Th ere are over a dozen such the grand-daddy of them all, “re-arranged” concertos in the catalogue, and the oboe Mozart’s K numbers listed by and violin concerto is a modern reconstruction from Ludwig von Köchel) in that it groups Bach’s works thematically rather one of these harpsichord concertos, the double concerto than chronologically; and also BWV1060. In this conventional three-movement, that Schmieder, modestly, kept his Venetian-type Concerto, the central slow movement is own name out of it (otherwise fl anked by two fast outer movements. we would be talking about S1060 rather than BWV1060). In these, between the sharply defi ned orchestral ritornellos (those passages which return, but each time in a diff erent Allegro (see page 11). key) come the solo episodes – opportunities not only for Adagio (literally “ad agio” — at key modulation and virtuosic display, but presentation ease) usually simply means of contrasting material and dialogue between soloist and “slowly”. orchestra. Th e opening Allegro is characterised by fl uent, slurred fi guration, and the fi nal Allegro by a more four- Further Reading and square exchange of the quaver theme and accompanying Listening moto perpetuo quavers. Th e Adagio, in a “Siciliano” 12/8 The classic Bach biographies time, resembles with its intimate interweaving of solo lines by Forkel (1802), Bitter (1865), the analogous movement of the D minor double violin Spitta (1880) and Schweitzer concerto. (1908) fi nally found their modern-day equal in Martin Geck’s Johann Sebastian MEURIG BOWEN/K.P.KEMP Bach: life and work (Houghton, © ACO 2003 2006), although a broader musicological overview can be found in The Cambridge Companion to Bach, edited by John Butt (Cambridge UP, 1997). The Bach: Concertos box-set (Archiv 463725) has performances both of the two- harpsichord version of BWV1060 and its oboe/violin incarnation, with the English Concert directed by Trevor Pinnock and of course the ACO’s own ARIA-Award winning recording of BWV1060, with Richard Tognetti and Diana Doherty (ABC4765691) is available at aco.com.au/shop.

16 AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA RICHARD TOGNETTI AO ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

“You’d have to scour the Australia’s national orchestra is a product of its country’s universe hard to fi nd vibrant, adventurous and enquiring spirit. In performances another band like the ACO.” around Australia, around the world and on many recordings, THE TIMES, UK the ACO moves hearts and stimulates minds with repertoire spanning four centuries and a vitality and energy unmatched “The energy and vibe by other ensembles. of a rock band with the Th e ACO was founded in 1975. Every year, this ensemble ability of a crack classical presents performances of the highest standard to audiences chamber group.” around the world, including 10,000 subscribers across Australia. WASHINGTON POST Th e ACO’s unique artistic style encompasses not only the masterworks of the classical repertoire, but innovative cross- artform projects and a vigorous commissioning program. Under Richard Tognetti’s inspiring leadership, the ACO has performed as a fl exible and versatile ‘ensemble of soloists’, Select Discography on modern and period instruments, as a small chamber group, a small symphony orchestra, and as an electro- Bach Violin Concertos ABC 476 5691 acoustic collective. In a nod to past traditions, only the Vivaldi Flute Concertos cellists are seated – the resulting sense of energy and with individuality is one of the most commented-upon elements EMI 3 47212 2 of an ACO concert experience. Bach Keyboard Concertos with Several of the ACO’s principal musicians perform with Hyperion SACDA 67307/08 spectacularly fi ne instruments. Tognetti performs on a Tango Jam priceless 1743 Guarneri del Gesù, on loan to him from an with James Crabb anonymous Australian benefactor. Principal Cello Timo-Veikko Mulberry Hill MHR C001 Valve plays on a 1729 Giuseppe Guarneri Filius Andreae cello, Song of the Angel Music of Astor Piazzolla also on loan from an anonymous benefactor, and Principal with James Crabb Second Violin Helena Rathbone plays a 1759 J.B. Guadagnini Chandos Chan 10163 violin on loan from the Commonwealth Bank Group. Sculthorpe: works for string orchestra including Irkanda I, Djilile Forty international tours have drawn outstanding reviews at and Cello Dreaming many of the world’s most prestigious concert halls, including Chandos Chan 10063 ’s , London’s Wigmore Hall, New Giuliani Guitar Concerto York’s Carnegie Hall and Vienna’s Musikverein. with John Williams Sony SK 63385 Th e ACO has made acclaimed recordings for labels including Scenes: music by Corelli, Rodrigo, ABC Classics, Sony, Channel Classics, Hyperion, EMI, Beethoven, Sibelius Chandos and Orfeo and currently has a recording contract Sony SK 63160 with BIS. A full list of available recordings can be found at These and more ACO recordings aco.com.au/shop. Highlights include the three-time ARIA are available from our online shop: aco.com.au/shop or by calling Award-winning Bach recordings and Vivaldi Concertos with 1800 444 444. Emmanuel Pahud. Th e ACO appears in the television series Classical Destinations II and the award-winning fi lm Musica Surfi ca, both available on DVD and CD. C To be kept up to date with In 2005, the A O2 inaugurated an ambitious national education ACO tours and recordings, program, which includes outreach activities and mentoring register for the free monthly of outstanding young musicians, including the formation of e-newsletter at aco.com.au. ACO2, an elite training orchestra which tours regional centres.

AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA 17 MUSICIANS Photos: Tanja Ahola, Helen White

HELENA RATHBONE MADELEINE BOUD ALICE EVANS Guest Director & Lead Violin Violin Violin Chair sponsored by Hunter Hall Investment Chair sponsored by Terry Campbell AO & Chair sponsored by Jan Bowen, Jo McKenzie Management Limited Christine Campbell & Scott Davies, and Th e Sandgropers

AIKO GOTO MARK INGWERSEN ILYA ISAKOVICH Violin Violin Violin Chair sponsored by Andrew & Chair sponsored by Runge Chair sponsored by Melbourne Community Hiroko Gwinnett Foundation – Connie & Craig Kimberley Fund

CHRISTOPHER MOORE NICOLE DIVALL STEPHEN KING Principal Viola Viola Viola Chair sponsored by Tony Shepherd Chair sponsored by Ian & Nina Lansdown Chair sponsored by Philip Bacon AM

Helena Rathbone plays a 1759 J.B. Guadagnini violin on loan from the Commonwealth Bank Group.

18 AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA MUSICIANS

TIMOVEIKKO VALVE JULIAN THOMPSON MAXIME BIBEAU Principal Cello Cello Principal Bass Chair Sponsored by Mr Peter Weiss AM Chair sponsored by John Leece OAM & Chair sponsored by John Taberner & Anne Leece Grant Lang

JACQUELINE OGEIL Players dressed by Principal Harpsichord AKIRA ISOGAWA

BEHIND THE SCENES BOARD Guido Belgiorno-Nettis AM Ken Allen AM Janet Holmes à Court AC (Chairman) Bill Best Brendan Hopkins Angus James (Deputy Glen Boreham Tony Shepherd Chairman) Liz Cacciottolo John Taberner Chris Froggatt Peter Yates

MANAGEMENT AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER EXECUTIVE OFFICE FINANCE OPERATIONS Chris Griffi th ORCHESTRA William A Gillespie Steve Davidson Damien Low Box Offi ce Manager ABN 45 001 335 182 OAM Chief Financial Offi cer Artistic Operations Mary Stielow General Manager Manager National Publicist Australian Chamber Shyleja Paul Orchestra Pty Ltd is a Jessica Block Assistant Accountant Gabriel van Aalst Dean Watson not for profi t company Deputy General Orchestra Manager Customer Relations registered in NSW. Manager and Manager DEVELOPMENT Erin McNamara In Person: Development Manager Deputy Orchestra Olivia Artigas Kate Bilson Opera Quays, Michelle Kerr Manager Offi ce Administrator Events Manager 2 East Circular Quay, Executive Assistant to Vicki Stanley and Marketing Sydney NSW 2000 Alana Clarke Assistant Mr Gillespie OAM Education and Emerging By Mail: Development Executive and Artists Manager PO Box R21, Mr Tognetti AO Lillian Armitage Amandine Petit INFORMATION Royal Exchange Patrons Manager Librarian SYSTEMS NSW 1225 ARTISTIC Laura Milner Sarah Conolan Martin Keen Telephone: Richard Tognetti AO Patrons Administrator Education and Systems and Technology (02) 8274 3800 Artistic Director Liz D’Olier Operations Assistant Manager Facsimile: (02) 8274 3801 Michael Stevens Development Emmanuel Espinas Artistic Administrator Coordinator Box Offi ce: MARKETING Network Infrastructure Engineer 1800 444 444 Georgia Rivers Email: Marketing Manager [email protected] ARCHIVES Rosie Rothery Website: Marketing Executive John Harper aco.com.au Archivist

AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA 19 ACO SOLOISTS

HELENA RATHBONE Guest Director and Lead Violin Helena Rathbone was appointed Principal Second Violin of Chamber Orchestra in 1994. Since then she has performed as soloist and Guest Leader with the ACO in Australia and overseas. In 2008 Helena was appointed Director and Leader of the ACO’s C second ensemble A O2 which sources musicians from the Emerging Artists Program. Helena studied with Dona Lee Croft and David Takeno in London and with Lorand Fenyves in Banff , Canada. Before moving to Australia, she was Principal Second Violin and soloist with the European Community Chamber Orchestra and regularly played with ensembles such as the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. When not performing with the ACO, Helena has been leader of Ensemble 24, guest leader of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and is a frequent tutor and chamber orchestra director at National Music Camps and with the Australian Youth Orchestra. She has appeared in the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, the Christchurch Arts Festival, the Sangat Festival in Mumbai and the Florestan Festival in Peasmarsh, Sussex. A regular participant of the International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove (Cornwall), Helena played in the IMS tour of the UK in 2007. Th e group, led by Pekka Kuusisto, won the Royal Philharmonic Society Award for chamber music 2008. Helena performs on a 1759 J.B. Guadagnini violin, kindly made available to her by the Commonwealth Bank Group.

CHRISTOPHER MOORE Viola Born in Newcastle, Christopher Moore’s strongest memory from childhood was seeing his mother Patricia (a long time subscriber to ACO concerts in Newcastle) pulling up in the driveway of his Valentine home with a tiny blue violin case on the back seat. Pat was and still is a dedicated amateur musician and would take Chris to concerts in Newcastle and Sydney long before he had even learned to tie his shoelaces. After studying with two prominent Sydney Suzuki teachers, Marjorie Hystek and the late Harold Brissendon, he completed his Bachelor of Music in Newcastle with violinist and pedagogue Elizabeth Holowell. After working with Adelaide and New Zealand Symphony Orchestras as a rank and fi le violinist, Chris decided to take up a less highly strung string instrument and moved his musical focus and energy to the viola. He had always thought that the violin made his head look big! He accepted a position as rank and fi le violist with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra – a position he held for one and a half years before successfully auditioning for the position of Associate Principal Viola with the same orchestra. During his association with MSO, Chris performed regularly as a chamber musician with other colleagues from the MSO and counts among his many highlights sharing the stage with KISS. During the 2006 ACO season, Chris appeared as Guest Principal Violist with the ACO for their March National Subscription tour and their tour to Malaysia. It was during this time that Chris successfully auditioned for the ACO’s Principal Viola position. Christopher plays on a 1937 Arthur E. Smith viola (Sydney).

20 AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA TIMO-VEIKKO VALVE Cello Timo-Veikko Valve began his studies at the West-Helsinki Music Institute when he was 6 years old. In 1997 he moved to the Sibelius Academy. His main teachers were Heikki Rautasalo, Marko Ylönen and Teemu Kupiainen. Valve continued on to study in Edsberg, with Torleif Th edéen and Mats Zetterqvist. He graduated from Edsberg in 2006 and from the Sibelius Academy in 2007 focusing on Chamber Music in both institutions. Timo-Veikko has performed as a soloist with the Helsinki Filharmonia, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Lahti, Tampere Filharmonia and the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra among others. He has also appeared broadly both as a soloist and a chamber musician in Europe, Asia, Australia and in the US. Valve has appeared at the Helsinki Festival, Kemiö Music Festival, Musica Nova Helsinki, Kuhmo Chamber Music, Lahti Sibelius-festival, Järvenpää Sibelius-festival and many other festivals abroad. Valve records regularly for the Finnish Broadcasting Company and has given world premiere performances of the youth works by Jean Sibelius as well as many other works by contemporary composers. In November 2006 he was appointed Principal Cello of the Australian Chamber Orchestra. He appears as a soloist with his own orchestra frequently. Valve is also a guest teacher at the Australian National Academy of Music and a founding member of Jousia Ensemble and Jousia Quartet. He also regularly performs with pianist Joonas Ahonen and accordionist Veli Kujala. Concerts in 2010 will include the Schumann concerto with the Adelaide Symphony and premieres of concertos by Olli Virtaperko and Aulis Sallinen as well as a Beethoven cycle with Joonas Ahonen in Australia. Valve plays a Giuseppe Guarneri fi lius Andreæ cello from 1729. Th e cello has been made available to him by an anonymous benefactor. www.timo-veikkovalve.fi www.jousia.fi

MAXIME BIBEAU Double Bass Inspired by the sounds of jazz, Maxime began playing the double bass in his native Canada at the age of 17, where he completed his undergraduate degree at the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec à Montréal with René Gosselin. He went on to obtain a Master of Music at Rice University in Houston with Timothy Pitts and Paul Ellison where he was awarded a full university scholarship, as well as grants from the Canada Arts Council and the Canadian Research Assistance Fund. Maxime has been Principal Double Bass of the ACO since 1998. He has performed in several orchestras including the SHIRA International Symphony Orchestra Israel, Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra, Sydney Symphony, Montreal Symphony Orchestra and WDR Symphony Orchestra in Cologne. He has participated in festivals such as the Spoleto Festival in Italy, Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Sydney Festival and Huntington Festival in Mudgee. He regularly appears in the Sensational Sunday series at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and has featured as a soloist with the ACO in performances of Piazzolla’s Kicho and Contrabajissimo, James Ledger’s Folk Song and Mozart’s Per questa bella mano with . As an educator he has been involved with the AYO National Music Camp, Sydney Youth Orchestra, University of NSW and Australian National Academy of Music. He is currently a lecturer at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. When he isn’t collecting frequent fl yer points, Maxime, like many of the ACO players, enjoys his downtime in the ocean as an avid diver and swimmer.

AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA 21 DIANA DOHERTY Oboe Diana Doherty has been Principal Oboe of the Sydney Symphony since 1997, a position she had previously held with the Symphony Orchestra of Lucerne from 1990 to 1997. Diana was born in Brisbane and completed her Bachelor of Arts in Music Performance at the Victorian College of the Arts, where she was awarded the MENSA Prize for top graduating student. During this time she also won the Other Instruments section of the ABC Instrumental and Vocal Competition and was named Most Outstanding Competitor Overall for 1985. Diana Doherty is widely regarded as one of the most talented Australian instrumentalists working today. Notable successes include the Concerto for Oboe with the New York, Liverpool, and Philharmonic Orchestras, and appearances with Australia and New Zealand’s leading Symphony Orchestras, the ACO, Musica Viva, the Seymour Group and Ensemble Kanazawa, Japan. In 1994 she was soloist with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra on its tour to China. Diana has performed regularly as a soloist at many festivals, including Prague Spring Festival, MusicaRiva Festival in Italy, Bratislava Music Festival, Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Four Winds Festival and the Young Artist in Concert Festival in Davos, Switzerland. Diana has won many awards and prizes, including joint winner of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York, fi rst prize at Prague Spring Festival Competition, a MO award for Classical/Opera performer of the year and an ARIA for her performance of the Ross Edwards concerto. Diana’s performances are featured on eight CDs: concertos by Haydn, Mozart, Martinu° and Zimmerman with the Symphony Orchestra of Lucerne (Pan Classics); Romantic Oboe Concertos with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra; Blues for DD (a recital program of folk- and jazz-infl uenced works with pianist David Korevaar); Souvenirs presenting beautiful melodies for oboe; the Ross Edwards Oboe Concerto; ’s Oboe Concerto with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra; the Bach Concerto for violin and oboe with Richard Tognetti and the ACO (all for ABC Classics); and Koehne’s Infl ight Entertainment (Naxos).

22 AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA ACO PARTNERS

Th e ACO receives around 50% of its income from the box offi ce, 35% from the business community and private donors and less than 15% from government sources. Th e private sector plays a key role in the continued growth and artistic development of the Orchestra. We are proud of the relationships we have developed with each of our partners and would like to acknowledge their generous support.

FOUNDING PARTNER

NATIONAL TOUR PARTNERS

PRINCIPAL INNOVATION PARTNER

OFFICIAL PARTNERS

PERTH SERIES AND WA REGIONAL TOUR PARTNER

QLD/NSW REGIONAL TOUR PARTNER

CONCERT AND SERIES PARTNERS

GOVERNMENT SUPPORT ACCOMMODATION AND EVENT SUPPORT

Department of the Arts, Sport and Recreation

BILSON’S RESTAURANT BAR CUPOLA SWEENEY RESEARCH

AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA 33 STACCATO: ACO NEWS DONOR PROFILE: LEN LA FLAMME Len La Flamme has been a supporter of the ACO for a dozen years and has even followed them round the world to enjoy their sound. Len tells us his story with the ACO: ‘In 1996–7, week-long concert feasts by the ACO at Huntington Estate near Mudgee made me an instant fan and supporter! My partner and I became season ticket holders for the ACO concerts in Canberra soon after. ‘Later, in May 2006, I joined a unique Alumni Travel Cultural Tour where I met the ACO musicians and heard them perform in Germany and Spain. Audiences in Europe clearly enjoyed and appreciated the outstanding Australian group they were hearing and that’s not surprising: Richard’s arrangements and discriminating choice of world class guest artists make for memorable concerts. His inclusion of challenging “new classics” invites his audiences to expand their listening repertoire. Len La Flamme ‘Music and music education has been part of my life as a student and teacher in Canada and Australia. I love ‘Th anks, ACO, for your music, which is outstanding!’ he quality of mentoring that Richard Tognetti, Helena We would also like to extend our thanks to Len for Rathbone and other ACO musicians give to students his support of the ACO’s Emerging Artists and and emerging musicians in Australia. It’s opportunities Education Programs. Th e programs would not be such as these that encourage, extend and inspire! possible without the generosity of supporters like him.

For more information about donating to the ACO, please phone Lillian Armitage on (02) 8274 3835 or email [email protected]. EDUCATION NEWS WEST AUSTRALIAN REGIONAL TOUR C Th e inaugural Wesfarmers Arts A O2 West Australian Regional Tour in February was a spectacular success with the orchestra playing to packed houses in Narrogin, Katanning, Albany, Manjimup, Margaret River, Bunbury and Mt Helena. Travelling in a convoy of Taragos, the Orchestra made its way through the south west of WA, presenting education events to local school students in Katanning, Albany, Margaret River and Bunbury.

We sincerely thank Wesfarmers for all their support Emerging Artist, Stefanie Farrands, performs Hindemith in making this tour such a success. in Manjimup

Julian Thompson at Katanning Senior High School ‘Team Tarago’ lined up outside the venue in Narrogin

34 AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA STACCATO: ACO EVENTS DINNER WITH AND RICHARD TOGNETTI

Tony Bilson and Barry Humphries

On Th ursday 10 December 2009, Barry Humphries and Richard Tognetti hosted a dinner at Tony Bilson’s No. One Wine Bar, in Sydney’s Circular Quay. Th e event recognised the generous support of 70 of the ACO’s most charitable donors, and celebrated the $400,000 they have together raised for the ACO’s 2010 Trans-Atlantic tour. Invited guests included Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull, David Wenham, and Margaret Olley. Richard Tognetti performed a specially chosen program, accompanied by his good friend and recent ACO soloist, pianist Déjan Laziˇc. Guests enjoyed the culinary brilliance of Tony Bilson’s French-inspired menu, accompanied by Moët Hennessy’s fi nest wines Jan Minchin, Satu Vänskä and ACO Chairman, Guido Belgiorno-Nettis and exquisite Ruinart champagne. Th e highlight of the event, however, was the address from the evening’s special guest, Barry Humphries. Barry captivated his audience with his hysterical home-grown humour, and sincere sarcasm. In the week following, Barry Humphries and his favourite band, the ACO, joined forces for four extraordinary concerts in Sydney and Melbourne. Th e ACO would like to thank all of our 2010 Trans- Atlantic tour patrons for their generous support.

For more information about supporting the ACO’s 2010 Trans-Atlantic tour please contact Lillian Armitage on 02 8274 3835 or [email protected]. Aiko Goto and David Wenham

AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA 35 STACCATO: ACO NEWS NISEKO WINTER MUSIC FESTIVAL Th e inaugural Niseko Winter Music Festival was a Th ank you also to the Hilton Niseko Village, resounding success, with all three concerts well attended Mitsubishi Australia and the Australia-Japan by Japanese locals and visiting Australian skiers. Foundation. Without their support, the Niseko Winter Music Festival would not have been possible. We began with a private function in Tokyo at the Australian Embassy for the Ambassador, Mr Murray McLean OAM, and his guests. Th e next day, the Orchestra travelled to Sapporo and along the snow- covered roads to Niseko. Th e opening concert at the Kutchan Concert Hall gave Austrade the opportunity to launch their “Creative Australia” campaign in Japan. Above: Th ank you to harpist Naoko Yoshino and the Youtei Richard Tognetti Daiko Serve Association taiko drummers who added Right: extraordinary energy to each concert. Aiko Goto

The ACO in performance with Naoko Yashino MERCHANDISE NEW DVD: LUMINOUS CLASSICAL DESTINATIONS II Recorded live at the State Th e ACO’s performances from the Classical Th eatre in Sydney, Luminous Destinations II television series on CD and DVD features the ACO, Richard Tognetti, Katie Noonan and the photographs of Bill Henson.

ACO KEYRINGS Limited edition key rings engraved with the ACO logo. Silver fi nish and presented in a black box. Available at aco.com.au/shop or by phoning 02 8274 3800 GIFT CERTIFICATES Why not give the music-lover in your life their choice of ACO concerts or recordings? Gift certifi cates can be purchased and redeemed at aco.com.au/gift-certifi cates or by calling 1800 444 444.

36 AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA