Tuesday, 26 May 2009
More awards for Musica Surfica
Musica Surfica won Best Picture, Best Soundtrack and Best Surfer at the biggest surf film festival in the world, the International Surf Film Festival in St Jean de Luz, France on the weekend.
Thursday, 21 May 2009
Post about the US tour from Emerging Artist Peter Clark
My journey with the ACO started late last year with an audition in Melbourne’s Hamer Hall. Little did I know that only a few months later I’d be playing with the Orchestra in Carnegie Hall!
I was offered the once in a lifetime opportunity of touring to the US as part of the ACO’s Emerging Artists Program. As well as many programs each year, including a regional tour, being an EA offers benefits such as lessons with an ACO mentor, season tickets and the opportunity to watch any ACO rehearsals – we aren’t treated any differently to the core players of the Orchestra.
I highly recommend anyone to consider applying for next year’s program.
In my first few days on tour, I was slightly apprehensive, being so young and new; however within a very short time, I knew everyone. That’s one significant thing I came to realise: everyone in the ACO is so down to earth and friendly…and together they form such an exceptional group of musicians! It was very rewarding getting to know everyone off the concert stage.
If anyone reading this is familiar with the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA, then you will have an idea of the amazing venues we performed in. The guest artists were also exceptional. Having listened to many recordings of the tour’s soloists in the past, it was very exciting working with Andreas Scholl and Paul Lewis.
I would like to thank everyone at the ACO for providing me with this amazing experience; they were some of the best weeks of my life.
Peter
I was offered the once in a lifetime opportunity of touring to the US as part of the ACO’s Emerging Artists Program. As well as many programs each year, including a regional tour, being an EA offers benefits such as lessons with an ACO mentor, season tickets and the opportunity to watch any ACO rehearsals – we aren’t treated any differently to the core players of the Orchestra.
I highly recommend anyone to consider applying for next year’s program.
In my first few days on tour, I was slightly apprehensive, being so young and new; however within a very short time, I knew everyone. That’s one significant thing I came to realise: everyone in the ACO is so down to earth and friendly…and together they form such an exceptional group of musicians! It was very rewarding getting to know everyone off the concert stage.
If anyone reading this is familiar with the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA, then you will have an idea of the amazing venues we performed in. The guest artists were also exceptional. Having listened to many recordings of the tour’s soloists in the past, it was very exciting working with Andreas Scholl and Paul Lewis.
I would like to thank everyone at the ACO for providing me with this amazing experience; they were some of the best weeks of my life.
Peter
Monday, 11 May 2009
US Review, Santa Barbara Independent
Australian Chamber Orchestra with Andreas Scholl, Countertenor
Outstanding Countertenor Impresses Lobero Audience on Wednesday Night
By Charles Donelan
Thursday, April 30, 2009
The 18th century took music to its outer limits. Any doubts on that score were settled early in this, the final concert of the season in CAMA’s Masterseries at the Lobero. Richard Tognetti led his breathtaking ensemble on a wild ride through the entire development of music during this long century of discovery, all the way from the exuberant Concerto Grosso Op. 3 No. 11 of Antonio Vivaldi (1711) to the Symphony No. 44 in E Minor of Joseph Haydn (1771). The Australian Chamber Orchestra, in a gesture toward earlier performance tradition, plays with only the cellists seated, and the rest of the ensemble standing and free to move within the framework of a rough semi-circle. Those who heard the sensational Sejong ensemble with Gil Shaham just a few weeks ago would have recognized this tactic, but perhaps not the added crunch and splash of energy continuously cascading off the ACO. The Vivaldi was plangent and beautiful, easing the audience by degrees toward the electrifying operatic excerpts from George Frideric Handel that were to come. Read more
Outstanding Countertenor Impresses Lobero Audience on Wednesday Night
By Charles Donelan
Thursday, April 30, 2009
The 18th century took music to its outer limits. Any doubts on that score were settled early in this, the final concert of the season in CAMA’s Masterseries at the Lobero. Richard Tognetti led his breathtaking ensemble on a wild ride through the entire development of music during this long century of discovery, all the way from the exuberant Concerto Grosso Op. 3 No. 11 of Antonio Vivaldi (1711) to the Symphony No. 44 in E Minor of Joseph Haydn (1771). The Australian Chamber Orchestra, in a gesture toward earlier performance tradition, plays with only the cellists seated, and the rest of the ensemble standing and free to move within the framework of a rough semi-circle. Those who heard the sensational Sejong ensemble with Gil Shaham just a few weeks ago would have recognized this tactic, but perhaps not the added crunch and splash of energy continuously cascading off the ACO. The Vivaldi was plangent and beautiful, easing the audience by degrees toward the electrifying operatic excerpts from George Frideric Handel that were to come. Read more
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
Where's?
We've had final US performance, in Princeton, and are looking forward to returning for the concerts at the Kennedy Center in Washington in September.
Richard is coming home via Europe, where he's guest directing the Irish Chamber Orchestra and the Amsterdam Sinfonietta.
Tipi is travelling back via Finland, where he is soloist with the Tampere Filharmonia in the Saint-Saens Cello Concerto (if we're reading the Finnish website right).
Richard is coming home via Europe, where he's guest directing the Irish Chamber Orchestra and the Amsterdam Sinfonietta.
Tipi is travelling back via Finland, where he is soloist with the Tampere Filharmonia in the Saint-Saens Cello Concerto (if we're reading the Finnish website right).
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
New York Times Review
New York Times Music Review | Australian Chamber Orchestra
A Group That Doesn’t Sit, Adding Bounce to Haydn
By STEVE SMITH
May 4, 2009
The Australian Chamber Orchestra is not the only ensemble whose members perform standing up, but it is one of the few for which the posture seems to make a difference. Hearing the group perform on Sunday night at Zankel Hall, you could easily believe that its kinetic, precise and engaging playing was simply too exuberant to be bottled up by sitting down. Read more
A Group That Doesn’t Sit, Adding Bounce to Haydn
By STEVE SMITH
May 4, 2009
The Australian Chamber Orchestra is not the only ensemble whose members perform standing up, but it is one of the few for which the posture seems to make a difference. Hearing the group perform on Sunday night at Zankel Hall, you could easily believe that its kinetic, precise and engaging playing was simply too exuberant to be bottled up by sitting down. Read more
Carnegie Hall Review
Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall, N.Y.; May 3, 2009
The Australian Chamber Orchestra's concert this evening at Carnegie Hall's Zankel auditorium took place simultaneously with an appearance by Bernard Haitink and the Chicago Symphony in the big hall. While the latter will probably get most of the post-concert press, I somehow suspect the more satisfying musical experience took place in the small hall, literally "down under" the larger one. This is a superb ensemble by any standard, and the program was excellently chosen: Haydn's Symphony No. 44 "Mourning," Roger Smalley's "Footwork," six Handel arias, and music director Richard Tognetti's own transcription for string orchestra of Czech composer Pavel Haas' magnificent Second String Quartet "From the Monkey Mountains." Read more.
David Hurwitz
Classics Today
The Australian Chamber Orchestra's concert this evening at Carnegie Hall's Zankel auditorium took place simultaneously with an appearance by Bernard Haitink and the Chicago Symphony in the big hall. While the latter will probably get most of the post-concert press, I somehow suspect the more satisfying musical experience took place in the small hall, literally "down under" the larger one. This is a superb ensemble by any standard, and the program was excellently chosen: Haydn's Symphony No. 44 "Mourning," Roger Smalley's "Footwork," six Handel arias, and music director Richard Tognetti's own transcription for string orchestra of Czech composer Pavel Haas' magnificent Second String Quartet "From the Monkey Mountains." Read more.
David Hurwitz
Classics Today
Friday, 1 May 2009
Down Under Delight Meets Uplifting Voice
Review
Down Under delight meets uplifting voice
By Kyle MacMillan
Denver Post Fine Arts Critic
5 May 2009
While Australia is not exactly the first country that comes to mind in terms of classical music, the Australian Chamber Orchestra has distinguished itself internationally for much of its 34-year history.
During a visit Thursday evening to Gates Concert Hall as part of the Newman Center Presents series, the ensemble impressed again with its technical brilliance, laser focus and all-out intensity.
Indeed, its performance ranks among the most memorable of the season. Read more.
Down Under delight meets uplifting voice
By Kyle MacMillan
Denver Post Fine Arts Critic
5 May 2009
While Australia is not exactly the first country that comes to mind in terms of classical music, the Australian Chamber Orchestra has distinguished itself internationally for much of its 34-year history.
During a visit Thursday evening to Gates Concert Hall as part of the Newman Center Presents series, the ensemble impressed again with its technical brilliance, laser focus and all-out intensity.
Indeed, its performance ranks among the most memorable of the season. Read more.
Aussie violinist surfs through music and life
Aussie violinist surfs through music and life
by Bradley Bambarger/The Star-Ledger
Thursday April 30, 2009, 2:44 PM
It isn't your usual classical violinist who is also a surfer. Or who teaches Russell Crowe how to fiddle for a film. Or who gushes about the hard-rock charms of AC/DC. But Richard Tognetti is from Down Under, and the 43-year-old likes to do things differently.
Tognetti has led the Australian Chamber Orchestra for the past 20 years, not only enlivening the limited repertoire for a small orchestra but helping to expand it. The group performs Baroque music with the zest of a period-minded ensemble, but balances contemporary pieces right alongside. Balance is part of music's connection to surfing, which Tognetti explored in the prize-winning film "Musica Surfica," out now on DVD.
"Of all the sports, surfing has the strongest connection to music -- the balance, the rhythm, basically the dance," Tognetti says. "Anyway, you couldn't make a film about music in golf, could you? I suppose you could make a documentary about English football songs, but would you want to keep hearing them long enough to do it?"
Tognetti and the ACO have shown their taste and teamwork with a series of vibrant recordings over the years. They have made multiple discs of Bach, from the violin concertos with Tognetti soloing (on his invaluable 17th-century Guarneri) to the keyboard concertos accompanying pianist Angela Hewitt. Their discography also highlighted by the works of signature Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe, as well as custom transcriptions of pieces by the likes of Janacek and Szymanowski.
Tognetti and company have celebrated their connection with a 20th anniversary U.S. tour, which culminates this week. Of his ensemble, he says, "They have this incredibly open-minded spirit. I do like to explore things, and they have always gone down the path with me."
The Australians' program Sunday at Carnegie's Zankel Hall features a nod to this year's big anniversaries of Haydn and Handel. Star German counter-tenor Andreas Scholl will join the group for a selection of arias by Handel. Tognetti, directing from the violin as was often the case in Hadyn's day, will lead the orchestra in the composer's Symphony No. 44 in E minor "Mourning."
"Haydn's my favorite composer for small orchestra -- there is so much imagination, surprise and joy in his music," Tognetti says. "This symphony has the nickname 'Mourning' not because it's that melancholy, but because he was so in love with the slow movement that he said that he would like to have it played at his funeral."
The tour finishes Monday at Princeton's McCarter Theatre, with a different top soloist on the bill -- English pianist Paul Lewis. The protege of Alfred Brendel has made his name with stylish takes on the Viennese classics, and Tognetti says to "listen for his voicing of chords in Mozart's Piano Concerto K. 414 -- you can hear all the music in them in a way few pianists manage."
Both programs include a piece by Czech composer Pavel Haas, a student of Janacek who died in Auschwitz. Tognetti arranged his "From the Monkey Mountains" string quartet, "an astonishing piece," he says. "Haas wrote it in 1925, and you can hear the influence of jazz rhythms. It's what I call Expressionist Impressionism -- it can be violent, but also evocative and beautiful. You can get lost in this music, and that's always the ideal, whether a player or a listener."
by Bradley Bambarger/The Star-Ledger
Thursday April 30, 2009, 2:44 PM
It isn't your usual classical violinist who is also a surfer. Or who teaches Russell Crowe how to fiddle for a film. Or who gushes about the hard-rock charms of AC/DC. But Richard Tognetti is from Down Under, and the 43-year-old likes to do things differently.
Tognetti has led the Australian Chamber Orchestra for the past 20 years, not only enlivening the limited repertoire for a small orchestra but helping to expand it. The group performs Baroque music with the zest of a period-minded ensemble, but balances contemporary pieces right alongside. Balance is part of music's connection to surfing, which Tognetti explored in the prize-winning film "Musica Surfica," out now on DVD.
"Of all the sports, surfing has the strongest connection to music -- the balance, the rhythm, basically the dance," Tognetti says. "Anyway, you couldn't make a film about music in golf, could you? I suppose you could make a documentary about English football songs, but would you want to keep hearing them long enough to do it?"
Tognetti and the ACO have shown their taste and teamwork with a series of vibrant recordings over the years. They have made multiple discs of Bach, from the violin concertos with Tognetti soloing (on his invaluable 17th-century Guarneri) to the keyboard concertos accompanying pianist Angela Hewitt. Their discography also highlighted by the works of signature Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe, as well as custom transcriptions of pieces by the likes of Janacek and Szymanowski.
Tognetti and company have celebrated their connection with a 20th anniversary U.S. tour, which culminates this week. Of his ensemble, he says, "They have this incredibly open-minded spirit. I do like to explore things, and they have always gone down the path with me."
The Australians' program Sunday at Carnegie's Zankel Hall features a nod to this year's big anniversaries of Haydn and Handel. Star German counter-tenor Andreas Scholl will join the group for a selection of arias by Handel. Tognetti, directing from the violin as was often the case in Hadyn's day, will lead the orchestra in the composer's Symphony No. 44 in E minor "Mourning."
"Haydn's my favorite composer for small orchestra -- there is so much imagination, surprise and joy in his music," Tognetti says. "This symphony has the nickname 'Mourning' not because it's that melancholy, but because he was so in love with the slow movement that he said that he would like to have it played at his funeral."
The tour finishes Monday at Princeton's McCarter Theatre, with a different top soloist on the bill -- English pianist Paul Lewis. The protege of Alfred Brendel has made his name with stylish takes on the Viennese classics, and Tognetti says to "listen for his voicing of chords in Mozart's Piano Concerto K. 414 -- you can hear all the music in them in a way few pianists manage."
Both programs include a piece by Czech composer Pavel Haas, a student of Janacek who died in Auschwitz. Tognetti arranged his "From the Monkey Mountains" string quartet, "an astonishing piece," he says. "Haas wrote it in 1925, and you can hear the influence of jazz rhythms. It's what I call Expressionist Impressionism -- it can be violent, but also evocative and beautiful. You can get lost in this music, and that's always the ideal, whether a player or a listener."
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