Maria Lindsay - violin
Angela Lindsay - viola
Andrew Hines - cello
Josephine Allan -piano
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear music for piano quartet from three great composers, spanning three centuries: Giya Kancheli’s In L’istesso Tempo is framed by Mozart’s well known Piano Quartet in G minor and Dvorak’s less frequently performed Piano Quartet in E Flat. Born in Tbilisi in 1935, Kancheli is Georgia’s most well-known composer, his musical language evokes images of great beauty and sorrow. Mozart’s publisher decided that the Piano Quartet in G minor was too complex and difficult for amateur musicians to play. A new publisher was found and it received its premiere in Vienna on October 6, 1785. Dvorak’sPiano Quartet in E Flat, Op. 87, was composed in 1889, the same year as his Symphony No. 8 in G major. He had by this time already established himself as one of the leading composers in Europe, having received praise from Johannes Brahms, and invitations to visit England where the premiere of his Symphony No.7 had taken place in 1885.
Mozart: Piano Quartet in G minor K478
Giya Kancheli: Piano Quartet in l'istesso tempo
Dvorak: Piano Quartet in E flat op 87
Concert 2: Harlequins and Classics
Friday 22 May, 8:00 pm
Saturday 23 May, 2:30 pm
Venue: Werona, Blackheath
Apollo Trio:
Maria Lindsay - violin
Elizabeth Neville - cello
Daniel Herscovitch - piano
Following the death of Prince Nikolaus, whose successor greatly reduced the role of music at the Esterhazy Court, Haydn was free to accept an offer to visit England where he enjoyed great success. His Piano Trio in D major Hob XV, No.24 is dedicated to the mysterious Rebecca Schroeter, an English widow who had been married to a German musician. Rebecca fell in love with Haydn and after he had returned to Vienna, sent him many letters full of love and admiration. American composer Michael Torke is one of the most successful composers of his generation and a leading figure in post-Minimalism. The Harlequins Are Looking At You is a piano trio version of one of his earliest works from 1985. Schumann’s Piano Trio in D minor op 63 was the first of his three piano trios. He had married the concert pianist Clara Wieck and the inspiration for the work could well have come from her, who had composed a piano trio in the previous year and was performing concerts in Dresden with her own piano trio. One of his last compositions, Schubert’s Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat major,D.929 was published shortly before the composer's death. He heard this work played, although many others were left unperformed during his all too brief lifetime.
Haydn: Piano Trio in D major Hob XV, No 24
Michael Torke: The Harlequins are looking at you
Schumann: Piano Trio in D minor op 63
Schubert: Piano Trio in E flat D929
Concert 3: Romantic Viola
Friday 31 July, 8:00 pm
Saturday 1 August, 2:30 pm
Venue: Werona, Blackheath
Angela Lindsay - viola
Daniel Herscovitch - piano
Schumann wrote Adagio and Allegro when he was very interested in creating Hausmusik, in which amateur musicians would be able to perform music of high quality in the privacy of their own homes. Brahms created two clarinet sonatas in 1894, three years before his death. He listed the viola as an alternate solo instrument for both. As such, they constitute some of the earliest solo pieces for the modern viola. Paul Hindemith was a composer who was passionately involved in music education and it is therefore no surprise that he wrote solo or chamber works for almost every instrument in common usage and also several that were rarely heard in the concert hall at the time such as heckelphone and viola d’amore. The Sonata for Viola and Piano in F major Op. 11, No. 4 is the earliest viola sonata written by Hindemith, who was a violist himself. It received its premiere in 1919. These pieces are complemented by three other early 20th century works showcasing the beauty of the viola. A rare opportunity to hear this instrument in a feature role.
Schumann: Adagio and Allegro op 70
Faure: Sicilienne op 78
Brahms: Sonata in E flat op 120, no 2
Vaughan Williams: Fantasia on Greensleeves
Hindemith: Sonata op 11 no 4
G Enescu: Concert Piece for Viola and Piano
Concert 4: Sound and Silence
Sunday 23 August, 2.30pm
Venue: Uniting Church, Blackheath
The Song Company
This 25th Anniversary program celebrates the essence of music and musical experience shaped by two vital forces: the desire for stillness and peace against the urge to express. At the heart of Britten’s Ode to St Cecilia lies the alluring spell of beauty for beauty’s sake. Whereas the quill of St Godric, penning down his modest triptych to the Mother and Son, touched upon an inner beauty that is indefinable and unsurpassable. Here is a selection of works that range from mystery to mockery and prod at the edges of the human ear and heart.
Concert 5: Special Event - Memories of Vienna
Friday 9 October, 8:00 pm
Saturday 10 October, 2:30pm
Venue: Werona, Blackheath
Maria Lindsay - violin
Josephine Allan -piano
Don’t let this chance go by to experience the gemütlichkeit of “old” Vienna through music and food. Framed by sweet treats, the musical program presents some of the most well-known composers associated with Vienna. Mozart, Schubert and Johann Strauss require no particular introduction, but it is noteworthy that Schubert is recorded as having written his Serenade on the back of a bill of fare in an outdoor restaurant while waiting for his breakfast. The Hungarian violinist Jeno Hubay dedicated his Hullamzo Balaton to the Spanish violinist Pablo de Sarasate. Franz Drdla was also born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, in Moravia, not far from his compatriot, Leos Janacek. Drdla was well known as a violinist but was not a prolific composer. Souvenirs has, however, always been a popular work. No concert of violin classics would be complete without music by Fritz Kreisler, represented here by his Liebeslied and Caprice Viennois.
Mozart: Rondo in G major
Strauss: Set of waltzes
Strauss-Lehar: Set of operetta excerpts
Jenö Hubay: Hullámzó Balaton
Schubert: Serenade
Kreisler: Liebesleid; Caprice Viennois
Various: Drinking Songs
Franz Drdla: Souvenir
Concert 6: Spanish Muse
Sunday 8 November, 2.30pm
Venue: Uniting Church, Blackheath
The Song Company
Two undisputed masterpieces from a country where life and death intertwine in the proudest and most seductive of dances. Both dedicated to Mary, yet poles apart. The rich polyphonic tapestry of Victoria’s Requiem is a ritual for the dead, grabbing the heart but reaching for the head. Whereas in Alfonso’s monumental volume of Cantigas, the ancient folk traditions of the Mediterranean world create folk-like melodies to the pulse of hands and feet.
Concert 7: A Free Range Christmas
Sunday 6 December, 2.30pm
Venue: Uniting Church, Blackheath
The Song Company
A reprise of the very popular Christmas show by the ‘un-embarrassable’ (sic) Song Company, let loose in a menagerie of animals from around the world, domestic or wild, alive or extinct, big and furry or small and slimy. Wolves, oxen, cats and dogs, tigers and lambs, donkeys, ducks, dogs and doves all join in for this extravaganza of songs, carols, stories and poems delivered by The Song Company in its inimitable way. A Christmas celebration for all creatures great and small!
