Australian Haydn Ensemble Delves Into History To Celebrate The Bicentenary Of The State Library Of NSW
Image Oliver Miller
Sitting imposingly on the corner of Macquarie Street and Shakespeare Place in Sydney, surveying the harbour and Sydney Opera House over the foliage of the Botanic Gardens, the State Library of NSW houses a little-known trove of musical documents and artefacts. This cherished establishment celebrates its bicentennial in 2026 and has launched several substantial projects as part of its birthday commemorations.
One of these projects is spear-headed by vivacious Principal Violinist and Artistic Director of the Australian Haydn Ensemble, Skye McIntosh. This month she commenced a Creative Residency at the State Library of NSW, alongside fellow performers and Creative Residency recipients didgeridoo player William Barton and Stephen Page, choreographer and former Artistic Director of Bangarra Dance Company.
McIntosh explains, “As part of this project, I’ll be exploring the State Library of NSW’s vast collection of objects, letters, musical instruments, artworks and scores to uncover and share lesser-known stories.”
“As well, I’ll be developing a new work to be premiered in 2026 as part of the State Library of NSW’s anniversary celebrations. The details of this new work are still unfolding, but it will be a performance inspired by objects or stories from the State Library of NSW’s collection.”
Not to miss out on the thrill of live performance, McIntosh will also lead the Australian Haydn Ensemble in a series of concerts at the State Library of NSW in addition to its own regular concert season. Presented in a casual setting in the Friends Room, attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and engage in discussions with the artists.
Research
As she set to work, McIntosh’s introductory tour of the ‘stacks’ at the State Library of NSW was a revelation. “There are early volumes of complete cycles of music which were performed by ensembles. Although the music was from a previous era, it took time to get to Australia. We know that there was a Beethoven cycle performed in Melbourne in the 1900s and numerous other concerts and soirees, possibly in the homes of the politicians or the wealthy. There is an early Boxwood flute from 1804 which must have an interesting story behind it. I want to find out who were the early musicians and ensembles who performed, their instruments and the music they played.”
“I have a feeling that once I get going it will be a matter of narrowing it down and editing the material into what is going to be the final project” she admits.
Skye McIntosh at the State Library of NSW. Image Oliver Miller.
New Commission
The brief for the new commission is quite open-ended. “It could be anything from a string quartet to an orchestral piece, depending on what the research unveils and what inspires us” explains McIntosh. “It could be an orchestral piece that reflects concert programs from their archive, or a piece that is inspired by art works in the collection, or musical instruments.”
McIntosh speaks in measured tones despite her elation at being involved in the project and its significance. “The commission could also have other aspects to it” she adds. I’m particularly passionate about uncovering stories relating to music and people from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, so this project is especially exciting for me whether or not it has a direct relationship to the music of Haydn. There are many historical scores and early print editions in the State Library of NSW’s collection as well as historical instruments.”
Performance
As part of the performance strand of this Creative Residency, this month the Australian Haydn Ensemble launched its series of five concerts curated by McIntosh and presented under the title 18th Century Unpacked. Seating in the Friends Room is informal and the event can be spritzed up with a glass of wine. “It’s a series of lecture-like discussions, well-suited to being presented in the surrounds of the State Library of NSW. The events explore the music at a level we don’t get a chance to when we’re performing because we’re not able to talk with the audience. The State Library of NSW liked the idea of research and performance combined” says McIntosh. There are four more concerts in 2025. They include baritone David Greco exploring a program of Schubert’s Lieder and a recital by McIntosh and keyboard player Anthony Abouhamad performing music from Mozart’s early period in Salzburg. Andrew Ford will discuss Haydn’s time in London, incorporating performances of Johann Peter Salomon’s arrangements of Haydn’s London Symphonies for flute and string quartet and lastly, a session presented by McIntosh exploring the historical chamber versions of Beethoven’s symphonies.
Although the Australian Haydn Ensemble’s speciality is grounded in the music of the Classical era, the recital of Schubert’s Leider by David Greco is firmly set in the Romantic age. “Certainly the end of our timeline” says McIntosh, but we have performed part of this program with David in the past as well as many other projects and wanted to do a program around Schubert as David is such an expert in this genre. We commissioned some contemporary arrangements of Schubert’s Lieder for string quartet from Vi King Lim who is an amazing arranger and are revisiting some of that. Vi King really understands the voice and the instruments and will ensure that the two will complement each other. He’s done a fantastic job for us in the past and I’m very pleased that he’s done these arrangements.”
Franz Josef Haydn was an Austrian composer who lived from 1732 to 1809. He was central to the development of the Classical style and its forms and left a vast legacy of symphonies, chamber and choral works, sonatas, two cello concertos and around 20 operas. McIntosh why Haydn’s music is relevant to Australian society and its culture today. Her response is cogent.
“Classical music is still very relevant to people today. Music inspires and moves us in a way that transcends time whether it was written today or 200 years ago. One of the incredible things about older music is that you can sense the same emotions that people experienced across time – their problems, celebrations, love interests and worries.”
“Playing music from the late 18th and early 19th centuries on period instruments as the Australian Haydn Ensemble does, we try to create something that is not just a musical experience but which integrates the stories around the music, like who were the people that Haydn was friends with? What was Haydn’s life like at the time he wrote this music? When I’m programming, it’s not just music plonked together because we liked that particular quartet. There is some kind of story around the selection of music. The Creative Residency at the State Library of NSW embraces that nicely because there are stories there from that time in Sydney. There is a large amount of material which was collected and bound together that might contain something that we can bring to light, not even necessarily about music. Haydn’s music is relevant today because it still has that power to move people in the way it did in his time.”
“It’s all exciting and unknown and limitless” enthuses McIntosh. There are all sorts of inspirations to create something really special as a big culmination to celebrate State Library of NSW 200-year anniversary. We will just have to wait and see what I come up with!”
Shamistha de Soysa for SoundslikeSydney©
