North Sydney Symphony Orchestra Withe Bernadette Harvey
September 28 @ 7:30 pm
The North Sydney Symphony Orchestra conducted by Steven Hillinger and led by Concertmaster Adrian Keating features music by Malcolm Arnold, Ross Edwards and Modest Mussorgsky.
The program opens with one of British composer Malcolm Arnold’s most popular works, the Peterloo Overture, written in 1968 to commemorate the centenary of the first meeting of the Trades Union Congress. It depicts an event held on the 16th August 1819 in St Peter’s Fields, Manchester, where a peaceful outdoor meeting called to debate the subject of political reform was interrupted by the Yeomanry, a cavalry force which had been sent in by local magistrates. The exciting music paints the scene as the meeting descended into violence, before a triumphant ending representing hope for the future.
The NSSO then showcases a work by Australian composer Ross Edwards. His Piano Concerto was premiered in 1983 to great critical acclaim, and has since been performed many times both in Australia and overseas. It features exuberant dance rhythms, colourful instrumentation and conventional tonality; an expression of the pure joy of living. Joining the NSSO on stage to perform this work will be pianist Bernadette Harvey, soloist chamber musician and master teacher who regularly performs worldwide with orchestras and chamber groups, and as a Musica Viva artist with the ABC. She has also released a number of CDs to critical acclaim.
The concert closes with Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. This famous work was inspired by a visit to an art exhibition. Each of the ten movements represents one of the drawings or artworks on display. It was originally written as a solo piano work, but is now best known in its orchestral version. From the opening ‘promenade’ that represents the composer walking between the paintings to the triumphal majesty of the final picture, the Great Gate of Kiev, this is a work that has been thrilling concert audiences for over a century.
Program: Arnold: Peterloo Overture/ Edwards: Piano Concerto, Piano: Bernadette Harvey/ Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition
Conductor: Steven Hillinger
Concertmaster: Adrian Keating