The Marksman & the Requiem: less than two weeks to go

I’m looking very much forward to my next concert, which is once again with the Queensland University Misic Society (QUMS) choir, and the Sinfonia of St Andrew’s. Last year I had the pleasure of conducting both for their performance of Haydn’s Harmoniemesse, and this year the choir will be accompanied by the orchestra for a performance of Cherubini’s Requiem No.1 in C minor, celebrating 200 year’s since the work’s first performance.

I’ll also be giving a pre-concert talk about the Requiem, which has an interesting story behind it. We’d love to see you at St Andrew’s Uniting on the evening of Saturday, the 21st of October. In the meantime, please enjoy this excerpt from last year’s QUMS/Sinfonia performance of the Harmoniemesse.

All the best.

Next concert: The Marksman & the Requiem


 

I’ve been looking forward to this next concert for some time, and it will be a great delight to be working again with both organisations for this performance.

Marking 200 years since it’s first performance, the Queensland University Music Society and the Sinfonia of St Andrew’s present Cherubini’s Requiem in C minor. Imitated by Brahms and Berlioz, admired by Schumann and Beethoven, this work was written in memory of King Louis XVI of France, who was executed in 1793.

(more…) “Next concert: The Marksman & the Requiem”

Time in Czech going well

It’s been a pleasant first week here in Ostrava, on the Moravia/Silesia border in the Czech Republic; home of the Janacek Philharmonic, who are current hosts of the International Orchestral Conducting Masterclass, with renowned pedagogue Jorma Panula, from Finland.

After a week of rehearsals, we had our first of two performances last night, consisting of Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony, the prelude to Mussorgsky’s Kovanshchina, Beethoven’s Leonore III, and Wagner’s Siegfried’s Rhine Journey. All conductors and the orchestra performed well.

Next week’s rehearsals start tomorrow, with the repertoire consisting of Dvorak’s Carnival Overture, Janacek’s Cunning Little Vixen Suite, and Mahler’s First Symphony. These rehearsals will culminate in our second concert on the Friday night.

Adrian in the Czech Republic

img_1654-3I’ll be heading off to Ostrava, in the Czech Republic, next March, for a conducting masterclass with the Janacek Philharmonic and Jorma Panula: a conducting pedagogue from Finland, who has been teaching conducting at several distinguished music institutions in Europe over the last five decades. The Janacek Philharmonic has a well established reputation for their performances of Czech music, and have worked with numerous prominent conductors including Vaclav Neumann and Charles Mackerras.

The two week course will include two public performances with the orchestra, consisting of works by Mozart, Mussorgsky, Beethoven, Dvorak, Janacek,   Wagner, and Mahler.

I’m looking very much to this course, but in the meantime there is much to do and to prepare.