Mahler and Wagner in Geelong and Melbourne
The Australian Youth Orchestra's July 2024 concerts in Victoria also feature the first performances of the new work 'Overt' by Iain Grandage
The Australian Youth Orchestra (AYO), Australia's most prestigious youth ensemble, returns to Victoria for two performances with Mood: Mahler and Wagner, on Saturday 13 July, 3pm at Costa Hall, Geelong/Djilang and Sunday 14 July 2024, 5pm at Hamer Hall, Melbourne/Naarm. The orchestra comments:
Music as stormy as the depths of winter, blazing with the fiery energy of the Australian Youth Orchestra. Under the baton of Nicholas Carter, almost a hundred of Australia's best and brightest young musicians assemble for some of the orchestral world's most momentous works.
Nicholas Carter. Photo © Annette Koroll
Mahler and Wagner were two formidable figures in an era when music was all about grand emotions, big sounds, and pushing boundaries. Wagner's transcendent Prelude und Liebestod is a harrowing rumination on the perils of love and trembles with anticipation. Passion and heartache swell through the orchestra, stirring from the opening touch of the cello.
Australian Youth Orchestra online publicity for Mood: Mahler and Wagner
Mahler's Symphony No 5 is bold. Hold your breath as solo trumpet commands its opening; the herald of a work that twists and turns through tension and tenderness. Out of the anguish of a funeral march unfurls the heart-rending release of the symphony's Adagietto, one of history's greatest love letters, rich with eternal yearning. Across seventy minutes of music, joy, grief and hope vie for their place in the spotlight.
Opening the programmes, the afternoon concerts feature the first two performances of Overt by Australian composer Iain Grandage.
Iain Grandage
Each young musician shines in this concerto for orchestra, written in honour of arts administrator Colin Cornish, who led AYO from 2005 to 2023 before moving to the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.
Tickets and further information: ayo.com.au
Posted 16 May 2024 by Keith Bramich
