Three concerts made for a most enjoyable weekend on 13/14 May.
Notturno
The group Notturno have not played in Kangaroo Valley before, and provided a delightful program of lesser known composers from the early 19th century. Matejka, Sor and Carulli enjoyed careers which took them all over Europe, from Prague, to Vienna, from Barcelona to Paris, London, and Moscow, and from Naples to Paris. In the early 19th century wars and political boundaries were no barrier to the progress of a composer’s career. The combination of Melissa Farrow (flute), Karina Schmitz (viola), and Simon Martyn-Ellis (guitar) was particularly suitable for this sort of intimate concert. Each of the players introduced their instruments, some modern copies, but others from the period of the music.
Lisa Stewart & Roland Peelman
Sunday morning’s Hausmusik concert was also held at Villa Strachanus on Tourist Road thanks to Tony Strachan’s generosity in displacing the vintage cars which normally occupy the space. It was a wonderful venue for a violin and piano concert featuring Lisa Stewart (violin) and Roland Peelman (piano). The program ranged from the Debussy Violin and Piano Sonata to three Australian women composers, most suitable for a Mother’s Day concert, and finished with ‘The Lark Ascending’ by Vaughan Williams, accompanied by birds, though not larks, seen through the window behind the performers.
Acacia String Quartet
Saturday evening’s main concert in the Kangaroo Valley Hall featured the Acacia String Quartet, who first performed Beethoven’s ‘Harp’ quartet. The nickname comes from a pizzicato segment in the first movement. Although written in Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ period, this quartet foreshadowed the musical developments which Beethoven displayed in his late string quartets. It must have been very novel, and an exciting premiere to attend, in Vienna in 1807.
This was followed by an equally exciting premiere of a piece commissioned by Arts in the Valley from Kangaroo Valley composer, Robert Constable. Robert introduced his piece, ‘Terpsichorean Dance, #2’. It was a very demanding piece, requiring great concentration and precision from the quartet and was very well received. Robert presented Greg See, Music Director for Arts in the Valley, with a working copy of the score.
The concert ended with a performance of the delightfully familiar Schumann Piano Quintet, where the Acacia String Quartet were joined by noted pianist and Canberra Festival director Roland Peelman on the piano. The first performance of the quintet was to have had Robert Schumann’s wife, Clara, at the piano, but she was ill and her place was taken by Felix Mendelssohn. Roland Peelman proved a very suitable successor at the keyboard.
Forthcoming events
Arts in the Valley looks forward to two further events this year. Sculpture in the Valley will be back on the weekends of 9/10 and 16/17 September; and Australian Vocal Ensemble (AVÉ) will perform on Saturday 7 October, bringing Katie Noonan, Fiona Campbell, Andrew Goodwin, and Andrew O’Connor to the Kangaroo Valley Hall.
Nick Minogue