SAT 8 AUGUST, 7PM & SUN 9 AUGUST, 2PM

METAMORPHOSIS

Message from Artistic Director/Chief Conductor, Jonathan Tooby

Metamorphosis I and II have been specially programmed to include the whole orchestra while carefully adhering to current social distancing guidelines. Imagine DSO deconstructed and this will give you an idea of what you will experience in these stunning concerts—the orchestra’s elements broken down into smaller parts, from intimate quartets right up to an ensemble of 23 strings. You will hear antiphonal brass, woodwind ensembles, percussion groups, concerti and the world premiere of a new work by DSO’s very own Principal Cellist, Cathy Applegate. Works by Shostakovich, Dvořák, Mozart, Bach and Gabrieli, among others, are some of the beautiful compositions we will perform.

I would like to make special note of one work we will be presenting in our second concert: Metamorphosen for 23 Solo Strings by Richard Strauss, a personal favourite of mine and a piece that requires enormous concentration and stamina from every player on stage. It has been such a joy to watch DSO string players embrace this challenging work and be awakened to its magic.

Special thanks to our wonderful musicians for their passion and generosity, and a warm welcome to a number of our Young Artists, who are joining us on stage for the first time.

We hope you enjoy these vibrant and transformative chamber concerts.

WELCOME

Darwin Symphony

Orchestra is delighted

to welcome you back

to another wonderful

performance, especially

after such trying times.

We are thrilled that our

first post-lockdown

event is a mini concert

series that showcases a

range of extraordinary

chamber music works.

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Darwin Symphony Orchestra acknowledges the Larrakia People as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which this performance is held and as the keepers of the first songs and stories of this country. We pay our respects to their elders—past, present, and emerging—and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

Conducted by Jonathan Tooby and Stephen Pevely

PROGRAMMetamorphosis I

Giovanni Gabrieli Canzon Primi Toni a8

William Byrd arr. Elgar Howarth “The Earle of Oxford’s March”

Dmitri Shostakovich String Quartet No. 8. Mvt. I & II

J.S. Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G Major

INTERVAL

Henry Mancini arr. Leonhard Paul Moon River

Karel von Hulak arr. Mnozil Brass Brin Polka

Antonín Dvořák Serenade for Wind Instruments, Cello and Double Bass, Op. 44, B. 77

Metamorphosis II

Brian Nozny Numerology

Elliot A. Del Borgo Mosaics for Percussion

Cathy Applegate Conversations about the Impossible (world premiere)

Richard Strauss Metamorphosen, Study for 23 solo strings

INTERVAL

W.A. Mozart Serenade No. 10 in B Flat Major for 13 Winds (Gran Partita) K361/370a, Mvt. I & III

J.S. Bach Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major

Presented by Darwin Symphony Orchestra and Darwin Entertainment Centre in association with Darwin Festival.

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PROGRAMFEATURES

J.S. BACH (1685 – 1750)

Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BMV 1048 Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G major, BMV 1049

Dedicated to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg, after whom they take their name, Bach’s Brandenburg concertos are among the most vibrant and colourful orchestral works of the Baroque era. In these works, Bach greatly extended the Concerto form popularized by Antonio Vivaldi—which consists of two fast movements separated by a slow one—by employing the widest possible range of instruments in unusual combinations. Concerto No. 3 particularly displays the strong influence of Vivaldi in its use of ritornello (short recurring refrains or passages) and episode structure. It also showcases the virtuosic talents of the string players, although each instrument or instrumental group takes a solo role in turn. Concerto No. 4, on the other hand, brings the violin and concertino flute to the fore, with dazzling solo passages that are echoed by the other instruments, while its concluding movement is a stunning fugue that displays the beauty of Bach’s contrapuntal style.

Despite their brilliance, the Brandenburg concertos were not well-known in Bach’s lifetime and remained largely forgotten until a German musicologist stumbled across them in a library in Berlin in 1849. The Concertos have since grown in popularity, becoming some of Bach’s most beloved works.

03

DIMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH (1906 – 1975)

String Quartet No. 8 in C minor, Op. 110, Mvt i & ii

Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8 was composed in the former East Germany, while the composer was on an official trip to write the score for a Soviet film about the bombing of Dresden. The Quartet is dedicated ‘In Remembrance of the Victims of Fascism and War’, although it is now a matter of debate whether this dedication was genuine. What is clear is that the Quartet is also a deeply personal work, with motifs and quotations from Shostakovich’s other compositions, including his opera, Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, and his Fifth Symphony. More telling is the inclusion of the haunting four note refrain heard at the beginning of the First Movement (and returned to elsewhere in the Quartet)— D, E-flat, C, B—which in German notation becomes D, S, C, H—the initial letters of Shostakovich’s first name and surname in German. Combined with the self-referentiality and ambiguity of the music, this lends weight to the interpretation of the Quartet as an elegy for the composer himself, written by

Shostakovich after he reluctantly joined the Communist Party.

RICHARD STRAUSS (1864 – 1949)

Metamorphosen for 23 solo strings, TrV 290, AV 142

One of the great German composers of the late Romantic and early modern era, Richard Strauss advanced harmonic style through pioneering subtleties in orchestration. Strauss composed one of his most famous works—the endlessly shifting and densely chromatic Metamorphosen for 23 solo strings—towards the end of life, during a time of great despair—the Spring of 1945, when Germany and its many opera houses lay in ruins. The destruction of the opera houses deeply affected the apolitical Strauss, symbolising for him the end of a tradition of German culture and art. Yet Metamorphosen remains a lush and sweeping composition that recalls the lyricism and tonality of an earlier era—an elegy for German musical culture that also

revives the beauty of those forms for the present.

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DSOMUSICIANS

Violin

Tara MurphyNetanela MizrahiWan-Ling ChanClaire CrocombeLouise ElliottKatharina FehringerHelen HumphreysJacqueline Liang Abbey MunroMelody O’MearaAdie Ramilo*

Vino SathianathanLucy VallentineAnna IngramLachlan PeattieAnna RalphZhen ShangJodie-Kate WilliamsTerri WoodlockZakelli Xie* Angela Xu

Viola

Annette AndersonGreyson ButlerSara ClarkeMary FrostCathy ShiltonAlphonsus TanMary Wheaton Kylie Wilson

Cello

Jonathan ToobyCathy ApplegateAmelia NobleMartyn GrayTonia GriffithsIsabel GuthridgeDenise PhelpsKate Stephens

Double Bass

Rhiannon OakhillYukari SakuraiKathy Campbell

Flute

Tania Watts

Clarinet

Stephen PevelyNatalie ChinNicholas YatesSusi Bertei

Oboe

Sarena WegenerKevin Huang

Bassoon

Alana BryettHarry Cass*

French Horn

Bruce CartwrightHelen ListGeoff PeachLorelei Williamson

Piano

Chen Hui Tan

Percussion Ensemble

Lorelei Williamson Genevieve MeehanKathryn EzzyChris Spargo Isabella Penna*

Metamorphosis II

Soloists

Tara Murphy (violin)Rozanne Gwynne and Nell Stonham (flute)

Violin

Netanela Mizrahi Merran Neilsen Anna IngramZakelli Xie*

Leo Stahl Wenner*

Lachlan PeattieHelen HumphreysSonya BreeHanhan Chen*

Viola

Annette AndersonAlphonsus TanKylie Wilson

Cello

Kate StephensDenise PhelpsJonathan Tooby

Continuo

Cathy Applegate

Double Bass

Sally CutterYukari Sakurai

Clarinet

Mio SakabeWilliam Pettican

Oboe

Carl Brumfield Sarena Wegener

Bassoon

Alana BryettAngela Estbergs

Trumpet

Craig McGiffenAngela TitmussSarah LynarBarbara Eather

Trombone

Melissa ThompsonPaul BurgessArcher Bryett*

French Horn

Bruce CartwrightHelen ListGeoff PeachLorelei Williamson

Euphonium

Carol Atkinson

Tuba

Ron Roberts

Metamorphosis I

* Young Artist

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About the Composer:

Cathy Applegate moved to Darwin from Melbourne in 1982, drawn by the warmth and the cultural diversity of the Top End. She found a vibrant music scene that has supported and shaped her passion for composition. Cathy has had major orchestral works commissioned, performed and recorded by the Darwin Symphony Orchestra. The Wetlands Suite, composed for the DYO, won national recognition in the 90s. Other major works include: a piano concerto for Michael Kieran-Harvey: Piano Concertantrum, two family musicals and, in recent years, a ballet for the Palmerston School of Dance: The Brolga and the Star. Cathy has composed for chamber and choral groups. Recent works include collaboration with sculptor, Lee Harrop for a work: Still Lives (At the Core), scored for two pianos and tape; and a solo violin work (with NASA space sounds) for Monica Naselow, Space – Is anybody Out There. Both works were premiered as part of the Darwin Festival in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Cathy has associate representation with the Australian Music Centre.

WORLD PREMIERE

About the Work:

Conversations About the Impossible (2018) is a work for Pierrot Ensemble that was inspired by a painting by artist, Kate Eagle. The original artwork depicts a fox dressed in a suit and a mermaid sitting together on veranda steps having a serious conversation. The caption, handwritten in silver ink reads: Conversations About the Impossible. Applegate has responded by creating a quirky musical conversation in which ideas and gestures are ‘discussed’ by five players. Sometimes animated and at other times thoughtful, the music captures the ebb and flow of conversation: agreement, disagreement, argument, and interjection feature as the flow of ideas moves through the ensemble.

06

PATRON

Her Honour the Honourable Vicki O’Halloran AO

Administrator of the Northern Territory

DARWIN SYPHONY ORCHESTRA BOARD

Her Honour the Honourable Sally Thomas AC, Chairman

Carol Atkinson, Vice Chair

Pauline Tauschke, Treasurer

Ken Suter, Secretary

Heather Brown, Member

Meredith Dellar, Member

Claire Kilgariff, Member

Sarah Lynar, Member

Andrew Stone, Member

AMBASSADOR AT LARGE

The Honourable Michael Gunner

MLA Chief Minister of the Northern Territory

DARWIN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA MANAGEMENT

Jonathan Tooby, Artistic Director/Chief Conductor

Kate Stephens, General Manager

Joel Hoare, Orchestra and Operations Manager

Tara Murphy, Concertmaster/Outreach and Education Officer

Diana Jarvis, Finance Officer

Rita Horanyi, Communications and Administration Officer

LIFE MEMBERS OF THE DARWIN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Dr and Mrs Graham Davidson

Kevin Davis AM

Ian Kew

Bob O’Callahan

Terry Knight

Pat King

Jim McDonald

Barbara Tiffin

Trish Doyle

Diana Jarvis

Celina Hodge

Adina Poole

DSO MANAGEMENT AND SUPPORTERS

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THANK YOU

Our concerts are made possible by continued support from

our dedicated volunteers who give so generously of their time,

our patrons, our sponsors, the Friends of Darwin Symphony

Orchestra (FODSO) and you, our wonderful audience.

CONTACT

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer or supporting the Darwin Symphony Orchestra in any way please contact dso@cdu.edu.au, or phone (08) 8946 6488.

THE FRIENDS OF DARWIN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

A group of passionate and dedicated supporters, FODSO is an integral part of our community. This year, FODSO celebrates their thirtieth anniversary. We’d like to convey our special thanks for three decades of fundraising and other invaluable assistance!

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Tax-deductible donations of any amount can be made to Darwin Symphony Orchestra to help keep the music playing in these challenging times for live performance and the arts. Your support also means we can keep fostering young artists, like the ones you saw performing today, through initiatives such as the Young Artists Program.

dso.org.au/support/donate

BECOME A

Help us to foster young artists and keep the music playing

PATRON

AS A PATRON YOU CAN ENJOY

• A close connection with Darwin Symphony Orchestra’s musicians and community

• Behind the scenes access with special events

• Contributing to programs that you are passionate about

• A connection with like-minded supporters of the arts

• Acknowledgement of your support through DSO’s print and online materials

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CURRENT PATRONS

Bronze Patrons ($250 – $499)

• Heather Brown

• Carol Atkinson & Bruce Cartwright

• Kevin Davis AM

• Meredith Dellar

• Diana Jarvis

• Prof Martin Jarvis OAM

• The Joy Family

• Claire Kilgariff

• Sarah Lynar

• Dr Sarah McGuinness

• Maxina Parkes

• William Pettican

• Anna Ralph

• Andrew & Sue Stone

• Helen Summers

• Jonathan & Penelope Tooby

Silver Patrons ($500 – $999)

• Cathy & Rod Applegate

• Fiona & Michael Loughlin

• Anna & Isabella Penna

• Lance Schmidt

• Marcus & Andrea Schutenko

• Kate Stephens

• Ken & Sylvia Suter

Gold Patrons ($1,000 – $2,499)

• Bronwyn & Phillip Carson

• Em. Prof Helen Garnett PSM

• Marie-Louise & David Pearson

• Megan & Paul Lawton

• Pauline Tauschke

• The Hon Sally Thomas AC

• Anonymous (2)

Platinum Patrons ($2,500 – $4,999)

• Michael & Ingrid Stephens

Diamond Patrons ($5,000 – $9,999)

• Mr Simon Niblock & Prof Louise Maple-Brown

Become a Patron now by visiting

dso.org.au/support/donate

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© 2020 Darwin Symphony Orchestra. All details listed are subject to change.

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