Haydn Variations in F minor Hob XVII:6

Coleridge-Taylor “Three-Fours” Suite Op. 71   

Dulcie Holland Nocturne

Liszt La Vallee d’Obermann (Annees de Pelerinage)   

Ginastera Danzas Argentinas Op. 2

Approximate duration: 60 minutes without interval

This program is inspired by the poet T.S. Eliot’s line, “So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing’, drawn from his poem East Coker (Four Quartets 1943).

The poem explores ideas of death, transformation and rebirth. This recital presents piano works which reveal composers at their most tragic and profound, juxtaposed with works of colourful vivacity in an affirmation of the dance of life.

Haydn’s F minor Variations (1793): this heartfelt work was written shortly after the death of Haydn’s close friend, Marianne von Genzinger. Unusually, it is a set of double variations, which also suggests the idea of a pair. The poignant minor theme of the opening contrasts strikingly with the tender, whimsically nostalgic character of the major theme. After a still, reflective opening and the subsequent subtle, complex unfolding, the piece culminates in a dramatic climax followed by a whirlwind of arpeggios. During the coda the initial theme falls gradually into the darker registers of the piano. The final statement is however an ethereal pair of repeated octaves in the upper registers, offering a glimmer of light before the music disappears into emptiness.

The son of a Sierra-Leonean doctor and British mother, Coleridge-Taylor was one of the most eloquent composers to emerge from 19th-century Britain. His career was cut tragically short by an early death, but he achieved enduring international renown with his work Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast. The Three-Fours Suite (1909) reflects his gift for melodic invention and harmonic richness. The dances encompass an emotional range from the lively and capricious to a deeply- felt expressive lyricism and high drama. Each is marked by an irresistible charm and subtlety of rhythm evoking the elegance and joie-de-vivre of a bygone era.

Dulcie Holland studied with some of the leading composers of her generation, including Alfred Hill, John Ireland, Roy Agnew and the serial composer Matyas Seiber. Born in Sydney, she attained a Teacher’s Diploma in 1933 at the NSW Conservatorium of Music, where she also studied piano, cello and composition. She later became one of Australia’s most renowned pedagogues and a leader in music education. Travelling overseas for further study, she was awarded the Blumenthal Scholarship and the coveted Cobbett Prize for Chamber Composition at the Royal College of Music in London. After her return to Australia, where she worked as a free-lance composer, she received an AO (Officer of the Order of Australia) amongst numerous other prestigious awards for her compositions. She remains one of Australia’s leading 20th century musicians.

The nocturne genre was originally conceived by the Irish pianist and composer John Field, then expanded and transformed by Chopin. In the hands of the extraordinary Australian composer Dulcie Holland, we find the nocturne’s characteristic mood of inner contemplation filtered through a new palette of evocative tone colours. Composed in 1947, it combines aspects of Romantic Impressionism with an eloquent lyricism. The work opens with a plaintive hymn-like melody which moves towards a restless, dramatic climax, before returning to the original theme, now subtly suffused with lingering elements from the rhapsodic middle section.

Described by Liszt historian Derek Watson as ‘a dark nocturnal confession of the soul’ Liszt’s La Vallee d’Obermann (1855) is a tour-de-force of Romantic pianism, which takes the listener on an unforgettable journey from the depths of despair to the heights of exultation. Inspired by Senancour’s great Romantic novel Obermann, it maps Obermann’s psychological and emotional journey of darkness to light. The opening theme is darkly melancholy, but undergoes numerous transformations as the piece progresses, by turns dramatic, stormy, reflective and ultimately triumphant. The piece ends with an ambiguous nod to the opening theme, indicating that the hero’s journey is far from over.

Alberto Ginastera was one of the leading Latin-American composers of the 20th century, and a student of Aaron Copland. His music is striking and rhythmically inventive. The Danzas Argentinas (1937) are from his early nationalist phase, incorporating Argentinian folk idioms and culture. This set of dances remains one of Ginastera’s most popular works. The first is a humorous, eccentric portrayal of an old cow-herd in a percussive, bitonal dance, with each hand playing in a different key.  No. 2, the young maiden’s dance is hauntingly evocative, featuring a plaintively beautiful melody. No. 3 depicts Argentina’s wild cowboys in a riotous ride full of fiercely exuberant rhythms and pianistic fireworks.

“Pianist Tonya Lemoh's impressive technical agility and keen ear for tone color work hand in glove to create sensitively nuanced interpretations.” - Classics Today

“Powerful and eloquent” - Gramophone

“A significant new keyboard talent” - All Music Guide

“Tonya Lemoh plays all the music with poetic sensitivity” - BBC Music Magazine

“The pianism of Tonya Lemoh has a sonority that is at once generous and round, refined and subtle” - Classica Magazine (France)

Claude Debussy Sonata in G minor for Violin and Piano 

Lili Boulanger Deux Morceaux for Violin and Piano 

Olivier Messiaen Thème et Variations for Violin and Piano 

Interval

Dulcie Holland In Tribute: Fantasy upon a theme of Hooper Brewster-Jones 

Johannes Brahms Sonata No.1 in G major Op.78 for Violin and Piano

Duration: 14'/5'/10'/ interval /8'/26'

Lyrical Masterpieces

Be transported - a virtuosic violin and piano recital of radiant, uplifting beauty.

Kristian Winther and Brieley Cutting look forward to sharing this uplifting recital of major classics from the French and German repertory, linked together by their glowing, radiant sounds. Performing together since their formative years at the Australian National Academy of Music, Brieley and Kristian together curated this program from the idea of offering music bestowed with a ‘sunny’ nature and inherent beauty.  

The first part of the recital comes from France: Debussy’s shimmering Violin and Piano Sonata followed by Lili Boulanger’s delicately heart-warming Two Pieces and then Messiaen’s Theme and Variations, this built on a tender and lyrical idea consisting of a floating melody. Composed in the same year as Messiaen’s Theme and Variations, the second half of the program commences with an early work from Sydney’s own Dulcie Holland. In Tribute is typical of much of her music, inhabiting a melodic, optimistic and sunny space. The recital then moves to Germany for Brahms’ Sonata No.1 in G major Op.78 for Violin and Piano. A Romantic masterpiece of exquisite beauty and lyricism, the three movements of this work are interrelated and Brahms expertly allows the violin and piano parts to echo one another and intertwine whilst demanding virtuosity from both players. The final movement is known to transport its listeners, as it did for Clara Schumann who wrote to the composer, “…I wish that the last movement could accompany me in my journey from here to the next world.” 

Kristian Winther:

"A musician of faultless technique and rare guts, what distinguishes him is the ability to take on the most challenging music and give it total artistic coherence." InDaily | Adelaide

Brieley Cutting:

"Here is a pianist who has at her disposal a myriad of different colours and who knows how to take the time to let the music speak… it was a performance of authority.” Auckland Scoop | New Zealand

"Cutting was technically assured with excellent control of the keyboard…expressive in the darker passages…she threw herself feverishly into the Allegro movement almost to exhaustion. It was an impressive rendition.” Courier Mail | Brisbane

J.S Bach, arr. Ziggy and Miles Italian Concerto, BWV 971  

Phillip Houghton The Mantis and the Moon

Claude Debussy, arr. Ziggy and Miles Clair de Lune 

Tōru Takemitsu A Boy Named Hiroshima 

Sergio Assad Farewell 

Astor Piazzolla, arr. Sergio Assad Zita from Suite Troileana 

Interval

Christopher Sainsbury Rain falls, and after

Nigel Westlake Mosstrooper Peak 

Radamés Gnattali Suite Retratos 

Program duration: 90 mins including interval 

Multi-movement works have historically been at the core of classical music since its rise to the concert stage. Ziggy and Miles present a unique program of suites and sonatas, all arranged/adapted for the guitar duo. Featuring their own arrangement of Bach’s Italian Concerto and Debussy’s Suite bergamasque, the brothers demonstrate the expressive strengths of the guitar duo while keeping true to their respective originals. The other two works were both originally for other instrument combinations but adapted for guitar duo by their composers. Nigel Westlake’s Mosstrooper Peak was originally for solo guitar but was adapted for guitar duo in 2014 for the Grigoryan Brothers and stands as the only major guitar duo sonata by an Australian composer. Similarly, Brazilian composer Radamés Gnattali’s Suite Retratos was originally written for bandolim and strings but has undergone numerous adaptations since. The adaptation for guitar duo happened on request from the Assad Brothers and has become a staple of the guitar canon that has shaped and defined the musical language for the ensemble.

“Their presentation – music interspersed with spoken commentary and self-conscious attempts at a few jokes – is personable, relaxed and utterly winning." – Limelight

“Perfect unanimity and admirable virtuosity” – Soundboard Magazine

“Excellent ensemble skills and articulations throughout with virtuosity to spare.” – This Is Classical Guitar

“Deeply considered musicianship, immaculate care and superlative technique.” – 5MBS