Our fifth album, released on 8 May 2026, features the incredible Nonet of Louise Farrenc and Symphony in E flat major by Anton Eberl, on period instruments with the dynamism of historically informed performance (HIP). It’s the first Australian recording ever of both pieces, and the second worldwide with HIP. It’s the story of two trailblazers: Farrenc’s Nonet wowed 1849 Paris and won her equal pay to her male colleagues at the Paris Conservatoire, while Eberl’s work premiered alongside Beethoven and won the critic’s vote.

Featuring an all-star cast of international ARCO soloists and the full ARCO orchestra conducted by violinist Rachael Beesley, this recording by an all-female-led orchestra will continue to raise women and lesser-known composers to international heights.

Recorded live on 2023 and 2020 tours, this album is available in physical, digital and streaming formats. Order your copy now!

Louise Farrenc was a renowned pianist – a child prodigy, an accomplished touring soloist, and first female professor of piano at the Paris Conservatory – yet ironically her most famous piece does not feature her chosen instrument. Instead, scored for a string quartet and wind quintet together, it is full of rich textures and intricate scoring, demonstrating her irrefutable compositional skill.

Anton Eberl is today all but forgotten – but during his lifetime, he was a respected composer. A friend of Mozart, he performed a concert tour with Mozart’s wife, Constanze and her sister Aloysia. He was both close friend and rival to Beethoven. Eberl’s Symphony in E flat major premiered on 6 January 1804. It was well received, described by critics as “beautiful and powerful”, and when Beethoven premiered his own E flat symphony, the ‘Eroica’, alongside another Eberl symphony in 1805, the reviewer clearly preferred Eberl. His death was widely mourned and considered a great loss to music.

ARTISTS

Australian Romantic &
Classical Orchestra

conducted by Rachael Beesley | Violin

Nonet:
Georgia Browne (Paris) | Flute
Tatjana Zimre (Amsterdam) | Oboe
Nicole van Bruggen (Brisbane) | Clarinet
Anneke Scott (London) | Horn
Lisa Goldberg (Gent) | Bassoon
Jenna Sherry (Leiden) | Violin
Stephen King (Adelaide) | Viola
Daniel Yeadon (Sydney) | Cello
Rob Nairn (Adelaide) | Double Bass

PROGRAM

Louise Farrenc (1804–1875)
Nonet in E flat major, Op.38 (1849)

Anton Eberl (1765-1807)
Symphony in E flat major, Op.33 (1803)