With lashing strings, biting accents and punchy brass, the HIP band raised the curtain on a dynamic concert that celebrated the orchestra’s fifth birthday, its late Artistic Director Richard Gill and its future, which – if this concert was anything to go by – the band is charging into at full tilt.
There were moments of sadness – there were few dry eyes in the house during the Larghetto of Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, performed by musicians from Gill’s period band, the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra, with Nicole van Bruggen on basset clarinet – but despite the poignancy of the event, it stayed true to its initial remit: a birthday celebration which, instead of being streamed to Gill at his home, was streamed across the country.
Personally, performing with the earthy unique character of gut strings and with the freedom from compulsory modern equipment is a wonderful feeling … Led from the front, the players share their knowledge in a positive, friendly atmosphere. Surely this is music as it was meant to be made.
Where once one was branded as one type of musician or another, now young players can benefit from multidisciplinary lessons of the past to shape the music of the future.
Maxim Boon on 23 August 2018
★★★½
Rich, impassioned, and faultlessly realised, it’s a thrilling example of HIP with all the right strings attached.
AUGUST 20, 2018 by NIGHTWRITESSYDNEY
The 12 violins of the orchestra seem to create a buzzing, energetic cloud hovering over the players in a representation of the energetic tension of early spring … They take the listener through this Romantic journey with a passion reflective of the composer’s.
ANGUS MCPHERSON on AUGUST 19, 2018
How often do you hear Puccini on gut strings? The Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra has carved out a niche for itself bringing a HIP sensibility and period instruments – not to mention fine playing – to the music of both the Classical and Romantic Periods.
CLASSICAL MELODIES REVIEW
by Heather Leviston
ARCO features an impressive line-up of Australian and international soloists possessing technical virtuosity and deep commitment to the music. “Historically informed” might sound overly academic and cerebral, but the players’ approach is in essence joyful and highly expressive.
ANGUS MCPHERSON on MAY 19, 2018
The ARCO Chamber Soloists delivered yet another exciting and high-quality chamber music experience in Classical Melodies, shedding light on some unusual repertoire – and showing just what period wind instruments are capable of – and bringing an intelligence and freshness to well-worn favourites.
The major event of the afternoon was to rehear Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 in F, Opus 68 Pastoral enlivened with ARCO's feel for balance and the distinctive originality of some of its wind players.
Richard Gill’s understated conducting style never fails to achieve the best from his musicians; his personal charm, humour and vast musicological knowledge wins audiences unfailingly. He is at the leading edge of both ARCO and the Sydney Chamber Choir, two of Sydney’s finest ensembles, well-matched in style and philosophy. What a brilliant idea to bring them together!
ARCO and its specialty repertoire of Classical and Romantic period music is an excellent gateway to the Western art music tradition. Gill himself is a charismatic educator who is mindful of conventions, but comfortable with breaking them so as to endear a composition to the audience. This is an inimitable ensemble, that excels in presenting high art to entertain and enlighten.
In September, Nicole van Bruggen and members of the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra revealed the gloriously polished tonal grain of the 18th century basset [clarinet], an invention of Mozart and his friends.
Australia boasts a bevy of fine period instrument bands these days, but this concert by the ARCO Chamber Soloists in September was particularly special. At the heart of the concert was the smooth, caramel sound of Nicole van Bruggen’s basset clarinet – a recreation of the one made by Mozart’s clarinettist Anton Stadler – in a performance of Mozart’s Quintet in A Major, K581
"Fighting the Industrial Revolution with beauty and newness ... intimate nights of entertainment with fun for everyone and you could see in the energy and movements of the musicians they were having a jolly good time with this music."
"Watching them play gave me goosebumps! We could feel a sense of oneness between them and their instruments, as if the basset clarinet and the violin were natural extensions of their bodies."
"superbly lyrical and tremendously empathetic playing ... deep level of communication and understanding amongst the players ... Nicole van Bruggen’s playing was both energetic and sensitive. Her enthusiasm for her art was palpable ... ARCO is a precious gem in the Australian musical landscape and should be taken very seriously."
"the Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra, led by Rachael Beesley, provided an opportunity for an intimate insight into its musical quality and ethos. On the evidence of this concert, ARCO values balance, expressive subtlety, and mellifluous melodic shape and avoids distorting mannerisms and unnecessary over-emphasis... This was a gem of a concert for its caressing sweetness of sound and pristine tonal beauty."
ANGUS MCPHERSON on SEPTEMBER 18, 2017
"Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra has firmly established itself as a fixture of the HIP music scene in Australia ... the ARCO Chamber Soloists, led by violinist Rachael Beesley, shaped with an exquisitely organic, breath-like phrasing ... the sound [the basset clarinet] produced was incredible, Van Bruggen coaxing a smooth, caramel timbre from the instrument ... an impeccable sense of ensemble and tight-knit camaraderie ... a wonderfully intimate offering from ARCO Chamber Soloists, with Van Bruggen’s basset clarinet a particular treat."
JOHN TUCKER
"I have to confess something right here, at the very beginning of this review. I am, quite simply, in love with the Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra."
