"The slow second movement [of the Berwald Septet] allowed for some gorgeous clarinet and violin phrases, and the prestissimo really sparkled!"
Clive Lane, classikOn
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"All three pieces combined spoke to the humbler atmospheres of music from the funeral ceremony to people’s personal sitting rooms. Rather than evoking grand gesture, these Beethoven and Berwald pieces capture simpler emotion and more direct connection between composer, player, and listener."
NightWrites
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⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
"...an evening of romance and class."
"...the enthusiasm meter was set to high."
Steve Moffat, Limelight
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⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
“It would be hard to imagine a more enjoyable program than the two pieces performed by members of the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra, chamber works by Beethoven and Franz Berwald.”
Vincent Plush, Limelight
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"The rich, lush sound of the full Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra, led from the fortepiano by Neal Peres Da Costa, brought a sense of triumphalism to the opening molto allegro movement, which gave way to an andante, at times suggesting a courtly dance."
Helen Musa, City News
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EIGHT MILE PLAINS, SALISBURY & MT GRAVATT STARS IN PRESTIGIOUS ORCHESTRA
An orchestra of Queensland’s most promising young musicians spent last week learning and playing together in Brisbane as part of the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra’s Young Mannheim Symphonists Queensland Intensive education program.
They included residents of Forest Lake, Ferny Grove, Ferny Hills, Taringa, Mt Gravatt, Salisbury, Highgate Hill, Carina Heights, Banyo, Upper Kedron, Clayfield, Eight Mile Plains, Victoria Point, Chapel Hill, Ashgrove, The Gap, Park Ridge, Tewantin, Tanawha and Peregian Springs.
The Southern Star (April 22, 2021)
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A group of young musicians from different suburbs in Queensland, including Taringa, joined the Young Mannheim Symphonists Queensland Intensive to play and learn great classical music masterpieces together.
Taringa News (April 2020)
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A TEEN Victoria Point violinist has stepped into the era of Mozart and Beethoven during an intensive music program in Brisbane.
From April 13 to 17, Johnny Kelly took part in the Young Mannheim Symphonists Queensland intensive, which featured students from across the state.
Redland City Bulletin (April 20, 2021)
“Performing in Melbourne is so important to us, and we were heartbroken when we had to cancel our Illuminate concert,” says co-artistic director Nicole van Bruggen.
“So many of our core musicians are from Victoria – including my co-artistic director and concertmaster, Rachael Beesley – so we have all keenly felt the trials of the last 12 months.
“We cannot wait to return to the Melbourne Recital Centre and we are delighted that Jacqueline Porter will be joining us again. We had a fabulous time working together on Illuminate, and her performance in that program reaffirmed that she truly is one of the finest voices in Australia.”
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⭐⭐⭐⭐
"An emotional but triumphant return to live performance by the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra."
Aryan Mohseni, State of the Art
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Photo by Robert Catto
⭐⭐⭐⭐
"To me [Historically Informed Performance] sounds like a flowing wave...it's like wearing silk...There is a openness of creativity and musicality, beyond the precision of following the notes. In large ensemble productions as in this performance, this is no mean feat as it requires complete synchronicity in the same ensemble section. And it was exquisitely achieved at City Recital Hall by the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra."
Rebecca Vardiel, Sydney Scoop
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Photo by Robert Catto
"The Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra plays to a very high standard. Its musicians are hand picked as are the grapes selected by Penfolds for Grange."
"Jacqueline Porter’s singing was sublime and she had obviously studied the fervent and subliminal nature of the poetry closely."
Tony Burke, classikON
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Photo by Robert Catto
⭐⭐⭐⭐
"A radiant return to the stage."
"[Rachael] Beesley, always energetic and exuding enjoyment as a leader, ducked and weaved, teasing out the best from her colleagues."
"[Jacqueline] Porter, with her faultless diction and lively facial expressions, gave a beautifully nuanced performance, bringing out the swatch of colours Britten uses with such subtlety, and effortlessly negotiating the vocal acrobatics..."
Steve Moffat, Limelight
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Photo by Robert Catto
“Overall, the choices of Illuminate from the programming to the performance to the staging and design showed an interest in crafting a context and story around the music in an accessible and engaging way. In particular, this concert drew compelling connections across composers but imagining a Europe on the verge of war, in breathless recovery, and then in the throws again as a conversation about hope, beauty, and humanity.”
Night Writes
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Photo by Robert Catto
“This orchestra’s typical excellence of interpretation, crystal clear articulation and superb string orchestra blend was in evidence during this vibrant comeback. It saw the orchestra’s dynamic voice speak in Historically Informed Performance accent whilst discussing later works than we are usually treated to in their concerts. The chance for Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra musicians to accompany a vocalist was also a rewarding change.”
"[Illuminate continues] the young but firm tradition of excellent programmes from this compelling musical group which never disappoint."
Paul Nolan, Sydney Arts Guide
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Photo by Robert Catto
Our co-artistic director, Rachael Beesley, spoke to The Sydney Morning Herald about the enduring power of Beethoven.
“The magical energy conjured up on stage when performing a Beethoven symphony creates the feeling that the music is being composed right in the moment, as we are playing it,” Rachael Beesley says.
“This sensation is especially heightened when leading and directing an orchestra from the violin through this fervent cycle of works. Beethoven masterfully whirls you through the vivid mood changes and shifts of tempi which underline the intensely emotional nature of his works.”
Originally published in The Sydney Morning Herald .
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The Sydney Morning Herald has selected our ILLUMINATE concert program as one of the best cultural events taking place over summer.
“After a year in the dark, Sydney's smaller, independent ensembles are also turning the lights back on. The Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra – ARCO to its friends – had to cancel all of its 2020 concerts but in 2021 it is back with its unique brand of historically-informed music-making. Their first program veers heavily towards the romantic, featuring Tchaikovsky's melting Souvenir to Florence and Max Bruch's evocative Serenade to Strings after Swedish Folk Melodies, while soprano Jacqueline Porter is soloist in Illuminations, Benjamin Britten's radiant settings of French poet Arthur Rimbaud's words.”
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“This wonderful concert was performed by the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra as part of the MDCH (Melbourne Digital Concert Hall) series … an enchanting, delightful concert”
Lynne Lancaster, Sydney Arts Guide
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“This concert, showcasing the early classical period, was a delight. It is often tempting to think that there is a fairly clean break between baroque and classical music, as if the classical was a reaction against the complexity of the baroque. This concert highlighted that in many cases the transition may have been more seamless and gradual.”
“The perfect place for rambles … Julia Russoniello Wollstonecraft local and violinist performs on historical instruments with the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra online.”