The Voyage of Musical Discovery series was established and designed by the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra and its founding artistic director and world-renowned educator, the late Richard Gill. The Voyage is three separate events – in March, June and August 2022 – and is presented at Sydney’s City Recital Hall.
Each Voyage is equal parts concert and demonstration, and is presented by the co-artistic directors, Rachael Beesley and Nicole van Bruggen with musicians of the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra in the first half, and with a contemporary guest artist or ensemble featured in the second half.
By placing contemporary Australian music, composed in the last 25 years, alongside earlier Classical and Romantic works, listeners are shown the many compositional links and similarities in structure, tonality, rhythmic function, orchestration and modes of expression.
A series of three Voyages in Terms 1, 2 and 3 that can be purchased individually or as a subscription.
Photo: Robert Catto
Design & Innovation
Monday 21 March, 6.30pm
City Recital Hall, Sydney
Presented by Rachael Beesley
& Nicole van Bruggen
Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra
Rachael Beesley | director
Edward ELGAR | Serenade for Strings (1892)
Gustav HOLST | St Paul’s Suite (1912/3)
Elena Kats-Chernin & Tamara-Anna Cislowska
Elena KATS-CHERNIN | A selection of pieces from the Butterflying album including Eliza Aria (2016)
The first Voyage of Musical Discovery introduces, demonstrates and explains key concepts of design and innovation in music across the centuries.
These two works by Elgar and Holst were created to be performed by talented secondary school musicians. In their early days as composers, both used different techniques to manipulate tone colour and this affected the very structure of the music in these two works for strings.
Photo: Jacquie Manning
In the second half, pianist Tamara-Anna Cislowska teams up with composer/pianist Elena Kats-Chernin to perform newly-composed works for piano four hands. The forms expand vertically as well as horizontally, and compositional textures develop in real time through building improvisation into the performance.
Photo: Cazeil Creative
Cultural Narratives
Tuesday 14 June, 6.30pm
City Recital Hall, Sydney
Presented by Rachael Beesley
& Nicole van Bruggen
Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra
Joseph EYBLER | String Quintet in D major (date unknown)
Franz SCHUBERT | Octet in F major, D. 803 (1824)
William Barton & Véronique Serret
William BARTON & Véronique SERRET | Heartland and Kalkani
The second Voyage charts the links between music, culture and narrative.
From a European epicentre of arts and science, the concert begins by exploring the works and stories of two Viennese Romantic composers. That one is almost entirely unknown today and the other famous and admired suggests as much about culture and politics as it does about musical skill.
Photo: Chris Schmitt
The second half finds common ground between two instruments of different cultures – the didgeridoo and violin. Together William Barton and Véronique Serret trace improvised musical pathways, and hold a mirror up to the multilayered stories of contemporary culture and place.
Photo: Robert Catto
Musical Identities
Tuesday 23 August, 6.30pm
City Recital Hall, Sydney
Presented by Rachael Beesley
& Nicole van Bruggen
Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra
Rachael Beesley | director
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART | Overture to Don Giovanni, K.527 (1787)
Symphony No. 41 in C major, K.551 ‘Jupiter’ (1788)
Taikoz
Kerryn JOYCE and Ryuji HAMADA | Flowing Water (2019)
Ian CLEWORTH | ... like a ripple... (2012)
The final Voyage of Musical Discovery for 2022 reveals the multiple identities of composer, character and performer and the links between them.
The Voyage begins by uncovering some of the unusual effects that populate Mozart’s Don Giovanni and his Jupiter Symphony with a mixture of musical and dramatic identities.
Photo: Karen Steains