UKARIA honours our First Nations by fostering a shared sense of respect for this land, and we acknowledge and pay our respects to the Peramangk, traditional custodians of the land on which the Cultural Centre stands.
CURATED BY LAWRENCE POWER
'It's always a great privilege being invited to share one's musical interests and passions – especially in such a creative and inspiring environment as UKARIA.
When I came here for the first time in 2018 I was taken by the desire to present music in a fresh and interesting way.
As a musician I am fascinated by the way in which old and new can coexist. One of the reasons I perform new music and work with composers so often is that it gives me a freedom when returning to the classical repertoire. When dealing with a new score for the first time one is forced to react honestly to the main building blocks of music – rhythm and harmony – without any influence of past traditions. Isn't this the greatest challenge to us when dealing with Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and all the great composers of the past, to react to their extraordinary scores as if for the first time?
The program for these few days takes us all on a journey from some of the greatest seventeenth-century musical innovators, such as Biber and Westhoff, through to the current day with contemporary voices such as Luciano Berio, Olli Mustonen and Garth Knox. I will also present, on film, the Australian premiere of a work written for me by Thomas Adès, one of today's most important composers, generously co-commissioned by UKARIA.
I am honoured to be joined on this musical journey by some of my closest musical colleagues with whom I have collaborated all over the world. We are so looking forward to exploring this fascinating program with you.'
Lawrence Power
Curator
Join us for a conversation you can't hear anywhere else.
PACKAGES AVAILABLE
Full Package (Includes five concerts and three meals)
Saturday Package (Includes two concerts and two meals)
Sunday Package (Includes two concerts and a two-course lunch)
WEEKEND OVERVIEW
ONCE UPON A TIME
FRIDAY 28 OCTOBER 7.30PM
'In this program I'm excited to explore the potential of storytelling through music. Purcell and Locke give us the perfect overtures for each half with their Curtain Tunes, music expressly written to set the scenes of their respective dramas.
The Three Berceuses by Thomas Adès from his opera The Exterminating Angel form a filmed framework for three miniatures by Tárrega, Casals and Cage. Berio's Naturale invites us into an intense drama between viola, percussion and Sicilian folk songs recorded on the streets of Palermo.
Sergei Taneyev is one of the most curious figures in Russian music history. Often referred to as the Russian Bach, his refusal to continue in the tradition of Russian Romanticism led to criticisms of being purely academic and dry. I find his music utterly beguiling and his epic Piano Quintet is the perfect conclusion.'
– Lawrence Power
PROGRAM
Henry Purcell (1659–1695)
Timon of Athens, Z. 632
The Masque – Curtain Tune on a Ground
Vilde Frang | Violin
Sophie Rowell | Violin
Lawrence Power | Viola
Torleif Thedéen | Cello
Thomas Adès (b. 1971)
Three Berceuses from The Exterminating Angel*
I. Berceuse I
Lawrence Power | Viola
Thomas Adès | Piano
* This is a pre-recorded performance with the composer, presented on film.
Francisco Tarréga (1852–1909)
Recuerdos de la Alhambra
Vilde Frang | Violin
Thomas Adès (b. 1971)
Three Berceuses from The Exterminating Angel*
I. Berceuse II
Lawrence Power | Viola
Thomas Adès | Piano
* This is a pre-recorded performance with the composer, presented on film.
Pablo Casals (1876–1973)
Song of the Birds
Torleif Thedéen | Cello
Thomas Adès (b. 1971)
Three Berceuses from The Exterminating Angel*
III. Berceuse III
Lawrence Power | Viola
Thomas Adès | Piano
* This is a pre-recorded performance with the composer, presented on film.
John Cage (1912–1992)
Living Room Music
II. Story
Vilde Frang | Narrator
Lawrence Power | Narrator
Torleif Thedéen | Narrator
Alessio Bax | Narrator
Lucian Berio (1925–2003)
Naturale for Viola, Percussion and Recorded Voice
Lawrence Power | Viola
Amanda Grigg | Percussion
INTERVAL
Matthew Locke (1621–1677)
Curtain Tune from The Tempest
Vilde Frang | Violin
Sophie Rowell | Violin
Lawrence Power | Viola
Torleif Thedéen | Cello
Sergei Taneyev (1856–1915)
Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 30
I. Introduzione. Adagio mesto – Allegro patetico
II. Scherzo. Presto – Moderato teneramente
III. Largo
IV. Finale. Allegro vivace
Vilde Frang | Violin
Sophie Rowell | Violin
Lawrence Power | Viola
Torleif Thedéen | Cello
Alessio Bax | Piano
Duration | Approximately two hours, including a twenty-minute interval.
Note | This concert is included in the Full Package – a separate booking is not required. Single tickets are also available for those who cannot attend the full weekend.
Dining Options | Cheese and charcuterie platters are available to pre-order to enjoy before the concert ($25).
NEW PATHS – PART ONE
SATURDAY 29 OCTOBER 4.00PM
'In 1853 Robert Schumann published his famous article 'Neue Bahnen' (New Paths) in which he proclaimed the twenty-year-old Brahms to the world. In this two-part concert we will explore the idea of new paths and the extraordinary world of Brahms.
As one of our greatest ever musical historians, his obsessions with old music were legendary as was his close relationship with Robert and particularly Clara Schumann, who became an important muse for him: he secretly quoted her name in works such as the G minor Piano Quartet that we hear this evening.'
– Lawrence Power
PROGRAM
François Couperin (1668–1733)
Les Barricades Mystérieuses
Alessio Bax | Piano
Robert Schumann (1810–1856)
Six Canonic Études, Op. 56
I. Pas trop vite
II. Avec beaucoup d'expression
III. Andantino – Un peu plus animé
IV. Espressivo – Un peu plus mouvementé
IV. Pas trop vite
V. Adagio
Vilde Frang | Violin
Torleif Thedéen | Cello
Alessio Bax | Piano
Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
Clarinet Trio in A minor, Op. 114 (arr. for Viola, Cello and Piano)
I. Allegro
II. Adagio
III. Andantino grazioso
IV. Allegro
Lawrence Power | Viola
Torleif Thedéen | Cello
Alessio Bax | Piano
Duration | Approximately one hour without interval.
Note | This concert is included in the Full Package and Saturday Package options. If you have booked one of these packages, a separate booking is not required. Single tickets are also available for those who cannot attend the full day or weekend.
Dining Options | A light supper (Intermezzo) will follow. This is included in the Full Package and Saturday Package options. A separate booking is required for single ticket holders.
INTERMEZZO
SATURDAY 29 OCTOBER 5.15PM
Enjoy a light supper in our beautiful Garden Terrace in between the Saturday concerts.
Note | This meal is included in the Full Package and Saturday Package options. If you are a single ticket holder, a separate booking is required.
NEW PATHS – PART TWO
SATURDAY 29 OCTOBER 6.30PM
'In many ways the early Baroque composer Heinrich Biber represents a new path in history as one of the greatest musical innovators: Battalia à 10 is one of the first pieces of program music ever written. This creative maverick paved the way for future composers, most notably Bach, whose solo instrumental works stand firmly on Biber's shoulders.
Tchaikovsky's death in 1893 marked somewhat of a turning point in Russian music – Arensky's neglected masterpiece is dedicated to his close friend's memory, and touchingly quotes the fifth of Tchaikovsky's Sixteen Songs for Children, Op. 54.'
– Lawrence Power
PROGRAM
Heinrich Biber (1644–1704)
Battalia à 10
Vilde Frang | Violin
Lawrence Power | Viola
Torleif Thedéen | Cello
Sharon Grigoryan | Cello
Anton Arensky (1861–1906)
String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 35 (for violin, viola, and two cellos)
I. Moderato
II. Variations on a theme of Tchaikovsky
III. Finale
Vilde Frang | Violin
Lawrence Power | Viola
Torleif Thedéen | Cello
Sharon Grigoryan | Cello
INTERVAL
Clara Schumann (1819–1896)
Romance in A minor, WoO 28
Alessio Bax | Piano
Johannes Brahms (1833–1897)
Piano Quartet in G minor, Op. 25
I. Allegro
II. Intermezzo: Allegro ma non troppo – Trio: Animato
III. Andante con moto
IV. Rondo alla Zingarese: Presto
Vilde Frang | Violin
Lawrence Power | Viola
Torleif Thedéen | Cello
Alessio Bax | Piano
Duration | Approximately two hours, including a twenty-minute interval.
Note | This concert is included in the Full Package and Saturday Package options. If you have booked one of these packages, a separate booking is not required. Single tickets are also available for those who cannot attend the full day or weekend.
Dining Options | A dinner (Coda) will follow. This is included in the Full Package and Saturday Package options. A separate booking is required for single ticket holders.
CODA
SATURDAY 29 OCTOBER 8.30PM
Finish the day with a delicious dinner in our beautiful Garden Terrace.
Note | This meal is included in the Full Package and Saturday Package options. If you are a single ticket holder, a separate booking is required for each person.
EROICO
SUNDAY 30 OCTOBER 11.00AM
'Written for me in 2020, Eroico by Olli Mustonen is a short but frenzied Bach-inspired miniature, and the perfect prelude to this program. Alan Ridout's heroic take on Ferdinand the Bull leads us to Beethoven's first String Trio – an extraordinary work that points towards many of his later masterpieces such as the Eroica Symphony, written in the same key.'
– Lawrence Power
PROGRAM
Olli Mustonen (b. 1967)
Eroico
Lawrence Power | Viola
Alan Ridout (1934–1996)
Ferdinand the Bull
Vilde Frang | Violin
Lawrence Power | Narrator
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
String Trio in E flat, Op. 3
I. Allegro con brio
II. Andante
III. Menuetto: Allegretto
IV. Adagio
V. Menuetto: Moderato
VI. Finale: Allegro
Vilde Frang | Violin
Lawrence Power | Viola
Torleif Thedéen | Cello
Duration | Approximately one hour without interval.
Note | This concert is included in the Full Package and Sunday Package options. If you have booked one of these packages, a separate booking is not required. Single tickets are available for those who cannot attend the full day or weekend.
Dining Options | A two-course lunch will follow at 12.15pm. This is included in the Full Package and Sunday Package Options. If you are a single ticket holder, a separate booking is required for each person.
LUNCH – TWO COURSES
SUNDAY 30 OCTOBER 12.15PM
Meet the artists and converse with fellow music lovers over a two-course lunch showcasing local produce from the Adelaide Hills – the perfect way to bid farewell to the weekend.
Note | This meal is included in the Full Package and Sunday Package options. If you are a single ticket holder, a separate booking is required for each person.
FINALE
SUNDAY 30 OCTOBER 2.30PM
'Written for me in 2020, Quartet for One by Garth Knox is a creative gem. It tells the story of a violist performing with his quartet colleagues only to realise that it is sadly only him on stage!
The neglected Norwegian composer Bjarne Brustad is a fascinating figure in twentieth-century music. His European travels in the 1920s led to him developing a unique voice as a composer, which these duets for violin and viola show perfectly.
We finish this weekend of concerts with Fauré's glorious Piano Quartet. Comparatively little is known about its history: it was probably composed some time during the years 1885–86, just after Fauré had been awarded the Prix Chartier by the Academy of Fine Arts for his chamber music. The Second Quartet is undoubtedly one of the pinnacles of his chamber music output and it is difficult to understand why this superbly crafted and melodically generous work has never managed to achieve the popularity of the first. The slow movement was apparently inspired by a memory of the evening bells of the village of Cadirac, which Fauré frequently heard as a child. Westhoff's visionary 'Imitatione delle campane' (Imitation of Bells) recreates the sounds of church bells on a solo string instrument – a wonderful musical magic trick.'
– Lawrence Power
PROGRAM
Garth Knox (b. 1956)
Quartet for One
Lawrence Power | Viola
Bjarne Brustad (1895–1978)
Capricci for Violin and Viola
Vilde Frang | Violin
Lawrence Power | Viola
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975)
Sonata for Cello and Piano in D minor, Op. 40
I. Allegro non troppo
II. Allegro
III. Largo
IV. Allegro
Torleif Thedéen | Cello
Alessio Bax | Piano
INTERVAL
Johann Paul von Westhoff (1656–1705)
Sonata No. 3 in D minor
III. Imitatione delle campane
Lawrence Power | Viola
Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924)
Piano Quartet No. 2 in G minor, Op. 45
I. Allegro molto moderato
II. Allegro molto
III. Adagio non troppo
IV. Finale – Allegro molto
Vilde Frang | Violin
Lawrence Power | Viola
Torleif Thedéen | Cello
Alessio Bax | Piano
Duration | Approximately two hours, including a twenty-minute interval.
Note | Complimentary afternoon tea will be served during the interval. This concert is included in the Full Package and Sunday Package options. If you have booked one of these packages, a separate booking is not required. Single tickets are available for those who cannot attend the full day or weekend.
Photo Credits:
Lawrence Power: Jack Liebeck
Vilde Frang: Marco Borggreve
Torleif Thedéen: Nikolaj Lund
Alessio Bax: Marco Borggreve