UKARIA Cultural Centre UKARIA 24

UKARIA 24 – CURATED BY UMBERTO CLERICI

Internationally acclaimed Italian cellist Umberto Clerici curates our flagship weekend in 2021, featuring five concerts over two days. Weekend Pass includes five concerts and a panel discussion. Dining options available separately.

Join us for a conversation you can't hear anywhere else.

HERE AND NOW

‘My UKARIA 24 revolves around two pivotal ideas. The first is a reflection on the long COVID-19 period: the inability to travel, the loss of projects, purpose, income, and the days in isolation. But these last twenty months since the first lockdown have also offered a chance to reflect deeper about being artists, our role in society and the meaning of our work.

The second idea centres on the impossibility to host international artists with our borders closed, and how this could be transformed into an opportunity instead of a limitation. I wanted to invite some of the best musicians in Australia with whom I have shared strong connections during my eight years here. They are not only outstanding instrumentalists but are also particularly strong individual personalities with a distinctive heritage, a specific voice and a very unique creativity.

Instead of building a program based on an abstract idea, either a programmatic theme or a specific composer or style of music, I reverse engineered the creative process starting from the group of musicians I wanted and involving them actively to share their personal stories, skills, characteristics and desires, in order to create something that goes beyond a collection of pieces and becomes a unique experience for here (UKARIA) and now (still in the pandemic).

I asked each of them to choose a "presentation piece" that describes their artistic personality in a broader sense, and one major chamber piece for the overall program, that they will personally present during the weekend. My brief for them was: "choose a piece that is dear to you, that resonates strongly with your past or that you dreamed to play and maybe never could".

The first two concerts are about us – who we are and who we want to be.

The final three concerts talk about this unprecedented time in an emotional and philosophical sense: the nights of lockdown, travelling through music and who we are as mankind.

This year’s UKARIA 24 weekend is a path through five concerts, from the voices of single individuals to the broader sense of humanity as a collective and unifying force.’

– Umberto Clerici

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A full program for the weekend is listed below.

WHO WE ARE
SATURDAY 27 NOVEMBER 1.45PM

‘Each of us, the musicians of the 2021 UKARIA 24, have spent between twenty and forty years in music, thousands of hours with our instruments and an untold number of kilometres "on the road". One of the definitions of a good musician is someone who, through their sensitivity and personality, traditions and studies, serves the music, becoming a sort of human filter. But how would it be if, just for this concert, it is the music that serves and describes the musicians? Each performer will play a piece that represents who they are, and from where they have come.’

– Umberto Clerici

PROGRAM

Torū Takemitsu (1930–1996)
Paths

David Elton | Trumpet

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Chromatic Fantasy in D minor, BWV 903 (transcribed for solo viola by Zoltán Kodály)

Tobias Breider | Viola

Jörg Widmann (b. 1973)
Étude III

Kristian Winther | Violin

Erkki Veltheim (b. 1976)
A Tune for a Silvereye

Genevieve Lacey | Recorder

Lachlan Skipworth (b. 1982)
Cavern

Genevieve Lacey | Recorder

Benjamin Britten (1913–1976)
Elegy for Solo Viola

Christopher Moore | Viola

Alexander Scriabin (1872–1915)
Fantasy in B minor, Op. 28

Konstantin Shamray | Piano

Benjamin Britten (1913–1976)
Cello Suite No. 2, Op. 80

V. Ciaccona

Richard Narroway | Cello

Edward Elgar (1857–1934)
La capricieuse, Op. 17

Andrew Haveron | Violin
Konstantin Shamray | Piano

Edward Elgar (1857–1934)
Sospiri, Op. 70

Andrew Haveron | Violin
Konstantin Shamray | Piano

Duration | Approximately seventy minutes without interval.

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WHO WE WANT TO BE
SATURDAY 27 NOVEMBER 3.30PM

'The long period of forced inactivity during the pandemic, after frantic years with projects and concerts one after the other, gave me the opportunity to reflect on what I have done to date, and where I next wish to go. This period both cemented and accelerated my transition to conducting which had its genesis a few years ago.

Most of the musicians involved in this UKARIA 24 weekend occupy considerable space in my artistic journey since I first arrived in Australia almost eight years ago. This concert seeks to describe my contributions and years as Principal Cello of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, my cherished relationship with UKARIA which began at Ngeringa 24 in 2016 (curated by Genevieve Lacey), more recent friendships and a newly born piece, a world premiere, by a composer whom I highly admire.'

– Umberto Clerici

PROGRAM

Gaspar Cassadó (1897–1966)
Suite for Cello

I. Preludio – Fantasia

Umberto Clerici | Cello

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681–1767)
Canonic Sonata for Cello and Recorder in G, TWV 40

Genevieve Lacey | Recorder
Umberto Clerici | Cello

Maurice Ravel (1875–1937)
Sonata for Violin and Cello

I. Allégro
IV. Vif, avec entrain

Joseph Haydn (1732–1809)
Duet in D for Two Cellos, Hob. X: 11

Richard Narroway | Cello
Umberto Clerici | Cello

Harry Sdraulig (b. 1992)
New Work for Trumpet and Cello (World Premiere)

David Elton | Trumpet
Umberto Clerici | Cello

Sergei Rachmaninov (1873–1943)
Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor, Op. 19

III. Andante

Umberto Clerici | Cello
Konstantin Shamray | Piano

Ernst von Dohnányi (1877–1960)
Serenade in C for String Trio, Op. 10

I. Marcia: Allegro
II. Romanza: Adagio non troppo
III. Scherzo: Vivace
IV. Tema con variazioni: Andante con moto
V. Rondo (Finale): Allegro vivace

Trio Ex-Patria:
Andrew Haveron | Violin
Tobias Breider | Viola
Umberto Clerici | Cello

Duration | Approximately seventy minutes without interval.
Note | A panel discussion in the auditorium will follow at 5.30pm.

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IN CONVERSATION
SATURDAY 27 NOVEMBER 5.30PM

Taking Inspiration from the Golden Age: Amati, Maggini, Guadagnini, Testore

Umberto Clerici leads a conversation about the great string instruments being played over the weekend, and their impact on each of the musicians.

Note | This is a complimentary event included in the Weekend Pass. Single tickets are also complimentary for those not attending the entire weekend, however reservations are essential so we do not exceed our capacity.

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DINNER: THREE COURSES
SATURDAY 27 NOVEMBER 6.30PM

Meet the artists and converse with fellow music lovers in our newly renovated alfresco area over a three-course dinner showcasing some of the finest local produce from the Adelaide Hills.

(Separate Booking Required – Not Included in Weekend Pass)

$95 per person

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NIGHT TALES
SATURDAY 27 NOVEMBER 8.15PM

'Artists are nocturnal animals: our imagination, inspiration and certain sides of our beings are enhanced and revealed during the night time. Dreams and ideas find freer and more sincere ways of expression. For me, in this concert the night also symbolises the pandemic lockdowns, the darkness of many months in which we didn't perform, the blind path to an uncertain future, the time when we could not even gather in person for musical conversations through our instruments.'

– Umberto Clerici

PROGRAM

David Elton's Choice:

György Ligeti (1923–2006)
Mysteries of the Macabre (arr. for trumpet and piano by Elgar Howarth)

David Elton | Trumpet
Konstantin Shamray | Piano

Andrew Haveron's Choice:

Alfred Schnittke (1934–1998)
Piano Quintet

I. Moderato
II. In tempo di valse
III. Andante
IV. Lento
V. Moderato pastorale

David Lang (b. 1957)
Sleeper's Prayer (arr. for recorder and string trio by Genevieve Lacey)

Genevieve Lacey | Recorder
Trio Ex-Patria:
Andrew Haveron | Violin
Tobias Breider | Viola
Umberto Clerici | Cello

Christopher Moore's Choice:

Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951)
Verklärte Nacht for String Sextet, Op. 4

Duration | Approximately seventy-five minutes without interval.

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VIRTUAL TRAVELS
SUNDAY 28 NOVEMBER 11.00AM

'Music as time machine, as flying carpet, as storyteller.

At the time I penned these program notes, it had been nineteen months since I was last in Italy. We have each spent a good portion of our lives travelling and then it all came to a rapid halt.

But can we travel through music instead?

What if we could go to Venice in a time when it was the richest and most extravagant city in Europe, and better still, not overrun with tourists? Or to visit what has become one of the most popular holiday destinations for Australians, Bali, but through the eyes of the most renowned Australian composer, Peter Sculthorpe, in 1969?

Then we could jump back one thousand years to visit Saint Hildegard of Bingen who was a German Benedictine abbess, writer, composer, philosopher, mystic, visionary and polymath of the High Middle Ages. Finally, playing the mystical Kreutzer sonata, in an arrangement made maybe by the composer himself, which in the two hundred years since Beethoven first bestowed it on the world, has inspired Tolstoy and an endless number of painters, plays and movies.'

– Umberto Clerici

PROGRAM

Antonio Vivaldi (1678–1741)
Concerto for Two Oboes in C, RV 534 (arr. for recorder, trumpet and string quintet)

Genevieve Lacey | Recorder
David Elton | Trumpet
Andrew Haveron | Violin
Kristian Winther | Violin
Christopher Moore | Viola
Umberto Clerici | Cello
Richard Narroway | Cello

Richard Narroway's Choice:

Peter Sculthorpe (1929–2014)
String Quartet No. 8

I. Con dolore
II. Risoluto
III. Con dolore
IV. Con precisione
V. Con dolore

Andrew Haveron | Violin
Kristian Winther | Violin
Christopher Moore | Viola
Richard Narroway | Cello

Genevieve Lacey's Choice:

Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179)
O viridissima virga (arr. for recorder, electronics and string quartet by Erkki Veltheim)

O ignis spiritus (arr. for recorder, electronics and string quartet by Erkki Veltheim)

Genevieve Lacey | Recorder
Kristian Winther | Violin
Andrew Haveron | Violin
Tobias Breider | Viola
Richard Narroway | Cello

Kristian Winther's Choice:

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Sonata for Piano and Violin in A, Op. 47 Kreutzer (arr. for string quintet)

I. Adagio sostenuto – Presto
II. Andante con variazioni
III. Presto

LUNCH: TWO COURSES
SUNDAY 28 NOVEMBER 12.45PM

Designed for sharing, our two-course lunch unfolds at a leisurely pace – the perfect way to bid farewell to the weekend.

(Separate Booking Required – Not Included in Weekend Pass)

$75 per person

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COUNTERPOINT, MUSIC AND MANKIND
SUNDAY 28 NOVEMBER 2.30PM

'The definition of counterpoint in music is: "the relationship between two or more musical lines or voices, which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melody."

A definition of music can be: "sounds combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion."

And lastly, one of the definitions of mankind is: "human beings considered collectively."

Relationships combined collectively. To me this is what we all are.

Bach is renowned as the master of polyphony and counterpoint, but not many know that Sergei Ivanovich Taneyev was called "the Russian Bach" and that his teacher – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – said that he was "the greatest master of counterpoint in Russia."

– Umberto Clerici

PROGRAM

Tobias Breider's Choice:

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
Selections from Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 (arr. for string trio by Dmitry Sitkovetsky)

Konstantin Shamray's Choice:

Sergei Taneyev (1856–1915)
Piano Quartet in E, Op. 20

I. Allegro brillante
II. Adagio più tosto largo – Allegro agitato
III. Finale. Allegro molto

Photo Credit:

Umberto Clerici (Cello) | Photo: Carla Penoncelli

If on the day of a concert the CFS gives the Mt Lofty Ranges a catastrophic fire danger rating the concert will be cancelled. In this event a cancellation notice will be placed on our website from 10am on the morning of the concert.

For more information please contact
Administration | Phone 08 8227 1277 | Email [email protected]

Music Program | UKARIA 24