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Beethoven & Bridgetower

Beethoven & Bridgetower
23 - 28 March 2021
Two soulmates, a sonata immortalised, and a name lost to history.

It’s a passionate and sweepingly epic work, but there’s also drama off stage in what is arguably Beethoven’s most loved and performed violin sonata.

In our first collaboration with Belvoir St Theatre, we explore the drama, passion and scandal surrounding this masterpiece, and the interconnected fates of those that came after it: Tolstoy’s story of jealousy and murder, and Janáček’s First String Quartet, both bearing the title The Kreutzer Sonata.

Known as The Kreutzer for its dedication to the violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer (who likely never played this difficult, titanic work), what has been lost in history is its original dedication to George Bridgetower – a far more accomplished violinist of mixed European and West Indian descent, and a kindred spirit to Beethoven – who performed with the composer at the Sonata’s premiere.

Legend has it Beethoven was so late to finish the Sonata that the ink was still wet on the page when he and Bridgetower took to the stage for an early morning performance. It was a success, and a jubilant Beethoven signed the manuscript in dedication to the friend he exuberantly called “a great lunatic”.

However, in its success lay its downfall. While celebrating with a drink (or three) Beethoven and Bridgetower spectacularly fell out, and Bridgetower’s name was removed from the dedication, and from history.

But in this corner of the world he is not forgotten. In collaboration with Belvoir’s Artistic Director, Eamon Flack, writer Anna Goldsworthy, poet Rita Dove and narrator Angela Nica Sullen, soloist and arranger Richard Tognetti seeks to celebrate Bridgetower’s rightful place in history.

Please click here to read important information concerning COVID-19 safety guidelines in place for this performance. 

 

TOUR PARTNER

Telstra_200

ACO STUDIOCASTS

Music from this program features in the ACO StudioCast Beethoven and Bridgetower.

Beethoven & Bridgetower will premiere at 8pm AEDT, Wednesday 3rd November, 2021, and will be available for subscribers to watch on demand until Friday 31st December, 2021. Click here for more.

BBPink

Music belongs to us all

Journalist and filmmaker Santilla Chingaipe on the history of Beethoven and George Bridgetower.
BByeloow

Beethoven & Bridgetower podcast

Clinical psychologist and classical music educator Francis Merson is joined by Richard Tognetti and Beethoven & Bridgetower scriptwriter Anna Goldsworthy to explore the Bridgetower Sonata's influence on some of history's greatest artists.

program details

JANÁČEK – (arr. Tognetti) String Quartet No.1 Kreutzer Sonata
20:00
BEETHOVEN – (arr. Tognetti) Violin Sonata in A major, Op.47 Kreutzer
37:00
CONCERT duration
97 minutes, including interval.
Concert program
Download Program
Playlist by the ACO
Listen on Spotify

ARTISTS

ACO Artistic Director Richard Tognetti

Richard Tognetti AO

Director & Violin

Richard Tognetti is Artistic Director and Lead Violin of the ACO. He has established an international reputation for his compelling performances and artistic individualism.

Richard has appeared as director or soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras. He was Artistic Director of Slovenia’s Festival Maribor from 2008 to 2015 and the first Artist-in-Residence at the Barbican Centre’s Milton Court in 2016. In addition, he has curated and co-composed film scores including the ACO’s Mountain.

Read Full Bio

The Australian Chamber Orchestra on stage

Australian Chamber Orchestra

The Australian Chamber Orchestra travels a remarkable road. Making waves across Australia and around the world for its explosive performances and brave interpretations, the ACO embraces celebrated classics alongside new commissions, and adventurous cross-artform collaborations.
Anna Goldsworthy

Anna Goldsworthy

Scriptwriter

Anna Goldsworthy is an award-winning pianist and writer. Her most recent CD is the ARIA award-winning Thirteen Ways to Look at Birds, with Paul Kelly, James Ledger, Alice Keath and Seraphim Trio. Anna’s literary publications include the best-selling memoir Piano Lessons and the novel Melting Moments, alongside works for the stage, such as the cabaret show Cole for Michael Griffiths, for which he won a Helpmann Award, and the libretto for Victorian Opera’s award-winning production of The Magic Pudding. Anna is Director of the John Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice at the University of Adelaide, and an Associate Professor at the Elder Conservatorium of Music. She is also the 2021 Artist and Writer in Residence at the Melbourne Recital Centre, and Artistic Director of the Coriole Music Festival.
eamon flack

Eamon Flack

Artistic Director - Belvoir

Eamon is Belvoir’s Artistic Director. He was born in Singapore and grew up in Singapore, Darwin, Brisbane and Cootamundra. He scraped through 6th Grade AMEB Violin as a teenager, and later trained as an actor at WAAPA. He has since worked as a director, writer, actor and dramaturg around Australia and internationally, from Milikapiti on the Tiwi Islands to London. For Belvoir, Eamon’s directing credits include Counting and Cracking (with Associate Director S. Shakthidharan), Angels in America, The Glass Menagerie, Packer and Sons, Ghosts, Ivanov, Babyteeth, Life of Galileo, As You Like It, The Rover, Twelfth Night, The Blind Giant is Dancing and The End. He was Associate Writer with S. Shakthidharan on Counting and Cracking. He co-adapted Ruby Langford Ginibi’s memoir Don’t Take Your Love to Town with Leah Purcell, and co-devised Beautiful One Day with artists from ILBIJERRI, version 1.0 and Palm Island. His adaptations include Chekhov’s Ivanov, Gorky’s Summerfolk, Sophocles’ Antigone and Ibsen’s Ghosts. Ivanov won four Sydney Theatre Awards including Best Mainstage Production and Best Direction. The Glass Menagerie and Angels in America both won Best Play at the Helpmann Awards. Counting and Cracking won Best Play, Best Direction and Best New Work at the Helpmann Awards, the Nick Enright Prize for Playwriting at the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, and the Victorian Literary Prize and the Victorian Premier’s Award for Drama.
Angela Nica Sullen

Angela Nica Sullen

Narrator

Angela Nica Sullen is an Italian, African American, woman from the United States. She grew up in California and on Noongar country in Western Australia. Angela is an actor, vocal coach, writer, mc and stand-up comedian. Now based on Gadigal land, she studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, completing Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) and Master in Fine Arts (Voice). She has performed in Nothing To Lose (2015), Blackbirds (2016), STC’s Mosquitos (2019), Brown Skin Girl (2019), Faust (2019). Angela’s screens credits include I AM WOMAN (2020) and BUMP (2021). Angela is currently a voice teacher at the National Institute of Dramatic Art and is also working on Seen, a new television series inspired by Brown Skin Girl, a play she collaborated with creative collective Black birds.

COMPOSERS

Composer Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist whose music bridged the Classical and Romantic eras. From the age of 28 his hearing declined until he was completely deaf. Despite this, he composed symphonies, concertos, sonatas and quartets to monumental acclaim. Today, Beethoven is considered one of the greatest and most influential composers of all time.
Composer Janacek

Leoš Janáček

Along with Dvořák and Smetana, Leoš Janáček is considered one of the most important Czech composers. Janáček had a keen interest in Slavic folklore, which in turn influenced much of his music. He was also enormously inspired by Russian culture, which inspired his first string quartet, named after Tolstoy’s Kreutzer Sonata.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  • Performances at City Recital Hall and Newcastle City Hall will proceed with increased safety guidelines in place. 
  • Please familiarise yourself with the information, procedures and guidance listed below, developed in conjunction with City Recital Hall and Newcastle City Hall.
  • Please keep up-to-date with NSW health advisories about COVID-19, including outbreaks, via the NSW Health website or contact the national Coronavirus Information Line on 1800 020 080.
  • Consider downloading the Covidsafe App.

Seating

City Recital Hall

In an exciting move that will bring audiences greater access to live music in Sydney, City Recital Hall has been granted an exemption by the NSW Government to operate the concert hall at 100% seated capacity. This means that for all upcoming performances at City Recital Hall, including Beethoven & Bridgetower, all available seats in the auditorium are approved to be occupied. This means that you will be seated directly next to others outside of your group whilst attending your performance.

Newcastle City Hall

Attendance at this performance is limited to 75% of the total capacity of the auditorium. Vacant seats will be spaced throughout the auditorium, but to ensure all patrons have access to the best range of seats possible, gaps between seating groups cannot be guaranteed. Many patrons will be seated directly next to others outside of their group.

Please call the ACO Box Office on 1800 444 444 if you have any queries regarding seating for this performance.

Face Masks

Face masks must be worn for the duration of the performance and within all public areas of the venue. Please bring your own face mask with you, or, if necessary, we can provide one on entry to the venue.

Purchasing Tickets

  • Tickets are available for purchase online, or by calling the ACO Box Office on 1800 444 444. The ACO Box Office phone line is open between 9am - 5pm AEST, Monday-Friday.
  • All ticket buyers will receive an order confirmation of their purchase, listing their door and seat numbers. This order confirmation will be accepted as a ticket for entry. Ticket holders may either print their order confirmation or present this on a phone screen, for admittance on arrival at the venue.
  • Existing ticket credits may only be redeemed by calling the ACO Box Office.
  • As required by NSW Health, we will be asking all ticket buyers via email to provide contact tracing details for each ticket holder in their party.

City Recital Hall Venue Information

  • Upon arrival at the venue, you will be required to check in using the Service NSW mobile app.
  • City Recital Hall's box office will be open from 90 minutes prior to the start of the performance.
  • The foyer and auditorium doors will be open from 45 minutes prior to the start of the performance and patrons will be encouraged to move directly to their seats on arrival.
  • The cloak room will be open from 60 minutes prior to the start of the performance with strictly limited capacity. Please refrain from bringing bulky items that require cloaking.
  • The foyer bars will be open from 60 minutes prior to the start of the performance for limited refreshments and will not be open after the event. As per current NSW Government guidelines, drinks and refreshments may only be consumed whilst seated.
  • Hand sanitiser will be available at main entry points and throughout City Recital Hall.
  • High touch surfaces will be cleaned regularly by City Recital Hall staff, in addition to routine cleaning in adherence to current government recommendations.
  • In the event that another patron must move past you to enter or exit a row of seats, we recommend that you face away until the patron has passed.
  • If you or a member of your party appear to have flu-like symptoms, you will be directed to leave City Recital Hall, get tested, and self-isolate, in accordance with NSW Government guidelines.

Newcastle City Hall Venue Information

  • Upon arrival at the venue, you will be required to check in using the Service NSW mobile app.
  • Newcastle City Hall's box office and foyer spaces will be open from 60 minutes prior to the start of the performance.
  • The auditorium doors will be open from 40 minutes prior to the start of the performance and patrons will be encouraged to move directly to their seats on arrival.
  • Hand sanitiser will be available at main entry points and throughout Newcastle City Hall.
  • High touch surfaces will be cleaned regularly by Newcastle City Hall staff, in addition to routine cleaning in adherence to current government recommendations.
  • In the event that another patron must move past you to enter or exit a row of seats, we recommend that you face away until the patron has passed.

Attendance Guidance

Please do not attend a performance if you:

  • are feeling unwell
  • have experienced any symptoms of COVID-19 in the past 14 days
  • are awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test
  • have been in contact with a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19
  • have returned from overseas or a hotspot area, or have had direct contact with someone who has returned from overseas or a hotspot area in the past 14 days
  • have returned from Victoria or been in direct contact with someone who has travelled from Victoria in the past 14 days
  • have been in any of the venues listed on the NSW Government website where the advice has been to isolate for 14 days. Click here for the current list of venues.

Please review our COVID-19 terms and conditions if you are no longer able to attend a Performance due to these reasons. Please err on the side of caution when considering your attendance.

Whilst at a performance:

  • It is strongly recommended that you wear a face mask - please bring your own or, if necessary, one can be provided on entry to City Recital Hall or Newcastle City Hall.
  • Practice social distancing, allowing 1.5m between others and avoiding close contact 
  • Practice good hand hygiene. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for 20 seconds
  • Use hand sanitiser (including before and after eating); and cough or sneeze into your elbow or a tissue
  • Where possible, use contactless payment methods at all transaction points within City Recital Hall and Newcastle City Hall
Satu

ACO StudioCasts

ACO StudioCasts is a pioneering season of high quality, cinematic concert films created to enhance our live season and to bring the ACO to those who can’t attend our concerts.

Buy an annual subscription for $229, or 7-day single film access for $35.