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Postcards from Italy

Postcards from Italy

Musical tributes from across the centuries featuring Bach and Boccherini through to Tchaikovsky and Giovanni Sollima.
Postcards from Italy
14 - 26 September 2023

 

Touring to Wollongong, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra.

 

“The ACO is small in number, but big in impact.” – The Daily Telegraph

“The gang every string player wants to be in.” – The Guardian

Join us as we travel to Italy, a destination rich with art, music and life that has cultivated and inspired generations of composers and musicians.

Bach’s popular Italian Concerto reveals his lasting fascination with the country’s musical innovations, while the great Tuscan cello virtuoso and composer Luigi Boccherini embodies its elegance and grace.

Tchaikovsky wrote his only string sextet, the Souvenir de Florence, during a summer visit to the country. Infused with sunlight and warmth, it basks in the pleasure of being alive.

Here in the present day, another Italian cellist and composer, Giovanni Sollima, invokes a dazzling, infectious energy with his Viaggio in Italia, a musical embodiment of the great luminaries in Italian art, music and literature.

An ACO chamber ensemble brings this music to life with the players in an intricate and ever-changing conversation with one another. Energy is palpably transferred from musician to musician and from the ensemble to you.

PROGRAM

Thomas Adés Arcadiana: I. Venezia Notturna
Johann Sebastian Bach (arr. Timo-Veikko Valve) Italian Concerto, BWV971
Giovanni Sollima Viaggio in Italia: Selections
Luigi Boccherini String Quintet in C minor, Op.45, No.1
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Souvenir de Florence, Op.70

Download Program

Pre-Concert Talks



LISTEN TO OUR PREVIEW PLAYLIST

Playlist by the ACO
Preview playlist
PRE-CONCERT TALK TIMES

Thu 14 Sep, 6:45pm


Sat 16 Sep, 6:45pm


Mon 18 Sep, 6:45pm


Sun 17 Sep, 1:45pm


Tue 19 Sep, 7:15pm


Wed 20 Sep, 6:15pm


Fri 22 Sep, 12:45pm


Sat 23 Sep, 6:15pm


Sun 24 Sep, 1:15pm


Mon 25 Sep, 6:15pm


Tue 26 Sep, 6:15pm


ARTISTS

2023 Helena 2 1x1 - Copy

Helena Rathbone

Principal Violin

Helena Rathbone has performed as Principal Violin with the ACO since 1994, and regularly performs with the Orchestra as a soloist and guest leader. In addition, Helena is the Orchestra Representative and Mentor for the ACO’s Emerging Artists Program and was Director of ACO Collective from 2006 to 2015.
ACO Violinist Ike See

Ike See

Violin

Singapore-born violinist Ike See moved to Australia in 2012 to take up the position of Associate Concertmaster with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra before joining the ACO in 2014. 
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Stefanie Farrands

Viola

Stefanie Farrands was appointed Principal Viola with the ACO in 2020. She studied with renowned violist Tabea Zimmermann at the Hochschule für Musik, Hanns Eisler Berlin and has performed with orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Camerata Salzburg and Spira Mirabilius.
ACO Violist Liz Woolnough

Elizabeth Woolnough

Viola

Elizabeth joined the ACO in 2019. She studied at the Sydney Conservatorium, where she, alongside three other students, started a string quartet that won the Westheimer Scholarship in 2015. This award allowed the quartet to travel across Europe and study under masters in Germany and France.
Tipi

Timo-Veikko Valve

Cello

Timo-Veikko ‘Tipi’ Valve was appointed Principal Cello of the ACO in 2006. He is regarded as one of the most versatile musicians of his generation performing as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral leader on both modern and period instruments, and regularly performs as a soloist with the ACO.
ACO Cellist Julian Thompson

Julian Thompson

Cello

Julian Thompson has toured Australia and the world with the ACO since 2006. He is in much demand as a recording artist and his solo performances can be heard in films such as Sherpa (2015).
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