All-Star Ensemble Celebrate Brilliance Of Bach

This October four of Australia's most renowned musicians - ACO Artistic Director Richard Tognetti, violist and composer Brett Dean, harpsichordist Erin Helyard and ACO Principal Cello Timo-Veikko Valve - will perform with an intimate ACO ensemble in a concert that explores the brilliance and beauty of one of the greatest composers to have ever lived, JS Bach.

Nearly 300 years after his death, JS Bach remains the most revered of composers. His music is celebrated for its profound spiritual and emotional expression as well as the extraordinary technical challenges it sets for musicians. For many, the elusive genius of JS Bach lies in the rich inventiveness of his music and its ability to connect deeply with musicians and listeners alike.

"JS Bach's music operates on so many different levels and that's why it resonates with so many people," says Richard Tognetti. "There are those who have to understand how it works - who need to get under the bonnet of the car, so to speak, and see how it's all put together to wholly appreciate the musical and mathematical genius of it all. Then there are those who are content to simply sit back and let the music wash over them.

"As a musician, there is so much you can reveal in his music. As a listener, there is so much you can access without even needing to truly understand why or how it's affecting you."

Tognetti, whose recordings of JS Bach's music earned him three consecutive ARIA awards for Best Classical Album, will open the concert with a solo performance of the Andante from Bach's Violin Sonata No.2. Its pure, captivating tone sets the scene before he is joined onstage by Erin Helyard for the vibrant lyricism of the Sonata in A major for violin and harpsichord.

Australian musician Brett Dean features as both composer and performer in this program. One of the most performed composers of his generation, Dean's Approach (Prelude to a Canon) was written as a prologue to JS Bach's famous Brandenburg Concerto No.6, leading directly into what he calls the "close, contrapuntal companionship" of the voices in Bach.

Intimate Bach

19 - 30 October

BACH Andante from Sonata for Solo Violin No.2 in A minor
BACH Sonata for Violin and Harpsichord No.2 in A major
GYÖRGY KURTÁG Hommage à J.S.B. from Signs, Games and Messages
BACH Selections from Three-Part Inventions
MARAIS Sonnerie de Sainte-Geneviève du Mont de Paris
BRETT DEAN Approach (Prelude to a Canon)* (Australian Premiere)
BACH Brandenburg Concerto No.6 in B-flat major

*Commissioned by the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra.

SYDNEY
City Recital Hall
Sat 19 Oct, 7pm
Tue 22 Oct, 8pm
Wed 23 Oct, 7pm
Fri 25 Oct, 1.30pm

Sydney Opera House
Sun 27 Oct, 2pm

BRISBANE
QPAC Concert Hall
Mon 21 Oct, 7pm

WOLLONGONG
Wollongong Town Hall
Thu 24 Oct, 7.30pm

MELBOURNE
Melbourne Recital Centre
Mon 28 Oct, 7.30pm

ADELAIDE
Adelaide Town Hall
Tue 29 Oct, 7.30pm

PERTH
Perth Concert Hall
Wed 30 Oct, 7.30pm

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