The Balmain Sinfonia continues its 2017 season and celebrates its 100th performance with a wonderful concert of Borodin, Mozart and Dvorak, showcasing Australian violinist Tinel Dragoi and with its recently honoured artistic director Gary Stavrou OAM again holding the baton.
The latest in the popular series of Saturday afternoon concerts takes place on 10 June 5pm, at the Italian Forum auditorium in Leichhardt.
And there will be a free glass of 'bubbly' for all in celebration of the Sinfonia reaching its 'ton'!
Borodin's vivid tone poem In the Steppes of Central Asia begins with a peaceful Russian song then paints a scene with the approach of horses and camels and the bizarre and melancholy notes of an oriental melody.
"A caravan approaches, escorted by Russian soldiers, and continues safely on its way through the immense desert. It disappears slowly. The notes of the Russian and Asiatic melodies join in a common harmony which dies away as the caravan disappears into the distance."
In his Violin Concerto No.5, Mozart's musical invention takes on an aspect of caprice that we rarely encounter in his other major instrumental works. Melodies pour abundantly from his pen with the flow of music is often interrupted for fascinating but inexplicable digressions.
Dvorak broke new ground with the Symphony No. 8, with music steeped in the flavour and atmosphere of the Czech countryside and folk tunes. Dvorak includes sounds from nature, particularly hunting horn calls, birdsong and dramatic fanfares that suggest non-musical images.
Tinel Dragoi holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons), majoring in violin interpretation, from the Conservatorium of Music in Bucharest, Romania. He has participated in a masterclass with Yehudi Menuhin in Lausanne, Switzerland and performed with the Nicosia Symphony Orchestra (Cyprus), the State Opera of Bucharest, (Romania) and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. He currently teaches at the Central Coast Conservatorium of Music and is a casual player with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
It's fitting that, in the Balmain Sinfonia's 25th anniversary year, its founder, chief conductor and artistic director, Gary Stavrou, was (this recent Australia Day) awarded the Order of Australia Medal for services to music.
"It feels incongruous to be awarded for something that one loves doing, indeed is one's passion," he said. "I acknowledge all the players who, over the last twenty five years, have joined with me in music-making. Without them the music is simply an abstract construct in my head. It is the players who bring it to creation. And of course we do it all for the listeners, without whom the whole process lacks purpose. Thank you all."
www.balmainsinfonia.com
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