CONTENT COURTESY ARCO
Titanic. Majestic. Record-breaking. When 52 young musicians from around the country take to the stage of Melbourne Grammar School’s Felton Hall at 2pm Saturday 13 July, it won’t be your average youth orchestra concert.
The final concert of this year’s Young Mannheim Symphonists National Academy, offered in Melbourne from 8-13 July by the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra, pairs two of classical music’s greatest works by Beethoven and Schubert with the biggest Academy in YMS history. It will also be livestreamed on Australian Digital Concert Hall.
“This YMS National Academy concert truly earns all the superlatives,” says co-artistic director Rachael Beesley, who is conducting the program.
“Exploring the rich musical landscape of these compositional giants, Beethoven and Schubert, is incredibly rewarding. Harnessing the energy and drive of Australia’s most inspiring young musicians together with the expertise and passion of our amazing faculty only adds to the excitement.”
Australia’s only national youth orchestra training for historically informed performance, the Young Mannheim Symphonists program is offered three times a year around the country, with two state academies and one national. This year’s YMS National Academy attracted a record number of applicants from five states and two countries, and is one of the biggest orchestras in the program’s seven-year history.
The repertoire is equally massive. Beethoven’s Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus opens his ballet based on the Ancient Greek myth of the wily Titan who brought fire to humans. Written in 1801, it was Beethoven’s first stage work and makes full use of dramatic, colourful effects.
The second piece on the national academy program is Schubert’s Symphony No.9, nicknamed The Great for its length, difficulty and majesty. The symphony was Schubert’s last, written in 1825 but not professionally performed until after his untimely death.
What’s highly unusual about Young Mannheim Symphonists, however, is that young musicians get to explore playing these masterpieces in historically informed performance style, utilising the expressive techniques and rhetorical gestures that their original audiences would have recognised.
“Our participants get the chance to try gut strings and historic instruments, study early recordings and treatises, and play side-by-side with ARCO faculty who are among the world’s leading HIP experts,” co-artistic director Nicole van Bruggen explains.
“The result, as our audiences know, is that musicians and audience alike get to hear these pieces with a completely fresh, dynamic expression. We literally lift the music off the page and empower these young musicians to make their own creative, informed decisions.”
The YMS National Academy concert is also a perfect opportunity for music lovers to experience these masterworks, with highly affordable tickets and a family-friendly matinee time.
This year’s academy also continues a family tradition, with no less than four sets of siblings participating – including a pair of twins in the flute section.
“Young Mannheim Symphonists has been so amazing, better than any I’ve done,” said Siena, a participant in the April 2024 QLD State Academy. “It is definitely a unique experience.”
WHAT: Young Mannheim Symphonists 2024 National Academy Concert
WHEN: 2pm Saturday 13 July, 2024
WHERE: Felton Hall, Melbourne Grammar School (Grimwade campus) 238 Orrong Rd, Caulfield North and livestreamed on Australian Digital Concert Hall
TICKETS: $15-$25 at arco.org.au/book-tickets
Young Mannheim Symphonists 2023 National Academy image credit Wallis Media (supplied).
