BY LAURA BIEMMI, TRENDS EDITOR
Whether you plan to tune in from the comfort of your own practice room, or pop into the Melbourne Recital Centre for back-to-back live music, the 3MBS 2019 Dvořák Marathon is worthy of grabbing your attention for a day.
Melbourne’s fine music broadcasting station honours one ridiculously enjoyable composer each year in what artistic director and cellist Chris Howlett describes as “an immersive experience of well-known works and lesser-known gems”.
Across six concerts scheduled for February 24, some of Australia’s finest musicians will gather to present the full extent of Dvořák’s musical prowess – ranging from intimate piano music to powerful orchestral works.
So how does one go about picking one composer from the entire history of classical music?
As Chris explains, the composer in question “must have a large range of different genres: solo, chamber, choral, and preferably symphonic”.
“This enables us to showcase many of Melbourne’s — and Australia’s — leading musicians, as well giving the day plenty of variation.”
Once it’s decided that a composer fits the bill, there’s still plenty of work to be done before the culminating event. In this instance, it involves selecting the best Dvořák works to feature in the marathon. And while it might seem like there’s a solid amount of space in which to perform these pieces, it does take considerable skill to narrow down hundreds of hours of Dvořák into six concert’s worth of pure musical goodness.
When discussing the method behind this madness, Chris says he looks for “a body of music that not only includes well-known ‘hits’, but includes lesser-known works of extremely high quality”.
“Having said that, it is important to make sure that the composer has widespread appeal. I love the works of Schnittke; but a Schnittke Marathon may not achieve the same results as a Dvořák Marathon.”
If you’ve ever listened to Dvořák, you’ll understand the “appeal” to which Chris refers. The “hits” of Dvořák’s music – including his Symphony No. 9 (New World) and his String Quartet No. 12 in F Major (American) – are undoubtedly some of history’s greats. But, importantly, they’ve been programmed alongside some music Chris laments is rarely performed.
“Dvořák wrote some fantastic music for solo piano that is hardly ever played,” he says.
“I’m particularly looking forward to Stefan Cassomenos’ performance of the Poetic Tone Pictures, as I haven’t seen them programmed before.”
Previous marathons have showcased composers such as Bach, Mendelssohn, and Brahms. But for Chris, Dvořák also signifies a more personal significance.
“As a cellist, Dvořák is very close to my heart. Alongside the monumental cello concerto, Dvořák’s chamber music is extremely important; my trio regularly performed Dvořák’s music both competitively and as part of our subscription series, and Dvořák’s chamber music was a big part of my time at ANAM.
“I have great memories of learning such fantastic music with my colleagues.”
Having staged six marathons at his time with 3MBS — and having competed in the Melbourne Running Marathon (yes, he is multi-skilled) — Chris is well equipped to prepare those seeking to marathon the incredible works on the cards this summer.
“For those attending, my tip is the same as when running an actual marathon: stay hydrated!”
The 3MBS Marathon will bring you six concerts of Dvořák in one day. You can view the full program on the 3MBS website.
Book tickets to any (or all) of the concerts taking place at the Melbourne Recital Centre. Choose from premium, full-day, half-day, and single-event tickets. The marathon kicks off with a bang at 10am February 24.
Want to bring the kids? The 3MBS Marathon is a family event, and the Youth Program starts at 11am in the Primrose Potter Salon for those young music lovers.
We’re excited to partner up with 3MBS to bring you this story about the marathon! Good luck to all musicians performing throughout the day!
