CONTENT COURTESY BACK AKADEMIE AUSTRALIA
One of Australia’s newest and most exciting classical music ensembles presents a rare and fascinating masterpiece by JS Bach on 27 July at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney.
Bach Akademie Australia, led by its director and international violin virtuoso Madeleine Easton, performs A Musical Offering (Das Musikalische Opfer) in a special 60-minute concert in the Cathedral’s atmospheric Crypt.
Alongside her are four of Australia’s finest instrumentalists: cellist Daniel Yeadon, keyboard master Neal Peres da Costa, historical flautist, Mikaela Oberg and fellow violinist Rafael Font-Viera.
Musicologists and audiences alike have long been fascinated by Bach’s Musical Offering, and Easton takes up the story of one of his last and greatest instrumental works: “Its 16 movements are based on a theme given to Bach by Frederick the Great during a visit to the Prussian court in Potsdam. Frederick was a musician and composer of some skill as well as an avid collector of talent. He had been badgering his chief keyboard player, Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, to lure his father to Potsdam for a visit for several years – until finally the ‘old Bach’, as he was by then known, could no longer politely resist. Bach was then 62 years old, only three years from his death. Subsequently, the long trip from Leipzig would be his last journey.”
Launched in 2017, Bach Akademie Australia is Australia’s only dedicated Bach ensemble. The brainchild of Australian violinist Madeleine Easton, its raison d’etre is to bring the music of J.S. Bach to life for Australian audiences focusing on mastery of performance, authenticity and originality of interpretation. Learn more in CutCommon’s interview with Madeleine.
Bach Akademie Australia presents JS BACH: A MUSICAL OFFERING
Daniel Yeadon – cello, Neal Peres da Costa – harpsichord,
Mikaela Oberg – flute, Madeleine Easton, Rafael Font-Viera – violins
27 July 7pm at The Crypt of St Marys Cathedral, Sydney
Ticket prices: A reserve – $60, B reserve – $50, C reserve – $40
Bookings and information: www.baa20182.floktu.com or www.bachakademieaustralia.com.au
