BY LUCY RASH
This story was produced in partnership with the Peninsula Summer Music Festival as part of our inaugural CutCommon Young Critics’ Mentorship.
The Australian Haydn Ensemble will feature in its Victorian premiere performance at the 2019 Peninsula Summer Music Festival, one of the country’s most lauded classical collectives.
Teaming up with two of Australia’s vocal greats, Sara Macliver and David Greco, the ensemble will feature in no fewer than three main stage concerts. It’s a coup for festival artistic director Ben Opie, who in 2019 joins the festivities in his inaugural year in the role.
We chat with AHE artistic director Skye McIntosh ahead of the ensemble’s arrival in Melbourne.
Talk to us about Classical repertoire’s existence in the contemporary setting. What do you feel is the ensemble’s role within this context?
On surface viewing, some might think that performing repertoire from the Classical period has all been done. However, there is still much to be uncovered in works from the 18th Century. The use of original instruments gives a fresh take on these works; and also presenting works by lesser-known composers from that time that aren’t Mozart, Haydn, or Beethoven – even though we also love to perform those, too.
Our role therefore is to explore works that haven’t yet been performed in modern times; composers who are lesser-known and try to be at the cutting edge of historically informed practice.
What’s the artist acquisition process like for AHE?
The Australian historical performance scene is at this stage small by comparison to the ‘modern’ scene. Many of our players, although Australian, live overseas or are coming and going between Australia and Europe. We have players from Perth, Sydney, Adelaide, [and] Melbourne, as well as Australians living or working regularly in places like London, Holland, Germany, [and] Switzerland.
When choosing players to work with, I always try to look for people who are genuinely passionate about playing early music, and positive in their outlook on life and performing. I find that brings a wonderful energy to the group that also really comes across to the audience. People often comment on the fact that we look like we are having a great time, and I think that’s because every single person really loves what they do.
What have you observed about young people’s role in the evolution of the Classical music tradition?
I think young people bring a fresh look and attitude to performing. They are usually keen to do a great job, and quite open to new ways of doing things, which is really refreshing.
Tell us about the role of education in the ensemble’s annual season.
When people think of an ‘education’ component to a group’s activities, […] the first thing that comes to mind might be student workshops and school performances. Our season contains a natural educational element that appeals to every audience member. Our program notes are always written with this approach, and I also always try to speak during the concerts to engage audiences with contextual information that will enhance or educate about elements of historical performance, philosophy, and knowledge about original bows and instruments.
This also translates over to our actual education program that seeks to inspire students through these same aspects. So far, we have had a fantastic response to our self-presented AHE Academy orchestral and string workshops, and we have plans to extend our education activities far beyond that in the coming year.
The main thing that restricts us right now is securing enough funding to run everything we want. There is a huge potential.
What kinds of questions and decisions inform the ensemble’s annual programming?
I spend a considerable amount of time and energy thinking about programming every year. I love to try to present programs that not only revive unknown 18th-Century composers, but also bring the composers back to life by ‘humanising’ them. I do this by trying to create a thread in the program that gives some insight into their lives, their friendships, and their philosophies.
We also think, as a group specialising in a certain period, that it’s important to represent a cross-section of the everyday musical life of the time. So, in our case, this is why we include works like historical chamber versions of larger symphonic works, as performing these was very much a part of the everyday life of the 18th-Century musician and audience member.
Next up? It’s the Peninsula Summer Music Festival! What unique opportunities does the festival setting offer to you as artists?
Festivals are always a wonderful environment, as everyone is in a more relaxed frame of mind, and [festivals] often bring together a different cross-section of audiences.
Festivals also tend to provide more opportunities for us to mingle with the audience before and after the concerts and over many days, which gives us a chance to get to know them: something that we love.
The Peninsula festival will also be great for us as it will most likely be introducing a whole bunch of new people who probably haven’t had a chance to hear us before, and may not necessarily have been introduced to period instruments previously.
What can audiences expect from your upcoming performances at PSMF?
The three different programs we have in store for audiences at the PSFM are quite varied, so from each one they can expect quite a different experience.
First up, we have a vibrant Mozart chamber music program that includes his wonderful D major flute quartet, and his G major string quartet The Spring. This will be an intimate and uplifting experience.
Next up, we have our program with the wonderful Sara Macliver. This program opens with a beautiful flute quintet by one of our favourite composers Boccherini, and will be followed by a few movements from his stunning Stabat Mater. We performed the complete Stabat Mater with Sara a few years ago, so it will be wonderful to revisit this work with her again.
We also have Vivaldi’s virtuosic motet for soprano and strings, In Furore. It’s got all the things we love about Vivaldi in spades: gorgeous harmonies and a firecracker ending.
In the second half of the program, we present Haydn’s London symphony in a chamber version by Salomon from the 18th Century, and Sara will also sing some arrangements of Mozart arias that we have commissioned in the same instrumentation as the Haydn symphony from The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute.
Finally, we have the Schubert Songs program with David Greco. This is a very special program that explores all of the different faces of mortality as portrayed in the various lieder by Schubert. These are also presented in newly commissioned arrangements for baritone and string quintet. These are interwoven with some beautiful yet relatively unknown soirée movements by the French composer Felicien David. Audiences were really moved by this program when we performed it earlier in 2018.
What’s your projected festival highlight?
That’s hard to say, as there are so many beautiful sounding concerts in the program. If I had to pick one, I would say that I am really looking forward to Realms of Light with cellist Blair Harris. Blair is such an amazing musician, and the program he has curated for the festival is really intriguing. It’s a solo cello program that brings together works by Golijov, Sculthorpe, and others that I am sure will be stunning.
See the Australian Haydn Ensemble perform at the Peninsula Summer Music Festival at 12pm January 5, and 7pm that day with Sara Macliver. The group will also perform Schubert Songs with David Greco on January 6.
Stay tuned for our coverage of PSMF as we team up for the inaugural CutCommon Young Critics’ Mentorship.
Image supplied. Credit: Helen White.
