BY CUTCOMMON
The musicians of the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra have already taken you home with them, thanks to double bassist Emma Sullivan who launched an interview series with her musical colleagues about life under lockdown.
Now, we’re back to shed light on what the MCO is doing away from the home — specifically, these players’ new winter residency with the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall.
In this snap interview, we hear from four MCO artists about their MDCH programs, which will keep you warm as they stream into your living room throughout this chilly season.
(To find out more about what MDCH does for the arts community, check out this story with its major patron, or this one with a live streamed performer.)
Cellist Michael Dahlenburg on Romantic Cello & Piano: 18 June
Pianist Stefan Cassomenos and I love this program. The repertoire is full of folk tunes that warm the heart, accompanied with rich harmonies and exquisite counterpoint. There are moments in the Schumann full of exciting and creative uses of tonality, whilst the Grieg has that powerful and distinctive use of purity of melody associated with this Norwegian titan.Â
Being able to present a program we love to people, safe and well at home, through MDCH, brings us great joy. Sharing music is how we survive — not just financially, but also how we feed our artistic soul — so let’s all let the music play on!
Violinist Markiyan Melnychenko on Brahms Sextet: 2 July
A sextet of musicians creates a lushness which allows the gorgeously romantic music of Brahms and Strauss to sweep you away on a magical journey. Strauss’ arrangement of music from his very last opera shows the composer at the height of his powers, while Brahms’ youthful infatuation results in an incredible love letter. You won’t want to miss this one!
With live music in the city having fallen largely silent, it’s wonderful that ways are being found to bring it back to life. Chamber music offers some of the greatest artistic gems to have ever been written, and it’s a joy that it can once again be presented by the MCO.
Violinist Natalia Harvey (pictured above) on Sonatas for Violin and Piano: 16 July
This program, which I am honoured to perform with pianist Louisa Breen, is full of contrast and colour. Janáček’s sonata epitomises his highly rhetorical style, with modal melodies inspired by Czech folk music. A change of mood comes with Kreisler’s Three Viennese Dances, which are nostalgic, sentimental and bittersweet. In contrast to Janáček, Brahms’ continuous development of musical prose in his third violin sonata gives a more mysterious and provocative feeling, its long phrases interrupted by moments of explosion and fire.
The MCO’s residency at MDCH provides us as musicians with an invaluable opportunity to strengthen our connections with each other and with audiences during a difficult time, through the sheer joy of chamber music!
Double bassist Emma Sullivan on Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4: 30 July
I am really looking forward to our chamber version of Beethoven’s fourth piano concerto with the inimitable Stefan Cassomenos, who is a regular and much-loved collaborator with MCO. Stefan imbues his performances with so much passion and character, and the smaller forces of the ensemble will allow us to have a lot of interplay with him and (hopefully!) catch every little twist and turn. This program also features Mozart’s Divertimento in D Major K136, which I think of as musical sunshine. Bursting with youthful exuberance and optimism, it is bound to lift one’s spirits.Â
This residency offers us so much more than an opportunity to generate income — although that is obviously very welcome. Over the past decade, making music with my MCO colleagues has been one of the most enriching aspects of my work, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to play with them again, and share music with our family, friends, supporters and the wider MDCH community.Â
See the full Melbourne Digital Concert Hall winter residency program on the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra website.
Images supplied. Featured image: Natalia Harvey by Cameron Jamieson.
