SONG OF LIFE · (formerly known as the Oboe Concerto in C minor by Benedetto Marcello) Marcello isn’t exactly a household name in music – unlike, for example, Bach – but even

SEASON 2008

TEA & SYMPHONY

PRESENTED BY KAMBLY

SONG OF LIFEFriday 27 June | 11am

Sydney Opera House Concert Hall

PRESENTING PARTNER

Music from this concert has been recorded for broadcastacross Australia on ABC Classic FM 92.9.

Estimated timings:12 minutes, 65 minutes The concert will conclude atapproximately 12.15pm.

Biscuits at Sydney Symphony Tea & Symphony concertskindly supplied by Kambly

Gianluigi Gelmetti

Anna Rita Taliento sopranoIonut Pascu baritoneAlexandra Oomens child sopranoLuca Vignali oboeDiana Doherty oboeShefali Pryor oboeNathan Waks celloCantillation

ALESSANDRO MARCELLO (1669–1747)

Oboe Concerto in D minor

(formerly known as the Oboe Concerto in C minor by Benedetto Marcello)

Andante e spiccatoAdagioAllegro

Luca Vignali oboe

GIANLUIGI GELMETTI (born 1945)

Cantata della vita

AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE

IIt is my great pleasure to welcome you to this concert in the 2008 Tea & Symphony series.

This year we have already been privileged to witness a world premiere of an exciting new work, William Barton and Matthew Hindson’s Kalkadungu. In this concert we hear another premiere: the first Australian performance ofa major choral work by the Sydney Symphony’s Chief Conductor, MaestroGianluigi Gelmetti. In Cantata della vita (Song of Life), Gelmetti draws on a wealth of literary sources, from ancient texts in Sanskrit, Egyptian andGreek, and the Song of Solomon to mystical writings and more recentpoetry. Using these words, the music traces a spiritual journey, exploring our reason for being and fulfilment in life – the never-ceasing concerns ofevery generation. We are proud to play a part in supporting the Australianpremiere of this cantata, dedicated to the Sydney Symphony and the peopleof Sydney.

Kambly has epitomised the Swiss tradition of the finest biscuits for threegenerations. Each masterpiece from the Emmental is a small thank you forlife; a declaration of love for the very best; the peak of fine, elegant taste.

Kambly is a way of life, dedicated to all those who appreciate the differencebetween the best and the merely good. In this way it is fitting that we partnerwith the internationally acclaimed Sydney Symphony, whose vision is to igniteand deepen people’s love of live symphonic music.

We hope you enjoy this morning’s rich and inspiring program, and lookforward to welcoming you at the next concert in the Tea & Symphony series.

Oscar A. KamblyChairmanKambly of Switzerland

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Alessandro Marcello (1669–1747)

Oboe Concerto in D minor

(formerly known as the Oboe Concerto in C minor by Benedetto Marcello)

Marcello isn’t exactly a household name in music – unlike,for example, Bach – but even so this concerto is one of thebetter known baroque works, certainly one of the best-knownbaroque oboe concertos, and ‘Marcello’s Oboe Concerto’frequently turns up on recordings of baroque favourites.

But which Marcello? There were two: Alessandro andBenedetto – both sons of a Venetian senator. These talentedbrothers played instruments, sang, wrote poetry and werewell-versed in philosophy and mathematics. Well-roundedgentlemen, in fact, and as musicians they were, strictlyspeaking, dilettantes. Alessandro was the more well-roundedone, leading an especially rich and varied life, which isperhaps why Benedetto turned out to be the more prolific as a composer.

It was Alessandro who composed this concerto,subsequently published – under his name – in an anthologyby a Dutch publisher around 1717. This was lost until itsrediscovery in 1958, and so for a long time this concerto was known only through a transcription that JS Bach hadmade in order to learn how the new Italian concerto styleworked. Bach’s ‘endorsement’ – in the form of the KeyboardConcerto in D minor, BWV 974 – is a sign of just howgood this concerto is and a key to its survival through thecenturies despite the confusion of its origins. It’s been linkedwith Albinoni and with Vivaldi. Then in 1900 a Germanmusicologist noticed that Bach’s work was based on an oboeconcerto marked simply ‘Marcello’. It was assumed that thiswas the more famous Benedetto, and the concerto enteredthe modern repertoire under his name and in the key ofC minor.

In this performance the concerto is played in its properkey, D minor, and given its proper attribution. Marcello’smusic closely resembles that of Vivaldi – another composerwhose music was transcribed by Bach – and this concertofollows the Vivaldian pattern. The first movement isorganised around an energetic orchestral ritornello withleaping intervals, which alternates with more lyrical andflorid ideas for the solo instrument. The Adagio may belikened to an operatic aria in which the oboe sings anexpressive cantilena, richly ornamented, while the stringsprovide a light, throbbing accompaniment. The finale is a vivacious gigue built on the same design as the firstmovement, but with the difference that the ritornello is now shared by the soloist and the orchestra.

SYDNEY SYMPHONY ©2008

Bach’s ‘endorsement’…

is a sign of just how

good this concerto is.

ABOUT THE MUSIC

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Gianluigi Gelmetti (born 1945)

Cantata della vita

The journey of Cantata della vita began in 1995, a true and realparaphrase of human life, which Maestro Gelmetti dedicatedto his mother. Stella Matutina, Imaginatio, La Purificazione,L’Amore, Algos, L’Oblio, Je Congnoys and Commiato are the eightsections which comprise this work for voice and orchestra(commissioned by the Teatro Comunale di Bologna), a greatfresco of the voyage which Man is called to fulfil on this Earth.

In the first part the voice intones phonemes and sacredtexts drawn from various civilisations (L’Amore, in particular,derives from the Song of Songs, while La Purificazione is a partof the ancient form of baptism), added to which is a fragmenttaken from the writings of Paracelsus, the Swiss doctor,alchemist and philosopher who lived between 1493 and 1541. A legendary figure, in many ways comparable to Faust,Paracelsus put himself forward as the perfect physician, anexpert in all fields of knowledge; the knowledge of an initiate,linked to magical/mystical models (he delved into astrology,chemistry and the Kabbalah) in which the study of thematerial world through chemistry makes sense only because it permits understanding of the essence of all substance, andof the cosmic secret.

The second part, Algos (Anguish), opens with a verse fromthe Old Testament, followed by verses of the poet OmarKhayyám, and a ballad by François Villon, a turbulent figure,a sort of poète maudit ante litteram, capable of a style of greatexpressive concreteness.

The closing farewell to life, Commiato, is to a text written byGelmetti himself. It is ranged, however, over different culturesand eras, a choice – the maestro informs us – ‘born in theexpressive needs of the moment. What interests me is to tell a story, the words are almost a pretext for telling this voyage of life, they are like impulses in a constant state of evolution.’This calling to narrative begins, however, in the sound of theword. That Sound-Word is comprised in its fundamentalvalue. ‘It’s the life-giving Word,’ specifies Gelmetti, ‘the Wordas understood in the sense of the St John Gospel.’ This Word is capable of taking on new resonances, those of Italian, ofLatin, of Sanskrit, of Arabic or antique French, languageswhich alternate in the telling of the cosmic adventure ofwhich Man also is a part. Gelmetti sets the things of Life inMusic, birth and death, heaven and earth, good and bad, love,joy, anguish, the reality and the dream, and just as a singer-author would do – in fact he jokingly refers to himself as a‘conductor-author’ – writes the texts himself, or elaboratesmaterials, creating provocative combinations.

The Cantata della vita is a work in progress, where numerouspassages already composed have found their definitivepositioning, while others are destined to be part of future composition projects. Movements such as Algos, Stella Matutinaand Il Canto dell’amore have already been performed separately

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in Frankfurt, Stuttgart, London, Bologna, and Sydney[Gelmetti conducted Algos here in the 1996 Master Series], tobe reconnected in this work with other unpublished passages.

It’s an important stage which, for certain reasons, Gelmetticonsiders as the conclusion of a first cycle of his activity ascomposer, activity to which he has returned after a long pause.Now he divides himself equally between conducting andcomposition, after having succeeded in finding a personalbalance between the acts of creation and interpretation.

‘Just at the point of being “born” as a composer, I stopped writingfor a long period, mainly because of the problem of identifying myself.When I began my career as a conductor, I thought that the interpreterought to be like an empty glass, ready to be filled with others’ music.With the passage of time, I realised that this was not exactly true, andI began to review my choice of repertoire, deciding to interpret onlythose artists whom I felt were closest to my own creed and nature.When I stopped suppressing myself in the music of others, I alsobegan to write once more, dedicating myself to both things. And Ibelieve, in fact, that one enriches the other.’

PAOLA SOFFIÀ ©2000

THIS NOTE IS ADAPTED FROM AN ARTICLE, ‘THE ALCHEMIES OFMAESTRO GELMETTI’, PUBLISHED FOR THE BOLOGNA PREMIEREOF CANTATA DELLA VITA ON 28 SEPTEMBER 2000.

Cantata della vita

PART I

Stella Matutina

Stella MatutinaLaetitiae sancta Virgo virginumGratiae Mater amabilisRegina coeliSancta Mater dolorosa

Imaginatio

Fratello ascoltaqueste parole aspettano la vita che solo tu puoi dargli

Sciutum nimirum est astrum unum existere reliquies omnibus superius hoc est astrum apocalypticusecundum astrum est ascendentistertium est elementorum quorum sunt quatuor ita astra sex constituntur praeter haec ad huc est astrum

imaginatio quae novum astrum et novum coelum gignit

Star of the Morning

Star of the Morningjoyous and holy Virgin of virginsdear Mother of graceQueen of heavenHoly, grieving Mother

Imagination

Brother, listenThese words await the life which you alone can give them

Most surely it is known that there exists one star, higher than all the rest.This is the apocalyptic starThe second is the star of the ascendantThe third is the star of the elements,of which there are four,thus six stars are established.Besides these, there is another, the star of the

imagination,which begets a new star and a new heaven.

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In Purificazione

Vel ab ea immunde Spiritu et da locum Spiritui Sancto paraclitoexi ab eo immunde Spiritu et da locum Spiritui Sancto paraclitovitam eternam et [vi]vas in secula seculorumaccide signum crucis tam in fronte quam in cordeper Christum Dominum Nostrumexorcizo te creatura salis in nomine Dei Patri Omnipotentiset in caritate domini nostri Jesu Christi et in Virtute Spiritus Sancti

Abrenuntias Satanae et omnibus operibus eius?

Abrenuntio

Vis baptizari?

Volo

Gioia è il giorno della gioiaUscite fanciulleCos’è che sale dal desertoColonne di fumo fragranze di mirra aroma d’incenso

I suoi capelli son neri come il corvo

L’Amore

Come sei bella, sorella, sposa amata

Io sono del mio amato e per me è la sua passioneTu mi rapisti il cuore più dolce del vino è l’amor tuotutti i profumi supera il tuo aromastillano miele le tuo labbrae miele e latte è sotto la tua lingua

Io sono del mio amato e per me è la sua passioneSei un orto chiusosorgente chiusafonte sigillatabosco di melogranilimpido ruscello

Vieni fratello mio usciamo alla campagnaandremo nei vigneti, vedremo se gemma la vita e sbocciano i fiorilà ti darò i miei amorii più dolci frutti mio sposo li ho serbati per te

Vieni bella fra le belle: amica mia, sorella, sposa amata:

The Rite of Purification

Depart from her, unclean spirit,and give place to the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.Depart from him, unclean spirit,and give place to the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.That you may have eternal life and live forever.Receive the sign of the cross,as on your forehead, so in your heart,through Christ our Lord.I exorcise you, creature of salt,in the name of God the Father Almightyand in the love of our lord Jesus Christand in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Do you renounce Satan and all his works?

I renounce them.

Do you wish to be baptised?

I do so wish.

Joy! It is the day of joy!Go out, you maidens.What is this coming out of the desert?Pillars of smoke, fragrant with myrrh and the perfume of incense.

Her hair is black like the raven.

Love

How beautiful you are, sister, beloved bride.

I am my Beloved’s,and his passion is for me.You ravished my heartyour love is sweeter than wineyour fragrance surpasses all perfumesyour lips distil honeyand milk and honey are under your tongue.

I am my Beloved’s,and his passion is for me.You are a closed gardena hidden springa sealed fountaina grove of pomegranate treesa clear brook

Come, my brother, let us go out into the fieldsWe will go among the vines, to see iflife is budding and flowers are bloomingThere I shall give you my love,the sweetest fruits, my husband,I have kept them for you.

Come, fairest of fair maidens: my love, sister, beloved bride:

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là dove ti concepì tua madre là dove ti dette alla luce

Sorgi vieni o vento nell’orto moi entri il mio diletto nel suo giardino e mangi i suoi frutti squisitimettimi come sigillo sul tuo cuoreperché forte è l’amore come la morte,tenaci come l’inferno la gelosiavampe di fuoco sono le Sue vampe,le Sue fiamme, fiamme di Jahvéle grandi acque non possono spegnerel’amore né i fiumi sommergerlovieni come cerbiatto sui monti profumati

PART II

Algos

Alla gola.Giunto m’è il gorgo fino alla gola.Sono immerso in un fango profondo.Non trovo sostegno alcuno.

Deus quam diligere sperare in Deibus illisvenerunt filii salvos fac servos tuos sperantes in te Deus

Sommerso.Giunto m’è il gorgo fino alla gola.Sono immerso in un fango profondo.Al fondo del gorgo non v’ha sostegno alcuno.

Il vortice mi travolse.

Salvos fac servos tuos sperantes in te Deus quam diligere

Ave maris StellaDei Mater almaatque semper virgofelix coeli porta

Sono stanca di gridarearsa ho la gola.

Oblio

Dammi vino, che io torni in vitalava con questo il mio corpo morto,che il mio sudario siano foglie di vitee la mia sepoltura sia un dolce giardino

there, where your mother conceived you,there, where she brought you into the light

Arise, O wind,and come into my gardenLet my beloved come into his garden and eat its exquisite fruitsSet me as a seal upon your heartFor love is strong as death,jealousy as tenacious as hell.Its flash is a flash of fire,its flames, the flames of Yahweh.Great waters cannot quench love,nor can the floods drown it.Come, like a fawn on the fragrant hills.

Anguish

Up to my neckThe maelstrom is up to my neckI am sunk into deep mudThere is nothing to hold me up.

O God, how precious it is to hope in you in those daysThe children cameSave your servants,who put their hope in you, O God.

Submerged.The maelstrom is up to my neck.I am sunk into deep mudIn the depths of the maelstrom there is nothing to hold me up.

The vortex has swept me away.

Save your servants,who put their hope in you, O God.How precious

Hail, Star of the seaDear Mother of Godand yet still a virginBlessed gate to heaven

I am weary of shoutingMy throat is dry.

Oblivion

Give me wine, to bring me back to lifeWash my dead body with itto turn my shroud into vine leavesand my tomb into a sweet garden

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Je Congnoys

Je congnoys bien mouches en laict

Je congnoys à la robbe l’hommeJe congnoys le beau temps du laidJe congnoys au pommier la pommeJe congnoys l’arbre a veoir la gommeJe congnoys quant tout est di mesmesJe congnoys qui besogne ou chommesJe congnoys tout fors que moymesmesJe congnoys pourpoinct au colletJe congnoys le moyne à la GonneJe congnoys le maistre au valetJe congnoys au voyle la nonneJe congnoys quant pipeur jargonneJe congnoys folz nourriz de cresmesJe congnoys le vin à la tonneJe congnoys tout fors que moymesmes

Je congnoys cheual & mulletJe congnoys leur charge & leur sommeJe congnoys Bietrix & BelletJe congnoys gect qui nombre & sommeJe congnoys vision de sommeJe congnoys la faulte des BoesmesJe congnoys la pouoir de RommeJe congnoys tout fors que moymesmes

Prince, Je congnoys tout en sommeJe congnoys coulorez & blemesJe congnoys mort qui tout consommeJe congnoys tout fors que moymesmes

Commiato

Addioil cuore se ne va,l’anima mi lascia e io ti lascioil mare m’inghiotteè freddo grigio non del tuo colore

addio vitaè sogno o è vero?Lo spirito svanisceti lascio solo visioni,ti parlerò nella nottemi vedrai come nei giorni migliori.Tutto avvampaio scompaiotu affondiil mare ti soffoca ma sono io che il mare inghiotteè freddo, grigio, non del tuo coloreaddio vitaamore mio.

I know

I can easily tell the black flies from the white milk

I can tell the man by his dressI can tell fair weather from foulI can recognise the apple tree by its applesI can recognise the tree from seeing its sapI can tell when everything is the sameI can tell who’s working and who’s idleI know everything except myselfI can recognise a doublet from its collarI can pick the monk by his habitI can tell the master from his servantI can recognise the nun by her veilI know when a trickster is spinning a taleI can recognise a fool well fed on creamI can tell the wine from its caskI know everything except myself

I know horses and mulesI know what load they can carryI know Beatrice and IsabelleI know the counters for adding and subtractingI know the visions that come in sleepI know the heresy of the BohemiansI know the power of RomeI know everything except myself

Prince, if I may sum up, I know everythingI know colours and shadesI know death, which consumes all thingsI know everything except myself.

Envoy

FarewellMy heart is dying,my soul is leaving me and I am leaving youThe sea is swallowing me upIt is cold and grey, it does not have your colour

Farewell, lifeIs it a dream, or is it real?My spirit is fading awayI leave you only visionsI will speak to you in the nightYou will see me as I was in better days.Everything is consumed in flamesI am disappearingYou are sinkingThe sea is smothering you but it is me that the sea is swallowingIt is cold, grey, it does not have your colourFarewell, lifeMy love.

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ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Gianluigi Gelmetti

CHIEF CONDUCTOR AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

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of the Sydney Symphony, studied with Sergiu Celibidache,Franco Ferrara and Hans Swarowsky. For ten years heconducted the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra; he has conducted many of the leading orchestras in theworld and appears regularly at international festivals.Since 2000 he has been Music Director of the Teatrodell’Opera di Roma.

Highlights of past seasons include engagements inFrance, Germany, Great Britain, America, Australia, Japan,Switzerland and Italy, where he conducted Mascagni’s Iris and Respighi’s La fiamma at the Teatro dell’Opera diRoma and William Tell at the Rossini Opera Festival. In1999 he was awarded the Rossini d’Oro Prize. GianluigiGelmetti has also worked regularly at the Royal OperaHouse, Covent Garden.

His interpretation of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaroearned him the title Best Conductor of the Year from the German magazine Opernwelt, and in 1997 he won theTokyo critics’ prize for the best performance of the year of Beethoven’s Symphony No.9. He has been honoured as Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in Franceand Grande Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana in Italy.

Gianluigi Gelmetti’s recording catalogue includesoperas by Salieri, Rossini, Puccini and Mozart, thecomplete orchestral music of Ravel, the late symphoniesof Mozart and works by many 20th-century composers,including Stravinsky, Berg, Webern, Varèse and Rota.Among his recordings are William Tell, Iris, La fiamma,Bruckner’s Symphony No.6 and Rossini’s Stabat mater.

Gianluigi Gelmetti is also a composer; his recentworks include In Paradisum Deducant Te Angeli, written tocommemorate the tenth anniversary of Franco Ferrara’sdeath, Algos, and Prasanta Atma, in memory of SergiuCelibidache.

He has taught at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena since 1997.


Anna Rita Taliento soprano

Anna Rita Taliento studied at the G. VerdiConservatorium, Milan, and with Rodolfo Celletti andMargherita Rinaldi, and in 1993 she won the BelvederePrize in Vienna. After her debut at the Two WorldsFestival, Spoleto and at the Teatro Comunale of Bologna(Il trittico), she recorded Richard Strauss’ Cappriccio withthe Vienna Philharmonic. Since 1995 she has performedin leading theatres such as Covent Garden, the RossiniOpera Festival, the Verona Arena, Maggio Musicale diFirenze, Théâtre de la Monnaie, Royal Albert Hall, andAlte Oper Frankfurt, as well as appearing in Osaka, Tokyo,Buenos Aires and New York.

She has sung roles in operas such as Rossini’s Mosè in Egitto, Carmen, La Bohème, Gianni Schicchi, Suor Angelica,La clemenza di Tito, Gounod’s Faust, Don Pasquale, and Dido and Aeneas. As a guest artist for Rome Opera sheopened the 2004 season in Respighi’s Marie Victoire, andhas appeared in Semiramide, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte,and Le nozze di Figaro.

In the concert hall she has sung Strauss’ Four LastSongs, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, Mozart’s C MinorMass, Messiah, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Bach cantatas and theChristmas Oratorio, Carmina Burana, and Beethoven’sNinth Symphony. At the Accademia Nationale di SantaCecilia in Rome she has performed Mozart’s Requiem,Bach’s Magnificat, Charpentier’s Te Deum and Verdi’sRequiem.

Anna Rita Taliento made her Sydney Symphony debutin the 2007 Rossini Gala Concert.


Ionut Pascu baritone

Ionut Pascu was born in Constanta, the second largestcity in Romania, by the Black Sea, and from 1996 to 2001he studied opera at the National University of Music inBucharest. He began his career in 2001 at the age of 23with two leading roles: the title role in Mozart’s DonGiovanni and Marcello in Puccini’s La Bohème.

Since then he has performed extensively in concertand on the opera stage, with frequent appearances atthe Constanta Opera Theatre, where over three years hesang roles in Il trovatore, La Bohème, Madama Butterfly,Cavalleria Rusticana and Carmen as well as operettas suchas Die Fledermaus and Franz Lehár’s Land of Smiles.

He has also sung in Holland, Germany, Macedonia,Hungary, Albania and South Korea, and since 2004 he has been a regular guest soloist in many opera houses, aswell as performing as a member of the National OperaBucharest and the National Opera Constanta.

More recently he returned to the Bucharest NationalUniversity of Music to study orchestral conducting andhe is now studying for a masters degree in conducting at the G. Verdi Conservatory in Milan.

This is Ionut Pascu’s Sydney Symphony debut.

Alexandra Oomens child soprano

Alexandra Oomens has been a member of SydneyChildren’s Choir since 2000 and Gondwana Voices since 2003, and has frequently appeared as a soloist withboth these choirs as well as touring to France, Mexico,Newfoundland, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, Japan and all the major Australian cities. Recent highlights haveincluded singing at the Opening Ceremony of theMelbourne Commonwealth Games and performing Brett Dean’s Vexations and Devotions at the BBC Proms.

In July she will take part in the Gondwana Voices andAustralian Chamber Orchestra collaboration, The Red Tree, and in September she will be travelling to the TorresStrait Islands with the Sydney Children’s Choir.

Alexandra Oomens is a student at the Conservatoriumof Music High School where she is studying violin.


Luca Vignali oboe

Luca Vignali is principal oboe for the Rome OperaTheatre Orchestra, a position he has held since 1984. Two years earlier he had graduated with distinction fromthe G.B. Martini Conservatory in Bologna. While still a student he was first oboe of the Arena di VeronaOrchestra and the Orchestra Regionale Toscana. He wasalso invited to attend the Herbert von Karajan Academyin Berlin, where he had the opportunity to perform withthe Berlin Philharmonic.

In 1986 he was the first Italian to win the InternationalMusic Competition in Martigny. Other awards haveincluded the Franco Alfano–Sanremo Classica prize foroboe performance (2000), and the Abbiati della Criticaprize.

As a soloist he has performed throughout Italy withorchestras such as the Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome,the RAI National Orchestra, the Alla Scala TheatreOrchestra in Milan, and the Mantova Chamber Orchestra.His chamber music performances have included concertswith artists such as Yuri Bashmet, Shlomo Mintz andMichele Campanella, and tours throughout Europe,North and South America, Japan and South-East Asia. He also appears frequently at festivals such as the Spoleto Two Worlds Festival, Festival of the Nations, andthe Siena Chigiana Academy.

Luca Vignali is also a member of the SymphonicaToscanini orchestra, which made its debut in Strasburgwith Maazel as conductor.

Since 1998 he performed and toured with SalvatoreAccardo and the Italian Chamber Orchestra, and theirperformance of Bach’s Concerto for Oboe and Violin has been recorded for the Fonè label. Other releasesinclude music for oboe and strings by Vittorio Fael,baroque sonatas by Besozzi and Cambini, 19th-centuryoboe works by Corticelli, and a concerto recording with I Virtuosi Italiani.

This is Luca Vignali’s Sydney Symphony debut.


Diana Doherty oboePRINCIPAL OBOE, ANDREW KALDOR & RENATA KALDOR AO CHAIR

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piano and oboe. By the time she graduated from the VictorianCollege of the Arts in 1986, she had been named ‘MostOutstanding Competitor Overall’ for the 1985 ABC Instrumental and Vocal Competition. She then studied with ThomasIndermühle in Zurich and with Maurice Bourgue. In 1991she won the Prague Spring Festival Competition as well as the prize for best interpretation of a Czech concerto.

She has performed as soloist in the Prague Spring Festival,MusicaRiva festival in Italy, Bratislava Music Festival,and the ‘Young Artist in Concert’ Festival in Switzerland. In 1994 she was soloist with the Queensland SymphonyOrchestra on its China tour, and she was joint winner ofthe 1995 Young Concert Artists International Auditions,leading to her New York and Washington DC recital debuts.

From 1990 to 1997 she was Principal Oboe in theSymphony Orchestra of Lucerne; she joined the SydneySymphony as Principal Oboe in 1997. In 2001 she won aMO award for her performance of Graeme Koehne’s InflightEntertainment. In 2002 she premiered Ross Edwards’ OboeConcerto – receiving a 2003 APRA-Australian Music Centreaward – and subsequently performed it with the New YorkPhilharmonic and Lorin Maazel.

Her recordings include Romantic Oboe Concertos withthe QSO, Blues for DD, Souvenirs, the Edwards concerto, andInflight Entertainment.

Shefali Pryor oboeASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL OBOE

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first class honours from the Sydney Conservatorium ofMusic. During her studies she participated in numerousprograms with the Australian Youth Orchestra and was amember of the Sydney Sinfonia. Upon graduating shejoined the Sydney Symphony as Second Oboe.

In 2004/05 she was granted leave in order to study as a postgraduate with Stefan Schilli at the MozarteumUniversity in Salzburg. Not long after her return toAustralia she was appointed Associate Principal Oboe. In 2006 she won the Other Instruments category ofthe Symphony Australia Young Performer Awards. She has performed as soloist with the Sydney, Melbourne


and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras, includingperformances with violinist Nigel Kennedy in 2006.

Shefali Pryor has performed as guest principal with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the AucklandPhilharmonic, and as a casual musician with theAustralian Opera and Ballet Orchstra and the TasmanianSymphony Orchestra. She is a founding member of theSydney Omega Ensemble and has performed with theAustralia Ensemble, Sydney Soloists, and Southern CrossSoloists as well as with the staff of the SydneyConservatorium, where she teaches oboe.

Nathan Waks celloPRINCIPAL CELLO

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Lois Simpson (cello) and Robert Pikler (chamber music).After winning the 1968 ABC Instrumental and VocalCompetition, he studied at the Moscow Conservatoriumwith Mstislav Rostropovich and in Paris with PaulTortelier.

He was appointed the Sydney Symphony’s youngestever Principal Cello at the age of 19, and has performedwith all the major Australian orchestras. He was amember of the Sydney String Quartet for ten years as well as a founding member of the Australian ChamberOrchestra and the Australian Music Centre, and hasdirected many music festivals.

His career has encompassed composition andarrangements for films including My Brilliant Career andKangaroo. He has produced recordings for guitarist JohnWilliams and organised and directed concerts for suchartists as Frank Sinatra and Rod Stewart.

In 1993 he was appointed Director of ABC ConcertMusic then Managing Director of Symphony Australia,where he worked full-time until 1998, when he reducedhis ABC commitments to take up a contract as Co-Principal Cello with the Sydney Symphony. He alsopursues a vigorous calendar of solo and chamber musicappearances in his spare time.


Cantillation

Cantillation is a chorus of professional singers – an ensembleof fine voices with the speed, agility and flexibility of achamber orchestra. Formed in 2001 by Antony Walker andAlison Johnston, it has since been busy in the concert hall,opera theatre and recording studio.

Performance highlights have included Adams’ Harmoniumand Transmigration of Souls, the Australian premiere ofGubaidulina’s Now Always Snow, Edwards’ Star Chant,Haydn’s Nelson Mass and Jonathan Mills’ Sandakan Threnody(all with the Sydney Symphony); Butterley’s Spell of Creation,Mahler’s Eighth Symphony, a Musica Viva tour and concerts with Emma Kirkby and the Orchestra of theAntipodes. Recordings include Allegri Miserere – Sacred Music of the Renaissance, Fauré’s Requiem, Carmina Burana,Prayer for Peace, Messiah, Silent Night, Ye Banks and Braesand Magnificat with Emma Kirkby, as well as Mozart’sRequiem and Bach choruses. In addition to operaappearances (most recently Vivaldi’s Juditha Triumphans forPinchgut Opera), Cantillation has sung for the Dalai Lama,the Rugby World Cup, and Andrea Bocelli, and recordedmovie soundtracks.

Recent collaborations with the Sydney Symphony haveincluded Shock of the New concerts and Brahms’ GermanRequiem with Gianluigi Gelmetti, and Rachmaninov’s TheBells with Vladimir Ashkenazy, as well as Songs from theMovies and Vaughan Williams’ Sinfonia antartica. In Februarythey sang Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé for the season opening gala.


Michael Black chorusmaster

Michael Black holds degrees in Education, Performanceand Musicology from the Sydney Conservatorium of Musicand the University of NSW. He has been Chorusmaster for Opera Australia since 2001 and has prepared more than 80 operas in that time as well as choral works such as Mozart’s Requiem, A German Requiem, Carmina Burana, Chichester Psalms and Holst’s Planets. He is alsochorusmaster for two ABC Classics recordings: VerdiRequiem (Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra) andBeethoven Ninth Symphony (Tasmanian SymphonyOrchestra); and for The Love for Three Oranges and Rusalka(Chandos). He has also been guest chorusmaster for OperaHolland Park (UK) and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs.

He is one of Australia’s finest accompanists, regularlyperforming with many singers. He has performed forWigmore Hall Touring Chamber Music and at all themajor Australian Festivals. As an educator, he lectured formany years at the Sydney Conservatorium, has been acompetition adjudicator and AMEB piano examiner, andhas given master classes at the Victorian College of the Arts and Sydney Conservatorium.

SOPRANOS

Hannah BoneCatherine BryantAlexandra CoghlanAnna FraserDanielle GrantHester HannahLouisa Hunter-

BradleyAlison MorganElizabeth ScottMeinir ThomasNicole ThomsonEmma Zampieri

MEZZO-SOPRANOS

Jo BurtonJenny Duck-ChongAnne FarrellKaren FinchAmanda HamiltonAmanda HarrisSue HarrisJudy HerskovitsTijana MiljovskaInara MolinariNatalie SheaAnna Zerner

TENORS

Michael ButchardPhilip ChuAndrei LaptevDominic NgJames RenwickJoel RoastDaniel SongJoseph ToltzRaff Wilson

BASSES

Peter AlexanderChris AllanDaniel BeerNick DavisonMark DonnellyCraig EveringhamAndrew FyshAshley GilesDavid GrecoDavid HaytonKirk HumeBen MacphersonSébastien MaurySam PiperEd Suttle

Cantillation

Antony Walker music directorAlison Johnston managerMichael Black chorusmaster for Cantata della vitaCatherine Davis rehearsal pianist for Cantata della vita


The Company is assisted by the NSW Government through Arts NSW

SALUTE

PRINCIPAL PARTNER

PLATINUM PARTNER MAJOR PARTNERS

GOVERNMENT PARTNERS

REGIONAL TOUR PARTNERS

GOLD PARTNERS

MARKETING PARTNERS

Australia PostAustrian National Tourist OfficeBeyond Technology Consulting

Bimbadgen Estate WinesJ. Boag & SonVittoria Coffee

Avant CardBlue Arc GroupLindsay Yates & Partners

2MBS 102.5 Sydney’s Fine Music Station

SILVER PARTNERS

BRONZE PARTNERS


Mrs M A Coventry °Mr Michael Crouch AO *M Danos °Mr Colin DraperMrs Francine J Epstein °Mr and Mrs David Feetham Mr Steve GillettIn memory of Angelica Green §Anthony Gregg & Deanne

Whittleston ‡Dr & Mrs C Goldschmidt §Beth Harpley *Mr Ken Hawkings °*Dr & Mrs Michael Hunter §Intertravel Lindfield °Mrs Greta James *Mr Stephen Jenkins *Dr Michael Joel AM &

Mrs Anna Joel °Doctor Faith M Jones §Mr Noel Keen *Mrs Margaret Keogh °*Iven & Sylvia Klineberg *Dr Barry LandaDr & Mrs Leo Leader °Margaret Lederman §Ms A Le Marchant *Mr & Mrs S C Lloyd °Mr James McCarthy *Mr Matthew McInnes §Ms Julie Manfredi-HughesKate & Peter Mason °Ms J Millard *‡Helen Morgan *Mr Walter B Norris °Miss C O’Connor *Mrs Rachel O’Conor °Mr R A Oppen §Mrs Roslyn Packer AO °Mrs Jill Pain ‡Mr Tom PascarellaDr Kevin Pedemont *Mr & Mrs Michael Potts Mr John Reid AO Catherine Remond °Mr John & Mrs Lynn Carol

Reid §Mr M D Salamon §In memory of H St P Scarlett °*Mr John Scott °Ms Ann Sherry AO °Dr John Sivewright &

Ms Kerrie Kemp ‡Margaret Suthers °Mrs Elizabeth F Tocque °*Mr & Mrs Richard Toltz °Mr Andrew & Mrs Isolde

TornyaRonald Walledge °Louise Walsh & David Jordan °Mrs Lucille Warth ‡Mrs Christine WenkartDr Richard Wing §Mr Robert Woods *Jill WranMiss Jenny Wu Mrs R Yabsley °§Anonymous (19)

PLAYING YOUR PART

MaestriBrian Abel & the late Ben

Gannon AO °Geoff & Vicki Ainsworth *Mrs Antoinette Albert §Mr Robert O Albert AO *‡Alan & Christine Bishop °§Sandra & Neil Burns *Mr Ian & Mrs Jennifer Burton °Libby Christie & Peter James °§The Clitheroe Foundation *Mr John C Conde AO °§Mr John Curtis §Penny Edwards °*Mr J O Fairfax AO *Fred P Archer Charitable Trust §Dr Bruno & Mrs Rhonda Giuffre*Mr Harcourt Gough §Mr David Greatorex AO &

Mrs Deirdre Greatorex §The Hansen Family §Mr Andrew Kaldor & Mrs

Renata Kaldor AO §H Kallinikos Pty Ltd §Mrs Joan MacKenzie §Mrs T Merewether OAM &

the late Mr EJ Merewether Mr James & Mrs Elsie Moore °Mr B G O’Conor °§The Paramor Family *The Ian Potter Foundation °Miss Rosemary Pryor *Bruce & Joy Reid Foundation*Dr John Roarty in memory of

Mrs June RoartyRodney Rosenblum AM &

Sylvia Rosenblum *Mr Paul & Mrs Sandra Salteri °Mrs Joyce Sproat & Mrs Janet

Cooke §Andrew Turner & Vivian ChangMr Brian & Mrs Rosemary White§Anonymous (2) *

VirtuosiMr Roger Allen & Mrs Maggie

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Herta Imhof °‡Mr Stephen Johns §Mr & Mrs Gilles T Kryger °§

Ms Ann Lewis AM Helen Lynch AM & Helen Bauer°Mr & Mrs David Milman §Mr Michael J. Perini *Mrs Helen Selle §David Smithers AM & Family °§Ms Gabrielle Trainor °In memory of Dr William &

Mrs Helen Webb ‡Michael & Mary Whelan Trust §Anonymous (1)

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Boyarsky §Mrs Emily Chang §Mr Peter Coates Ms Elise Fairbairn-SmithMr Robert Gay §Hilmer Family Trust §Ms Ann Hoban °Mr Paul Hotz §Mr Philip Isaacs OAM °§Mr Bob Longwell Mrs Judith McKernan °§Miss Margaret N MacLaren °*‡§Mr David Maloney §Mrs Alexandra Martin & the

Late Mr Lloyd Martin AM §Mrs Mora Maxwell °§Mr and Mrs John van OgtropMs Robin Potter °§Ms Julie Taylor ‡Mr Geoff Wood & Ms Melissa

Waites Ray Wilson OAM & the late

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TuttiRichard Ackland °Mr C R Adamson §Mr Henri W Aram OAM §Mr Terrey & Mrs Anne Arcus §Mr David Barnes °Mrs Joan Barnes °Mr Stephen J Bell *‡Mr Phil Bennett Nicole Berger *Mr Mark BethwaiteGabrielle Blackstock °‡Mr David S Brett *§Mr Maximo Buch *Mrs Lenore P Buckle §A I Butchart °*Debby Cramer & Bill Caukill §Mr Bob & Mrs Julie Clampett °§Mr John Cunningham SCM &

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Markovic °§Wendy McCarthy AO °Justice Jane Matthews §Mr Ian & Mrs Pam McGaw *Mrs Barbara McNulty OBE §Ms Margaret Moore & Dr Paul

Hutchins *Mr Robert Orrell °Timothy & Eva Pascoe §Ms Patricia Payn °§Mrs Almitt PiattiMr Adrian & Mrs Dairneen Pilton Mr L T & Mrs L M Priddle *Mrs B Raghavan °Mr Ernest & Mrs Judith Rapee §Dr K D Reeve AM °Mrs Patricia H Reid §Pamela Rogers °‡Mr Brian Russell & Mrs Irina

SinglemanMs Juliana Schaeffer §Robyn Smiles §The Hon. Warwick SmithDerek & Patricia Smith §Catherine Stephen §Mr Fred & Mrs Dorothy Street ‡§Mr Georges & Mrs Marliese

Teitler §Dr Heng & Mrs Cilla Tey §Mr Ken Tribe AC & Mrs Joan

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Supporters over $500Ms Madeleine AdamsPTW Architects §Mr John Azarias Mr Chris & Mrs Mary Barrett °Doug & Alison Battersby °Ms Wendy BlackBlack CommunicationsDr & Mrs Hannes Boshoff §M BulmerMarty Cameron §Hon. Justice J C & Mrs

Campbell °*Mr Brian CaseyMr B & Mrs M Coles °Mrs Catherine Gaskin Cornberg§Jen Cornish °Mr Stan Costigan AO &

Mrs Mary Costigan °*

Patron Annual

Donations Levels

Maestri $10,000 and above Virtuosi $5000 to $9999 Soli $2500 to $4999 Tutti $1000 to $2499 Supporters $500 to $999

To discuss givingopportunities, please callAlan Watt on (02) 8215 4619.

° Allegro Program supporter* Emerging Artist Fund supporter‡ Stuart Challender Fund supporter§ Orchestra Fund supporter

The Sydney Symphony gratefully acknowledges the music lovers who donate to the Orchestra each year. Every gift plays an important part in ensuring ourcontinued artistic excellence and helping to sustain important education andregional touring programs. Because we are now offering free programs andspace is limited we are unable to list donors who give between $100 and $499 –please visit sydneysymphony.com for a list of all our patrons.


PATRON

Her Excellency

Professor

Marie Bashir AC CVO

GOVERNOR OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Gianluigi Gelmetti

CHIEF CONDUCTOR AND

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

SPONSORED BY EMIRATES

John Conde AO

CHAIRMAN

Libby ChristieMANAGING DIRECTOR

Sydney Symphony

Founded in 1932, the Sydney Symphony has evolved into one ofthe world’s finest orchestras as Sydney has become one of theworld’s great cities. Resident at the Sydney Opera House, theOrchestra also performs throughout Sydney and regional NewSouth Wales, and has toured internationally. Critical to theOrchestra’s success has been the leadership given by its formerChief Conductors, including Sir Eugene Goossens, Willem vanOtterloo, Louis Frémaux, Sir Charles Mackerras, Stuart Challenderand Edo de Waart, as well as collaborations with legendary figuressuch as George Szell, Sir Thomas Beecham, Otto Klemperer andIgor Stravinsky. Maestro Gianluigi Gelmetti is now in his fifth yearas Chief Conductor and Artistic Director, a position he holds intandem with that of Music Director at Rome Opera.

FIRST VIOLINS

Dene OldingConcertmaster Sun YiAssoc. Concertmaster Kirsten WilliamsAssoc. Concertmaster Sophie ColeJennifer HoyNicola LewisAlexandra MitchellLéone ZieglerEmily Long#Emily Qin#Thomas Dethlefs*Victoria Jacono*Michele O’Young*Martin Silverton*

SECOND VIOLINS

Marina MarsdenShuti HuangA/Asst PrincipalSusan DobbiePrincipal Emeritus Pieter BerséeMaria DurekStan W KornelBenjamin LiNicole MastersPhilippa PaigeBiyana RozenblitMaja VerunicaAlexander Norton#Alexandra D’Elia#Leigh Middenway*

VIOLAS

Roger BenedictYvette GoodchildAsst Principal Sandro CostantinoJane HazelwoodGraham HenningsFelicity TsaiLeonid VolovelskyJacqueline Cronin#Jennifer Curl#Rosemary Curtin#Emma FetherstonVera Marcu*

CELLOS

Catherine HewgillNathan WaksLeah LynnAsst Principal Kristy ConrauTimothy NankervisElizabeth NevilleAdrian WallisDavid WickhamRowena Crouch#Patrick Murphy #Martin Penicka*Andrew Wilson*

DOUBLE BASSES

Kees BoersmaAlex HeneryNeil BrawleyPrincipal Emeritus David CampbellSteven LarsonRichard LynnDavid MurrayGordon Hill#Lauren Brandon*Damien Eckersley*

FLUTES

Emma Sholl Carolyn HarrisRosamund PlummerPrincipal Piccolo

OBOES

Diana DohertyShefali Pryor Alexandre OgueyPrincipal Cor Anglais

CLARINETS

Frank Celata Craig WernickePrincipal Bass Clarinet

BASSOONS

Roger BrookeFiona McNamaraNoriko ShimadaPrincipal ContrabassoonRobert Llewellyn#

HORNSRobert JohnsonLee BracegirdleEuan HarveyMarnie Sebire

TRUMPETS

Daniel MendelowPaul Goodchild John FosterAnthony Heinrichs

TROMBONES

Ronald PrussingScott Kinmont Nick ByrneChristopher HarrisPrincipal Bass Trombone

TUBA

Steve Rossé

TIMPANI

Adam JeffreyAsst Principal

PERCUSSION

Rebecca LagosColin PiperJohn Douglas*Alison Pratt*Philip South*

HARP

Louise Johnson

PIANO

Josephine Allan*

HARPSICHORD

Rosalind Halton*

Bold = PrincipalItalics = Associate

Principal* = Guest Musician #= Contract Musician† = Sydney Symphony

Fellow

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Documents

SONG OF LIFE · (formerly known as the Oboe Concerto in C minor by Benedetto Marcello) Marcello isn’t exactly a household name in music – unlike, for example, Bach – but even