Beethoven 7 Program

Beethoven 7

Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra

Johannes Fritzsch, Conductor | Stirling Hall, Cello

7:30pm 24 May 2024, Conservatorium Theatre

Program

Sutherland

Haunted Hills: symphonic poem

Elgar

Concerto in E minor for Violoncello & Orchestra, op.85

Beethoven

Symphony No.7 in A major, op.92

Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we work. We pay respect to the Elders, past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Program notes

Haunted Hills: Symphonic Poem (1950)

Margaret Sutherland (1897-1984)

Recognised as one of Australia’s premier female composers, Margaret Sutherland’s musical roots are intertwined with other influential musicians from across the globe. She was taught piano by her aunt, Julia Sutherland, and was subsequently taught by Edward Goll and Sir Arnold Bax after moving abroad. Haunted Hills is one of her larger ensemble works, alongside her symphony, concertos for violin, concertante for oboe, concerto for strings, and concerto grosso. Although Sutherland wrote many such symphonic pieces, her greatest output has been chamber music and vocal music, including dozens of songs, many pieces for solo and accompanied instruments and small ensembles.

Haunted Hills showcases Sutherland’s balanced and lyrical approach to composition, while forging a sound quite different from that of her musical peers in Europe and England. The rich instrumental combinations and voicings evoke a very different “haunted” mood than one may expect from the effect-driven film scores of today, yet are every bit as unsettling. Depicted in the music is the Dandenong Ranges, and, as Sutherland writes “the first people who roamed the hills, their bewilderment and their betrayal, frenzied dance: its seeming gaiety born of despair”.

Concerto in E Minor for Violoncello & Orchestra, Op. 85 (1919)

Edward Elgar (1857-1934)

I. Adagio - Moderato

II. Lento - Allegro molto

III. Adagio

IV. Allegro - Moderato - Allegro, ma non-troppo - Poco più lento - Adagio

As his final full-scale work, Elgar wrote this concerto after a long and successful career, having received his knighthood over a decade earlier. Unfortunately, after its disastrous 1919 premiere, Elgar’s stock in society began to fade in a post-WWI society. Seen as old-fashioned, this elegant work went unappreciated for decades; now, however, it is viewed as one of the cornerstone works of the cello repertoire. The piece opens with a recitative and four chords that recur throughout. This opening Adagio is filled with an unusually intense sense of desperation, attributed often to Elgar’s response to the Great War. It is marked nobilmente, a broad elegy, with the soloist’s last phrase finishing in pizzicato notes that seamlessly transition to the second movement’s Lento. The Allegro molto is much brighter, with a demanding balance of tension and precision in the cello that the orchestra responds to with growing intensity. It finishes abruptly in a più mosso that dismisses the movement with a resonant pizzicato chord.

The Adagio is a mere sixty bars long, but Elgar matches its brevity with a pared-back orchestration that allows the soloist moments of exquisite introspection and loss. This understated, poignant melody fades away moments before the strident opening of the last movement. After an opening recitative, the Allegro ma non troppo alternates cello passages with orchestral assertiveness and quotes from prior movements. Eventually, its martial qualities become too much for the soloist—the mood shifts to the earlier sense of depth and tragedy, and the opening bars are heard for a final time before a rebellious finale.

Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 (1811-1812)

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

I. Poco sostenuto - Vivace

II. Allegretto

III. Presto - Assai meno presto

IV. Allegro con brio

Beethoven’s Seventh would be the final concert he conducted after his progressive deafness made it all but impossible to hear the orchestra. Despite this, it was widely considered to be the most successful concert of his lifetime, with a rapturous audience demanding that the Allegretto be repeated as an encore. The symphony’s use of rhythmic repetition creates a cohesive backdrop for spontaneously joyful phrases throughout; dancing semiquavers alternately unite with and flee from lyrical, open melodies.

A remarkably lengthy opening in the Poco sostenuto concludes with a series of restated Es, leading into the Vivace with a playful flute solo. This movement is explosive to its finish, unified by the galloping rhythm heard throughout. The second movement was an instant success upon its premiere, as mentioned, and is perhaps the best-known movement of the symphony. It begins with a gentle ostinato in A minor, modulating to the relative major and eventually finding its way into A major.

The third movement, a scherzo, is based on the Austrian pilgrims’ hymn and features an extended ternary form, repeating the first two large sections. The final movement, Allegro con brio, flies along at a terrific pace while emanating an infectious joy throughout the orchestra. Program notes by Dr Samuel Dickenson.

Artists

Johannes Fritzsch Conductor

Johannes Fritzsch is currently the Principal Guest Conductor of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, having previously served as their Chief Conductor (20082014). Since 2018, he has held the position of Principal Guest Conductor of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. From 2006–2013 he was Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Oper Graz, Grazer Philharmonisches Orchester (Austria). Prior to his appointment in Graz, Johannes held the position of Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Staatsoper Nürnberg. From 1993 until 1999, he was Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Städtische Bühnen and the Philharmonic Orchestra in Freiburg.

He has conducted many leading orchestras, both within Germany and internationally. He regularly conducts the major Australasian orchestras as well as leading productions for Opera Australia, Opera Queensland, West Australian Opera and State Opera of South Australia.

In January 2015, Johannes was appointed Adjunct Professor, The Conservatorium of Music, School of Creative Arts and Media at the University of Tasmania; in June 2019, he joined the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University as Professor of Opera and Orchestral Studies.

Over the past twenty years, Johannes has given many Masterclasses for the German conductor training and development organisation Dirigentenforum des Deutschen Musikrates. Similarly, he was active and enthusiastic in the training of conducting participants selected to take part in Symphony Services’ International Conductor Development Program.

In 2017, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra invited him to design and lead the newly founded Australian Conducting Academy.

Photo credit: Peter Wallis

Stirling Hall

Cellist

Stirling Hall, 19 years old, is the youngest of four musical siblings. Now in his second year at the Queensland Conservatorium, he learns from Hyung Suk Bae (Associate Principal Cello, QSO) and György Déri (Senior Lecturer in Cello, Queensland Conservatorium). At 15 years old, he was awarded his AMusA with Distinction. Stirling has won a number of awards and prizes from eisteddfods including the Brisbane, Redlands, Sunshine Coast, Enoggera and District, along with being a Finalist in the QSO Young Instrumentalist Prize in 2022.

As the principal cellist in the Queensland Youth Symphony in 2023, he toured with the orchestra to Europe and Singapore. He has also participated in various Australian Youth Orchestra programmes including the Young Symphonists, National Music Camps, and Seasons.

Stirling’s recent solo performances have included performing the Elgar Cello concerto with the Queensland Youth Symphony Orchestra; as well as Schumann’s Cello Concerto with the Indooroopilly Chamber Orchestra. He was invited to take part in several masterclasses in 2023 with Francois Thirault from the LSO, Peter Bruns from Germany, and Michael Dahlenburg from the Australian String Quartet.

Photo credit: Queensland Youth Orchestra

Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra

The Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra consists of approximately 90 of the most talented young instrumentalists in Queensland. The orchestra, from its home at the Griffith University South Bank campus, performs an annual series of orchestral concerts, large choral works, and operatic and musical theatre productions, in addition to a range of creative collaborations both on site as well as in the wider community.

Students in the Queensland Conservatorium orchestral program have the unique opportunity to perform under the baton of a variety of conductors, instilling a flexibility required in the profession. Resident conductors Johannes Fritzsch, Peter Luff and Peter Morris are joined each year by distinguished guest conductors from around the world, providing students with the rich depth of experience they will find when entering the profession. Notable guest conductors have included Sir Neville Marriner, Peter Sculthorpe, Jessica Cottis, Nicholas Braithwaite, Natalia Raspopova, Larry Rachleff and Elim Chan, to name a few.

Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra

Concertmaster

Luke Hammer*

Violin 1

Jonah Spriggs

Yuro Lee~

Rhys Williams

Amira Ryan

Sophia Di Lucchio

Sophie Shih

Lauren Mellor

Mirage Hunter Demecs

Lily Song

Emily Thompson

Kate Stone

Miles Le Goullon

Viola

Olivia Spyrou*

Felix Hughes Chivers

Jasmine Smith

Rose-Ann Breedt

Sebastien Masel

Caitlin Annesley

Eben Yeh

Harriet Dykes

Oscar Nicholson

Violin 2

Ingram Fan*

Lydia Hwang

Dylan Weder

Jonathan Kositsin

Imogen Revill

Melissa Buddle

Madison Sim

Irene Shim

Jade Leong

Eve Scott

Eliza Kerr

Yewon Moon

Amalie Grime

Violoncello

William Bland*

Ai Hasegawa

Laura Boon

Liam Gane

Milo Duval

Kate Hwang

James Pollard

Kathryn Phun

Contrabass

Sophia Buchanan*

Alyssa Deacon

Jessica Clarke

Rylan Baird

Deakin Darby

Piccolo

Keisha Neale*

Flute

Sutherland/Elgar

Bonnie Gibson*

Keisha Neale

Beethoven

Braden Simm*

Keisha Neale

Oboe

Ethan Seto*

Tina Gallo

Cor Anglais

Tina Gallo*

Clarinet Sutherland/Elgar

Hinata Nishimura*

Hugo Anaya Partida

Beethoven

Josephine Daniel*

Catheine Edwards

Bassoon

Gina Sinclair*

Zane Lai

French Horn

Sutherland

Matilda Monaghan*

Thomas Ferreira-Montague

Lachlan Smith

Hannah McLellan

Elgar

Jude Austen Kaupe*

Hannah McLellan

Thomas Ferreira-Montague

Lachlan Smith

Beethoven

Jessica Piva*

Emma Rolfe

Trumpet

Sutherland

Brandon Ivers*

Mikaela Gonzalez

Elgar

Melissa Davies*

Mikaela Gonzalez

Beethoven

Isabella Geeves*

Ethan Kircher

Trombone

Sutherland

Jay Ghodke*

Nicholas Lord

Elgar

Nicholas Lord*

Lauren Porteous

Bass Trombone

Ethan Parfoot*

Tuba

Drew Ferguson*

Timpani

Matthew Conway*

Percussion

Jaymee Homeming*

Harp

Myiesha Maisuria*

Celesta

Michael Anthrak*

*Principal ~Beethoven only

Orchestra Manager

Jen Pittock

Special thanks to Queensland Conservatorium supporters and donors.

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Conservatorium staff

Director Professor Bernard Lanskey

Deputy Director (Learning and Teaching)

Associate Professor

Donna Weston

Deputy Director (Research)

Dr Alexis Kallio

Head of Ensembles & Orchestral Conducting

Professor Peter Morris

Head of Strings

Associate Professor

Michelle Walsh

Head of Woodwinds

Associate Professor

Tim Munro

Head of Brass

Associate Professor

Peter Luff

Head of Percussion

Rebecca Lloyd-Jones

Head of Composition

Dr Gerardo Dirie

Program Director (Bachelor of Acting)

Jacqui Somerville

Conservatorium Manager

Stuart Jones

Technical Team Leader

Cameron Hipwell

Front of House

Operations Manager

Michael Hibbard

Executive Officer (Engagement)

Dr Natalie Lewandowski-Cox

Operations Administrator

Clare Wharton

Program Coordinator (Ensembles) & Orchestra Manager

Daniel Fossi

Technical Officers

Keith Clark, Amy Hauser, Len McPherson

Venue Officers

Grace Royle, Joshua White, Joseph Gale-Grant

Administration Officer

Liz Tyson-Doneley

Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University

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Correct at time of publication.