Arcadian Winds Program Guide | Edge |October 2023

Arcadia Winds
Tuesday 24 October, 11am
The Edge, Fed Square

AT THE EDGE
FED SQUARE
Tue 21 May 2024, 11am
Ken Murray guitar
Tue 24 September 2024, 11am
Trio Bohémo violin, cello, piano
Tue 29 October 2024, 11am
Jess Hitchcock & Penny Quartet vocal, strings
Subscribe now
musicaviva.com.au/the-edge | 1800 688 482

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the Boon Wurrung lands
and we pay our respects to Elders past and present – people who have sung
their songs, danced their dances and told their stories on these lands for
thousands of generations, and who continue to do so.
Valerie COLEMAN (b 1970)
Tzigane (2011)
10 min
Sam WU (b 1995)
I See You (2023)
10 min
World premiere performance.
Commissioned by Carrillo Gantner AC and Ziyin Gantner in honour of all
the doctors, nurses, technicians and others who worked tirelessly on the
very front line of our healthcare system during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Richard STRAUSS (1864–1949)
Serenade in E-flat major, Op. 7 (1881, arr. Glynn Davies)
10 min
Leoš JANÁČEK (1854–1928)
Mládí (‘Youth’) (1924)
I Allegro
II Andante sostenuto
III Vivace
IV Allegro animato
17 min
You are welcome to remain in the hall and join the artists
for a short Q and A following the concert.
Kate Proctor* flute
Lloyd Van’t Hoff clarinet
Matthew Kneale bassoon
ARCADIA WINDS
Rachel Bullen* oboe
Rachel Shaw horn
Mitch Berick* bass clarinet
*Guest artists
03

© Keith Saunders
Arcadia Winds
TRAILBLAZERS FOR AUSTRALIAN WIND MUSIC
Awarded a fellowship at the Australian
National Academy of Music upon their
formation in late 2013, Arcadia Winds
became Musica Viva Australia’s inaugural
FutureMakers from 2015–17. They have
brought their brand of energetic, joyful
and spontaneous performance to festival
stages in almost every state and territory
in the country; concert halls across
mainland China; and listeners around
the world through broadcasts of the BBC
Proms Australia chamber music series.
They have revelled in musical partnerships
with internationally renowned performers
including the Australian String Quartet;
piano virtuosi Lambert Orkis, Paavali
Jumppanen and Anna Goldsworthy; and
woodwind masters Ole Kristian Dahl and
Thorsten Johanns.
A desire to celebrate and promote
Australian music has led Arcadia Winds
to commission and perform works
by composers such as Elliott Gyger,
Natalie Williams, Andrew Ford, Lachlan
Skipworth, Kate Neal, Peter de Jager,
Sam Smith and Elizabeth Younan.
Equally focused on inspiring a love
of, and participation in, wind music in
the next generation, Arcadia Winds
developed an hour-long show for the
Musica Viva Australia In Schools (MVAIS)
program. Entitled The Air I Breathe, it has
showcased the magical transformation
of breath into music to thousands of
schoolchildren.
04

About the music
Valerie Coleman is an American virtuoso
and composer. She is a Grammynominated
flautist and was the founding
member of Imani Winds where she
became well known for her compositions
that featured her beloved wind quintet.
Tzigane is a work that was inspired by
Coleman’s travels in Eastern Europe.
Guided by the Romani people, historically
known as ‘tzigane’ or ‘gypsies’, Coleman
integrated her knowledge of the Tzigane
and her collaboration with Simon
Shaheen, a Palestinian virtuoso of the oud,
(a short-necked lute) to create this upbeat
work. The composition was inspired by
Middle Eastern scales and wild, freespirited
gestures. Bold virtuosic solos for
each instrument of the wind quintet show
off the passionate and versatile nature of
the instruments and the wind quintet itself.
Sam Wu writes:
I See You is written in honour of the valiant
efforts Intensive Care Unit staff undertook
to take care of critically ill patients during
the COVID-19 pandemic. In preparation
for writing this piece, I was fortunate to
take a tour of The Alfred’s world-class ICU
wing (after pandemic restrictions were
relaxed) in Melbourne, and hear from
Dr. Dashiell Gantner, as well as some of
his colleagues, about their experiences
throughout the pandemic.
© SAM WU 2023
Richard Strauss’ Serenade was written
as a single-movement work for 13 wind
instruments. Beautiful and simple, the
Andante tempo and harmonic structure
recalls Mozart’s serenades. Strauss
composed the work as a tribute to his
father Franz Strauss, who was Principal
horn in the orchestra of the Bavarian
Court Opera for 49 years. Strauss
dedicated the work to the sublime brass
playing of his father and other colleagues,
and took great joy in bringing wind
instruments to the fore in this rich and
sonorous music. The soft-edged lyricism
of the Serenade further suggests the
inspiration of Mendelssohn’s overtures
and wind writing. We also acknowledge
the transcription that Glynn Davies has
done to bring this work to life for the wind
quintet.
Leoš Janáček wrote Mládí in 1924; his
compositions were particularly influenced
by political and personal affairs during
this time of his life. Czechoslovakia had
become independent in 1918 and the
previous year Janáček had fallen in love
with Kamila Stösslová, nearly 40 years his
junior. Her presence can be felt in several
compositions of this period, including as
the femme fatale of his song cycle The
Diary of One Who Disappeared (1917),
as well as the heroines of his operas The
Cunning Little Vixen (1922-3) and The
Makropoulos Affair (1923-5). The wind
sextet Mládí (along with his first string
quartet) was written around the same
time as these operas, and encapsulated
ideas and themes inspired by Stösslová,
for example the oboe’s opening phrase
‘Mládí, zlaté mládí!’ (‘Youth, golden
youth!’). The third movement was inspired
by a prior work of Janáček’s composed
in the same year called March of the Blue
Boys, recalling his time as a chorister in the
Old Brno Monastery. Mládí has become
a pivotal work for wind instruments in the
20th and 21st centuries.
© MATTHEW KNEALE 2023
05

Wildschut & Brauss
Violinist Noa Wildschut and pianist Elisabeth Brauss
make one of the most exciting musical partnerships heard in years.
Join us for their Australian debut in an eight-city national tour.
musicaviva.com.au/wildschut-brauss
1800 688 482
13–30 NOVEMBER

la música habla
:”(
nagsasalita ang musika
η μουσική μιλάει
âm nhac nói .
:-D
...
;-)) :o
ਸੰਗੀਤ ਬੋਲਦਾ ਹੈ
LA MUSICA PARLA
mizik la ka palé
音 乐 说 话
:-)
waiata korero
The language of music is universal;
it transcends borders and unites us as people.
At Musica Viva Australia we believe that music
makes the world a better place.
It’s our ongoing mission to create unforgettable experiences for audiences
across the country: from a child in a classroom seeing live music for the first time,
through to the seasoned concertgoer discovering new work.
Help us to continue our work so that everyone, regardless
of age, location or circumstance, can access
and share the very best live music.
To make a gift:
musicaviva.com.au/support-us
For more information:
Caroline Davis | cdavis@musicaviva.com.au | 0421 375 358

2 O 2 4
Embrace the difference.
Feel the joy.
24 of the world’s best artists.
7 national tours across 6 states.
Long Lost Loves (and Grey Suede Gloves)
Esmé Quartet
Kirill Gerstein
The Choir of King’s College, Cambridge
Pekka Kuusisto & Gabriel Kahane
Ensemble Q & William Barton
Musica Alchemica
SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE
musicaviva.com.au
1800 688 482