Program note

“Quietude is one of those unique works that brings everyone who listens to it physical sensations at the sheer scale of its expression and meaning.”

“The piece is intended to capture the butterflies that such women must have felt as they embarked on their journey; travelling to the other end of the earth, facing many unknowns, carrying a sense of purpose, responsibility and, perhaps, naiveté about what lay ahead.”

“Originally intended as a ‘Paris Suite’ memorial for the bombings in 2015, this musical celebration of Parisian artistic life took a dramatic turn when the roof of Nôtre Dame cathedral burned down on April 15, 2019. I was composing a scene of fluid and moonlit river Seine when, among many others around the globe, I stopped to watch in horror via internet as the spire collapsed.”

“Despair and determination compete. The rare unison moment is celebrated. But still the question remains. What will it take to bring us together?”

“This piece uncovers the reverence for the natural beauty of the night sky and all it possesses.”

“…Here we get the composer at his most light-hearted – you can almost hear in these dances a young Shostakovich playing the piano to accompany silent films,” writes Angus McPherson.

Be swept up in the magic of film music, with selections from Psycho, Star Wars and more. Spend a Saturday night out with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, celebrating iconic works for the silver screen.

The Quintet is suffused with what Edward Said, discussing late style in general, described as a ‘mature subjectivity, stripped of hubris and pomposity, unashamed either of its fallibility or of the modest assurance it has gained as a result of age,’ writes Gordon Kerry.

“Dvořák’s Eight Waltzes, Op. 54…are wonderfully original, and range in mood from the wistful to the boisterous,” writes Phillip Sametz.

“…a characteristic and delightful combination of what are now familiar conventions of form with quirky surprises, musical experiments and dramatic gestures. It seems there was nothing Haydn liked better than to play with his listeners’ expectations,” writes Yvonne Frindle.