Queensland Symphony Orchestra launched their 2016 season in style, on Thursday August 13th, to an enthusiastic crowd of subscribers and VIP guests at the QPAC Concert Hall.
Introductions by CEO Sophie Galaise and Curtis Pitt MP were followed by a chat-show style presentation, entertainingly compered by Music on Sundays’ host Guy Noble, who introduced the highlights and personalities of the 2016 season, and pointed out that our beautifully attired ushers were in fact the QSO musicians!
Interspersed between conversations with the architects of the season, were pre-recorded interviews, including with 2016 Soloist-in-Residence Nikolai Demidenko, who has a long and illustrious association with the QSO, and is considered one of the finest Beethoven pianists of our time. Also interviewed were conductors Jessica Cottis, and Alondra de la Parra. QSO continues its strong support of female conductors, featuring no less than four in the program. Continuing to highlight this theme, Assistant Conductor Natalia Raspopova joined Guy on stage with Conductor Laureate Johannes Fritzsch.
Social photos: gallery from QSO season launch.
There was an amusing video appearance by the flamboyant Lang Lang, whose earlier announcement as the mid-season gala star had caused a ripple of audible excitement throughout the auditorium. At only 33 years of age, he is one of the best known pianists in the world, having inspired millions with his open-hearted, emotive playing; his inclusion in the programme is a triumph for QSO. It appears that he will be particularly excited to appear in Queensland, as he will be playing on his birthday!
Other guests joining Guy Noble on stage included Tom Thum and Gordon Hamilton. Internationally acclaimed beat boxer Tom Thum is familiar to everyone, with more than 40million YouTube hits—his innovative and amazing use of the human voice as a sound-effects and musical tool will be a fascinating addition to the line-up, through his appointment as QSOCurrent Artist-in-Residence.
Gordon Hamilton conducted The Australian Voices, QSO Ensemble-in-Residence, live on stage for a small taste of their forthcoming repertoire, with Bruckner’s exquisite ‘Os Justi’, which raised goosebumps—we look forward to hearing more. Our only regret was that this was the only live music of the evening. The Choral series is a new addition to the 2016 QSO mainstage season, and includes ‘Carmina Burana’ and also Mozart’s Requiem and Handel’s Messiah.
© Karen HuttEntitled ‘Beautiful Escapes’, the season opens in February with Mahler’s Symphony No.2 ‘Resurrection’, and includes an all-Mozart concert, two all-Beethoven concerts, with performance of all five Beethoven piano concerti, along with many other favourites. Although not hugely adventurous, the programme encompasses much of the familiar canon of the orchestral repertoire. However, it IS hugely adventurous and laudable to have expanded the orchestras touring schedule, to now include 24 regional centres in Queensland—most people would be hard pressed to even name 24 regional centres in Queensland!
The season will conclude with the virtuoso violinist and conductor, Maxim Vengerov, who will play Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, a piece for which Vengerov is famous; he will then conduct Tchaikovsky’s 6th Symphony. Another major coup for the QSO is the appearance of Maestro Yu Long, who will conduct ‘Enchantements oubliés’ by countryman Qigang Chen, along with Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony and Saint-Saens’ Piano Concerto No.5, featuring Javier Perianes.
The official part of the evening culminated in a stirring Chinese Lion dance performance, accompanied by vigorous percussion—as vibrant, colourful and entertaining as the 2016 QSO season ‘Beautiful Escapes’ promises to be.
