From Arthurian mythology to an untold local tale; from glacial Norse cliffs of yore to our scorched southern land.
This April, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO) will be aural travel agents, ferrying audiences away on the crest of symphonic waves with 'Nordic Adventures – Master Series 2'.
The series, helmed by revered Norwegian conductor Eivind Aadland and award winning Russian pianist Boris Giltburg, features three pieces: Arnold Bax’s 'Tintagel', Grieg’s Piano Concerto and Sibelius’ 'Symphony No 2'. Bax’s composition was inspired by a triste early last century at the rumoured site of King Arthur’s Camelot: Tintagel Castle, which stood resolutely on the northern coast of Cornwall.
While it may not be apparent from the names of the remaining pieces, they too were inspired by the heaving seas, crashing waves and howling winds of the planet’s inhospitable north. It may not be a pleasure cruise, so expect thundering crescendos, with perhaps a gentle folk dance for respite.
The pivotal Romantic era composer Robert Schumann died at 46 in a mental asylum near Bonn, entrapped in psychotic melancholia. His story did not die within that asylum’s walls; his friends and protégés traversed the globe, with one, cellist Christian Reimers, making his home in Adelaide for three years in the 1880s.
Paul Blackman, a former bassoonist for the ASO has painstakingly researched the rich, varied and occasionally controversial life of Reimers, exploring his music, spirituality and his penchant for sketching caricatures of his colleagues in a book entitled ‘Christian Reimers: A Spirited Performer’.
