BEETHOVEN, EDWARDS, WAGNER!

National Capital Orchestra

After the pre-concert talk at 2:15 pm, hear the National Capital Orchestra under the baton of Louis Sharpe, with soloist Matt Withers, in a diverse program of musical treasures.

Richard Wagner’s prelude to his last completed opera Parsifal is a superb example of this composer’s command of orchestral colour and drama.

The coast of Arnhem Land in northern Australia with the backdrop of the Arafura Sea were the inspiration for Ross Edwards’ Arafura Dances, a work in three movements with references to Australasian and Pacific musical cultures. We will hear the original version for guitar and string orchestra with Canberra’s very own Matt Withers as soloist.

In the 250th year since his birth, Ludwig van Beethoven remains as popular as ever and his Symphony No. 5 in C minor is a highlight of his vast musical output. Completed in 1808 when Beethoven was in his thirties and already suffering increasing deafness, the work shows his mastery of the art of writing symphonic music. The noted 19th century author and music critic E.T.A Hoffmann described “how this wonderful composition, in a climax that climbs on and on, leads the listener imperiously forward into the spirit world of the infinite!”. The work has been an inspiration for many subsequent composers.

Pre-concert talk at 2.15pm for approximately 25 minutes.

Performance commences at 3pm

RUNNING TIME: 2 hours approximately
INTERVAL: 20 min