Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' 2021 SING ON! A Choral Celebration

Choral Singing/

SING ON! A Choral Celebration

Date: Saturday 24 July 3pm (Due to Sydney lockdown resulting from COVID-19 Delta variant, this concert has been moved to 21 November 3pm, 2021.)

 

Venue: Sydney Town Hall

  

A concert like this only comes around every 100 years, or so. COVID-19 may have put paid to Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' centenary concert last year, but they're determined to present the amazing music planned so in 2021 – a long year later – they are thrilled to invite everyone their all-new, all-Australian choral extravaganza.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs are proud that they can now present works that were commissioned as part of their 100 Minutes of New Australian Music centenary project, such as Indigenous composer James Henry’s hypnotic Murrgumurrgu.

Photo credit: Sydney Philharmonia Choirs

Elena Kats-Chernin’s Human Waves reflects the rich legacy of Australia’s migrant history. Elena said, “Brett Weymark had a vision for a large work to be centred around the tapestry of our mixed community: an exploration and celebration of Australia’s diversity and how the fusion of cultures and traditions has enriched our society and taught us tolerance, thoughtfulness and gratefulness. He came up with the title Human Waves which I loved from the beginning. It can mean so many things: a warm wave of welcome; the waves of the ocean – bringing so many migrants by boat; the waves people make when they change society.”

Daniel Walker’s Choral Crackers is a high-energy medley of the top-10 hallmark choral works that have featured in SPC's performances over the last 100 years – works such as Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’, Mozart’s Requiem and Handel’s Zadok the Priest.

The journey from that first concert at Randwick Hospital on 9 September 1920 by the newly formed Hurlstone Park Choral Society – through wars, generations, seismic culture shifts and a global pandemic – has seen Sydney Philharmonia Choirs what it has become, Australia’s premier choral arts company. Celebrate with them at Sing On!

The program will run for approximately 1 hour and 55 minutes, including a 20-minute interval.

PROGRAM

Deborah CHEETHAM & Matthew DOYLE Tarimi Nulay – Long time living here†
Daniel BRINSMEAD Cantate Domino*†
Andrew ANDERSON Song in My Heart*†
Elena KATS-CHERNIN Human Waves*†
James HENRY Murrgumurrgu*†
Matthew ORLOVICH MMXX A Meditation on Auld Lang Syne*
Daniel WALKER Choral Crackers*

*Premiere
† Commissioned as part of our 100 Minutes of New Australian Music centenary project in 2020. 

ARTISTS
Brett Weymark conductor
Elizabeth Scott conductor
Chamber Singers
Symphony Chorus
VOX

Elena Kats-Chernin piano
Sydney Youth Orchestra
Members of Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra

Tickets: Premium $109 | A $89 | B $69 | C $49. Concessions available.
A booking fee of $8.50 per transaction applies.

BOOK TICKETS HERE

 

Reviews:
 

Will be provided as available.


Related Link:

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' 2021 SING ON! A Choral Celebration. Inspired Pen Web, Tel Asiado. June 11, 2021.

Resources:

Sing On! A Choral Celebration. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs Website. (Available on access, June 11, 2021.)

Sing On! A Choral Celebration. Sydney Opera House Website (Available on access, June 23, 2021)

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs Will Perform SING ON! A CHORAL CELEBRATION in July. By Stephi Wild, May 20, 2021. Broadway World. Accessed June 11, 2021.



COVID-19 SAFETY

• Audiences will be required to QR code register upon entry to the Sydney Town Hall.
• As a condition of the venue, audiences will be required to wear masks throughout the performance. If this changes we will inform patrons as soon as possible.
• Hand sanitizer will be available.
• We will publish a digital program book on our website a week prior to the concert. A limited number of printed program books will be available for $5 each at the concert.

DETAILS ABOUT COVID SAFE PLAN

(c) June 11, 2021. Updated June 23, 2021. Tel.  Inspired Pen Web.  All rights reserved.

Martha Argerich

Classical Music / Concert Pianist

 

     Martha Argerich. (Photo: Wiki CC)

 

Martha Argerich (born June 5, 1941), is an Argentine-Swiss classical concert pianist. She is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of all time. Argerich is a polyglot and has lived in Belgium, Switzerland (where she has citizenship) and France. A precocious child, Argerich began nursery aged two years and eight months, where she was the youngest child. She started learning the piano at the age of three. At the age of five, she moved to teacher Vincenzo Scaramuzza, who stressed to her the importance of lyricism and feeling. Argerich gave her debut concert in 1949 at the remarkable age of eight, playing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor and Beethoven's First Piano Concerto in C major.

 

The family moved to Europe in 1955, where Argerich studied with Friedrich Gulda in Austria, whom Argerich describes as one of her major influences. She later studied with other prominent piano teachers at the time. In 1957, at sixteen, she won both the Geneva International Music Competition and the Ferruccio Busoni International Competition within three weeks of each other. Following this success, Argerich had a personal and artistic crisis; she did not play the piano for three years and considered giving it up to train as a secretary or doctor. She credited Anny Askenase (the wife of Stefan Askenase) with encouraging her to return to the piano. Following her return, Argerich won the prestigious International Chopin Piano Competition in 1965. 

 

Featured video: 

Producers have blocked it from display on other websites. Please watch it directly at Youtube. It's splendid! So beautiful! [Martha Argerich: Chopin - Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11 (Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra). YouTube, uploaded by EuroArtsChannel. Accessed June 5, 2021.]

Argerich has been married three times. Her first marriage, to composer-conductor Robert Chen and with whom she had a daughter, lawyer and violist Lyda Chen-Argerich, ended in 1964. From 1969 to 1973, Argerich was married to Swiss conductor Charles Dutoit, with whom she had a daughter, Annie Dutoit. Argerich continues to record and perform with Dutoit. In the 1970s, she was also briefly married to pianist Stephen Kovacevich, with whom she has a daughter, Stéphanie. Although they made few recordings together during their marriage, Argerich and Kovacevich still frequently perform together.

Argerich gained international prominence when she won the seventh International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1965, at age 24. In that same year, she debuted in the United States in Lincoln Center's Great Performers Series. In 1960, she had made her first commercial recording; it received critical acclaim upon its release in 1961. She has since recorded works by composers. It is with Schumann's works that she describes feeling a particular connection to.

Argerich has remarked in interviews of feeling "lonely" on stage during solo performances. Since the 1980s, she has staged few solo performances, concentrating instead on concertos and, in particular, chamber music, collaborating with instrumentalists in sonatas. 

In 1990, Argerich was diagnosed with malignant melanoma. After treatment, the cancer went into remission, and a recurrence in 1995, eventually metastasizing to her lungs and lymph nodes. Following an experimental treatment at the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica pioneered by oncologist Donald Morton, Argerich's cancer went into remission again. In gratitude, Argerich performed a Carnegie Hall recital benefiting the institute. As of 2020, Argerich remained cancer-free. 

Through her annual festival and her appearances as a member of the jury at international competitions, Argerich has also promoted younger pianists. She performs annually at the Lugano Festival. She has also created and been a General Director of the Argerich Music Festival and Encounter in Beppu, Japan, since 1996. 

In 2002, director Georges Gachot [de] released Martha Argerich, Evening Conversation, a documentary film. Stéphanie Argerich Blagojevic directed a documentary film about her mother, Bloody Daughter, based on film shot since her childhood.

Despite her aversion to the press and publicity that has resulted in her remaining out of the limelight for most of her career, she is widely recognized as one of the greatest pianists in history. Her performance of Liszt's First Piano Concerto conducted by Daniel Barenboim at The Proms 2016 prompted this review in The Guardian: 

 

"It was an unforgettable performance. Argerich celebrated her 75th birthday in June this year, but that news doesn’t seem to have reached her fingers. Her playing is still as dazzling, as frighteningly precise, as it has always been; her ability to spin gossamer threads of melody as matchless as ever. This was unmistakably and unashamedly Liszt in the grand manner, a bit old-fashioned and sometimes even a bit vulgar at times, but in this of all concertos, with Barenboim and the orchestra following each twist and turn, every little quickening and moment of expressive reflection, it seemed entirely appropriate". 

 

Argerich returned to the Proms at the age of 78 in 2019 to perform Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto under the baton of Barenboim, a performance described as "mesmerizing".

 

Awards:

 

Argerich is multi-awarded worldwide with highest honours in the area of her expertise. 

 

Martha Argerich at conferment of Kennedy Centre Honors by President Barack Obama (2016). Youtube, uploaded by SProkofieff. June 5, 2022.

 

 

Recommended Links: 

 

Madame X: Dinner with the dark lady of the piano.  By Alex Ross, November 4, 2002. Accessed June 5, 2018.

 

Martha Argerich: 80 Year Old SUPER VIRTUOSO!! How Is This Even Possible?  Youtube, uploaded by Rick Beato. Accessed June 5, 2022.

Martha Argerich at the 2016 Kennedy Center Honors. Youtube, uploaded by SProkofieff.  Accessed June 5, 2022.  

 

Moments we love about Martha Argerich /Musician Best Moments /Stories of Pianist /OnePeep Music.  Youtube, uploaded by OnePeepMusic. Accessed June 5, 2021. 

 

“We humans need music” – Martha Argerich at 80 – Ever Totally Irresistible. Piano Street Magazine. June 23rd, 2021 in Piano News by patrick. Accessed January 20, 2023.

 

Image Credit:

 
Martha Argerich. creativecommons.org. Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0). Accessed June 5, 2018. 

 

Resources:

 

Martha Argerich. en.wikipedia.org. Accessed June 5, 2018.  

 

Martha Argerich: 80th Birthday Celebration. UDiscover Music. Accessed June 5, 2021.

Martha Argerich: Argentine Pianist. Britannica. Accessed June 5, 2021.

 

Martha Argerich's intimate portrait: Bloody Daughter - Film by Stéphanie Argerich

 

"Martha Argerich is a legend of the music world but she doesn't act like one", by Anne Midgette, Dec. 2, 2016. The Washington Post. Accesed June 5, 2018. 

 

(c) June 2018. Updated June 5, 2021. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.