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Academy of St Martin in the Fields

7 - 9 October 2023

In the Concert Hall | Classical Music

The Academy of St Martin in the Fields punches above its weight in the music that made its name and now you can hear this celebrated ensemble with Joshua Bell in the renewed acoustic of the Concert Hall.

Exquisitely synchronised, a handful of players produced ­incredible volumes of sound.

Eamonn Kelly, The Australian

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Academy of St Martin in the Fields

Bringing fresh energy to classical favourites

The last time the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and Joshua Bell performed in Sydney, they inspired some unexpected adjectives. Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony, wrote the Sydney Morning Herald critic, was “charged with a punchy, dangerous energy”. Punchy? Dangerous? From a chamber orchestra of 30–40 players?

But that’s one of the reasons Joshua Bell loves working with the Academy: they demonstrate how fewer musicians, playing with extreme energy, can sound more powerful than a large orchestra. Add the room acoustic as an extra “instrument” and you have a recipe for breathtaking, dazzling performances.

And when the Academy returns to the renewed Concert Hall, you’ll be able to experience that vitality in three gorgeous programs from the heart of the classical tradition. Each concert will feature Joshua Bell in one of the great violin concertos: Mendelssohn, Beethoven and Bach’s A minor. Meanwhile, Mendelssohn’s two most popular symphonies, Mozart’s Symphony No.40 and Prokofiev in Classical mode will show the Academy playing to its strengths.

Programme

PROGRAMME 1 - Sat 7 Oct
What do a 20th-century Russian and a 19th-century German have in common? A shared affection for the Classical tradition and an ingenious gift for melody.

PROKOFIEV Classical Symphony
MENDELSSOHN Violin Concerto in E minor
Interval
MENDELSSOHN
Symphony No.3, Scottish

 

PROGRAMME 2 - Sun 8 Oct
The stereotypes are reversed with Beethoven at his most radiant and Mozart in a stormy and impassioned mood.

MOZART The Marriage of Figaro: Overture
BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto
Interval

MOZART Symphony No.40

 

PROGRAMME 3 - Mon 9 Oct
Exclusive to Sydney. JS Bach and Mendelssohn take inspiration from Italy, while Mozart’s overture introduces Spain’s most famous barber on the eve of his wedding.

MOZART The Marriage of Figaro: Overture
JS BACH Violin Concerto in A minor
SAINT-SAËNS Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso
Interval

MENDELSSOHN Symphony No.4, Italian

led by the Academy of St Martin in the Fields Music director, Joshua Bell

Other information

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