“Welcome to whatever it was…” was the headline of The Sydney Morning Herald review of the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s debut performance on 21 November 1975 at the Sydney Opera House. No one much knew what to expect when the 20 string players – 12 of them women – and 12 wind players took to the stage that Friday night at 8.15pm, to play in the country’s first truly national orchestra.
Tension was in the air as the hush fell on the audience who’d paid between $2.50 and $5 apiece for their magenta-coloured seats in the recently opened Concert Hall. Adelaide-born cellist John Painter, the founder of the ensemble, was unperturbed. He wanted to create a small orchestra that could perform chamber music with the energy and precision of a string quartet, and the power and colour of a full orchestra, he told Mary Vallentine, one of the ACO’s early administrators.
Viola player Irina Morozova remembers the sense of expectation and excitement as she walked out onto the Concert Hall stage alongside her ACO colleagues and brought her bow to the strings to play. “It was a good concert. I remember being sad I wasn’t going to be able to remain a part of the Orchestra because of other commitments,” she recalls.
Tension was in the air as the hush fell on the audience who’d paid between $2.50 and $5 apiece for their magenta-coloured seats in the recently opened Concert Hall. Adelaide-born cellist John Painter, the founder of the ensemble, was unperturbed. He wanted to create a small orchestra that could perform chamber music with the energy and precision of a string quartet, and the power and colour of a full orchestra, he told Mary Vallentine, one of the ACO’s early administrators.
Viola player Irina Morozova remembers the sense of expectation and excitement as she walked out onto the Concert Hall stage alongside her ACO colleagues and brought her bow to the strings to play. “It was a good concert. I remember being sad I wasn’t going to be able to remain a part of the Orchestra because of other commitments,” she recalls.
“The Orchestra was “run on the smell of an oily rag in the early days. We rehearsed in each other’s homes or in a church hall in Annandale, which I had the key for. We had to do everything ourselves.” But the players were so committed to their craft they didn’t care.”
The opening work, Haydn’s Divertimento Op. 2 No.1 in A major, was an “unmixed delight” according to the Herald’s classical music critic Roger Covell, who was less enthusiastic about the following Bartók Divertimento. But his review honoured the Hungarian-born violinist and strings teacher Robert Pikler, who had previously run his own chamber orchestra and took part in what was billed as the ACO’s “inaugural gala.” “What we heard on Friday night was fundamentally the Robert Pikler chamber orchestra sound, a sound we have heard in varying guises,” Covell wrote. “It was warm of timbre, rich in colour, graceful in phrasing and musical to its last melting honey drop of tone.” Whatever it was then, and whatever it would become over the next five decades, the Australian Chamber Orchestra launched that night in November.
Morozova later rejoined as the ACO’s Principal Viola and fondly remembers how the Orchestra was “run on the smell of an oily rag in the early days. We rehearsed in each other’s homes or in a church hall in Annandale, which I had the key for. We had to do everything ourselves.” But the players were so committed to their craft they didn’t care.
The original ACO concept was to bring together a mix of experienced musicians from across the country with the best graduating young string players, who could start their careers in a small supportive environment. “We wanted to create a group that in the fullness of time could represent Australia internationally with distinction,” Painter told Vallentine in an oral history.
The trajectory of the ACO took off with the entry of a young surfer and student violinist from Wollongong called Richard Tognetti. “I remember Mrs Tognetti coming with a 16-year old boy to work as a casual violinist, and saying, ‘Look after my son won’t you’,” Vallentine remembers.
Morozova later rejoined as the ACO’s Principal Viola and fondly remembers how the Orchestra was “run on the smell of an oily rag in the early days. We rehearsed in each other’s homes or in a church hall in Annandale, which I had the key for. We had to do everything ourselves.” But the players were so committed to their craft they didn’t care.
The original ACO concept was to bring together a mix of experienced musicians from across the country with the best graduating young string players, who could start their careers in a small supportive environment. “We wanted to create a group that in the fullness of time could represent Australia internationally with distinction,” Painter told Vallentine in an oral history.
The trajectory of the ACO took off with the entry of a young surfer and student violinist from Wollongong called Richard Tognetti. “I remember Mrs Tognetti coming with a 16-year old boy to work as a casual violinist, and saying, ‘Look after my son won’t you’,” Vallentine remembers.
“We didn’t want to be part of a plain old chamber orchestra that only played Mozart and Beethoven. We wanted to be more diversified and fresh.”
Just after his 21st birthday, the violin virtuoso stepped in temporarily to lead the Orchestra when it was on tour in the Northern Territory. “He was young and inexperienced… but we knew he had what it took to succeed,” remembers Morozova. “We didn’t want to be part of a plain old chamber orchestra that only played Mozart and Beethoven. We wanted to be more diversified and fresh.”
By 1989, at the age of 24, Tognetti, was leading the ACO and became Artistic Director the following year; a role he’s now had for 35 years.
“The audiences have grown because of the element of surprise and the element of trust they have in Richard… every concert has a different personality backed by high performance standards. When we began it wasn’t in anyone’s minds we’d have a permanent home at Walsh Bay, when you begin an orchestra rehearsing in the second violinist’s lounge room, you don’t imagine you’ll end up even having a rehearsal room,” says Vallentine. From humble beginnings rehearsing in suburban homes, to dingy offices in Kings Cross and a windowless bunker three floors below ground at Circular Quay, the ACO now has its own state-of-the-art headquarters, ACO On The Pier, at Walsh Bay’s Pier 2/3, with a Sydney Harbour address to rival the location of that first performance in Sydney’s Opera House.
The ACO has assembled one of the finest collections of Golden Age string instruments of any orchestra in the world. There are now nine Golden Age instruments performed by the ACO’s musicians, including two Stradivarius violins and Tognetti’s 1741–44 del Gesù. There’s also a 450-year-old da Salò double bass, described as an Elizabethan era “sub-woofer” once played by an Augustinian monk, now played by Principal Bass Maxime Bibeau.
Lest it sound like it’s been a dream run to make it to this year’s half-century celebrations, Tognetti reminds us that when he became Artistic Director in 1990, the ACO was almost broke; an emergency Australia Council grant enabled it to rent permanent premises. His youthful audacity stood him in good stead when it came time for acquiring the ACO’s first Golden Age instrument; he waltzed into Commonwealth Bank CEO David Murray’s office – the Commonwealth Bank was, at the time, a Major Partner of the ACO – and asked outright if the bank would purchase an instrument, a 1759 Guadagnini violin, for him to perform on. Fortunately Murray said yes, and the instrument remains played by the ACO to this day.
By 1989, at the age of 24, Tognetti, was leading the ACO and became Artistic Director the following year; a role he’s now had for 35 years.
“The audiences have grown because of the element of surprise and the element of trust they have in Richard… every concert has a different personality backed by high performance standards. When we began it wasn’t in anyone’s minds we’d have a permanent home at Walsh Bay, when you begin an orchestra rehearsing in the second violinist’s lounge room, you don’t imagine you’ll end up even having a rehearsal room,” says Vallentine. From humble beginnings rehearsing in suburban homes, to dingy offices in Kings Cross and a windowless bunker three floors below ground at Circular Quay, the ACO now has its own state-of-the-art headquarters, ACO On The Pier, at Walsh Bay’s Pier 2/3, with a Sydney Harbour address to rival the location of that first performance in Sydney’s Opera House.
The ACO has assembled one of the finest collections of Golden Age string instruments of any orchestra in the world. There are now nine Golden Age instruments performed by the ACO’s musicians, including two Stradivarius violins and Tognetti’s 1741–44 del Gesù. There’s also a 450-year-old da Salò double bass, described as an Elizabethan era “sub-woofer” once played by an Augustinian monk, now played by Principal Bass Maxime Bibeau.
Lest it sound like it’s been a dream run to make it to this year’s half-century celebrations, Tognetti reminds us that when he became Artistic Director in 1990, the ACO was almost broke; an emergency Australia Council grant enabled it to rent permanent premises. His youthful audacity stood him in good stead when it came time for acquiring the ACO’s first Golden Age instrument; he waltzed into Commonwealth Bank CEO David Murray’s office – the Commonwealth Bank was, at the time, a Major Partner of the ACO – and asked outright if the bank would purchase an instrument, a 1759 Guadagnini violin, for him to perform on. Fortunately Murray said yes, and the instrument remains played by the ACO to this day.
“The ACO has never walked on eggshells,” says ACO Principal Viola Stefanie Farrands, who joined the ACO in 2019 after participating in the Orchestra’s Emerging Artist musician-training program."
“The ACO has never walked on eggshells,” says ACO Principal Viola Stefanie Farrands, who joined the ACO in 2019 after participating in the Orchestra’s Emerging Artist musician-training program early in her career in 2008. “It’s always daring and demanding of its artists and its audiences for us both to explore the boundaries with determination and drive. Both the Orchestra and audience have a particular energy. We always feed off that energy the audience brings,” she says.
Farrands describes the ACO’s sound as “dark chocolate, honey and rich. Richard’s brilliance crystallises our act like a hot knife through butter. He has the ability to dance on top of the rest of us and our foundation of sound… he’s taught us our music, our instruments and our sound can have distinct personalities.”
ACO violinist Thibaud Pavlovic-Hobba, who also joined via a year in the Emerging Artist program in 2014, agrees: “The beauty of a small chamber orchestra is that everyone has a voice. Over the years I’ve learnt to amplify mine. I’m so lucky I feel I’ve had room to grow and express myself on stage with the ACO.”
For Tognetti – a boy who was introduced to the violin via the Suzuki Method in his public primary school class in Wollongong – he’s most proud of the ACO’s commitment to music education. While the ACO’s Learning & Engagement program includes its Emerging Artist and ACO Academy mentoring and training programs for talented high school and tertiary string players, it has also developed an award-winning program that introduces music within the primary school classroom. Since 2018, at St Mary’s North Public School, located in one of the most disadvantaged socio-economic areas of Sydney, the ACO Foundations program has seen all students from years 1 to 3 begin each school day with 15 minutes of music practice, with the violins and cellos provided by the ACO. Over the past seven years, academics at the University of Sydney have tracked the significant improvements in the pupils’ cognitive and academic abilities as a direct result from participation in the program, and as a result, it won an outstanding initiative award from the NSW Education Department. This year it has expanded to Melbourne’s Belle Vue Park Primary School in partnership with the University of Melbourne, who have provided funding and research support.
“Teaching children to play a musical instrument changes their lives,” says ACO Managing Director Richard Evans. “This program has changed our lives too – one day our players are at Carnegie Hall, the next they are at St Mary’s North… The ACO is a small organisation that’s had a gigantic impact on Australian culture, regional areas, and the disadvantaged schools environment.”
Farrands describes the ACO’s sound as “dark chocolate, honey and rich. Richard’s brilliance crystallises our act like a hot knife through butter. He has the ability to dance on top of the rest of us and our foundation of sound… he’s taught us our music, our instruments and our sound can have distinct personalities.”
ACO violinist Thibaud Pavlovic-Hobba, who also joined via a year in the Emerging Artist program in 2014, agrees: “The beauty of a small chamber orchestra is that everyone has a voice. Over the years I’ve learnt to amplify mine. I’m so lucky I feel I’ve had room to grow and express myself on stage with the ACO.”
For Tognetti – a boy who was introduced to the violin via the Suzuki Method in his public primary school class in Wollongong – he’s most proud of the ACO’s commitment to music education. While the ACO’s Learning & Engagement program includes its Emerging Artist and ACO Academy mentoring and training programs for talented high school and tertiary string players, it has also developed an award-winning program that introduces music within the primary school classroom. Since 2018, at St Mary’s North Public School, located in one of the most disadvantaged socio-economic areas of Sydney, the ACO Foundations program has seen all students from years 1 to 3 begin each school day with 15 minutes of music practice, with the violins and cellos provided by the ACO. Over the past seven years, academics at the University of Sydney have tracked the significant improvements in the pupils’ cognitive and academic abilities as a direct result from participation in the program, and as a result, it won an outstanding initiative award from the NSW Education Department. This year it has expanded to Melbourne’s Belle Vue Park Primary School in partnership with the University of Melbourne, who have provided funding and research support.
“Teaching children to play a musical instrument changes their lives,” says ACO Managing Director Richard Evans. “This program has changed our lives too – one day our players are at Carnegie Hall, the next they are at St Mary’s North… The ACO is a small organisation that’s had a gigantic impact on Australian culture, regional areas, and the disadvantaged schools environment.”
“Thirty years ago, when Tognetti was touring with the orchestra, a snooty audience member in Oxford said to him, ‘I didn’t know you had orchestras in Australia’. Nobody sneers at the ACO now,” a reviewer in London’s The Telegraph wrote. "
The ACO now consists of 17 members, half of them from outside Australia. Last year it also had its largest ever audience. Founding fathers Pikler, who died in 1984, and Painter, who died just two months shy of the 50th anniversary of the Orchestra’s first concert, would have been proud.
This 50th birthday year began with a bang, with rave reviews of the ACO’s London tour in March, describing the ACO musicians as “shape shifting”, “dazzlingly reinventive” and “weavers of magic from gut and horsehair.”
“Thirty years ago, when Tognetti was touring with the orchestra, a snooty audience member in Oxford said to him, ‘I didn’t know you had orchestras in Australia’. Nobody sneers at the ACO now,” a reviewer in London’s The Telegraph wrote.
Closer to home, in a review earlier this year of the Orchestra’s Brahms & Beethoven concert, current Herald classical music reviewer, Peter McCallum, paid tribute to its origins.
“With some gaps, I have been listening to the ACO for all of its history,” he wrote. “The vitality of its current incarnation does honour to the vision and audacity of Robert Pickler, John Painter and others who contributed to its founding 50 years ago.”
Whatever it was then, whatever it becomes in the next 50 years, bravo, ACO.
Click here to discover and book Celebrating the Australian Chamber Orchestra at Sydney Opera House on 21 November.
Written by Helen Pitt
This 50th birthday year began with a bang, with rave reviews of the ACO’s London tour in March, describing the ACO musicians as “shape shifting”, “dazzlingly reinventive” and “weavers of magic from gut and horsehair.”
“Thirty years ago, when Tognetti was touring with the orchestra, a snooty audience member in Oxford said to him, ‘I didn’t know you had orchestras in Australia’. Nobody sneers at the ACO now,” a reviewer in London’s The Telegraph wrote.
Closer to home, in a review earlier this year of the Orchestra’s Brahms & Beethoven concert, current Herald classical music reviewer, Peter McCallum, paid tribute to its origins.
“With some gaps, I have been listening to the ACO for all of its history,” he wrote. “The vitality of its current incarnation does honour to the vision and audacity of Robert Pickler, John Painter and others who contributed to its founding 50 years ago.”
Whatever it was then, whatever it becomes in the next 50 years, bravo, ACO.
Click here to discover and book Celebrating the Australian Chamber Orchestra at Sydney Opera House on 21 November.
Written by Helen Pitt
