FEATURING MUSIC BY HANDEL, BRITTEN AND IAIN GRANDAGE.
Principal Violin Helena Rathbone leads this tour that sees
vibrant works by beloved Australians Iain Grandage and
Carl Vine join British legends William Walton, Benjamin
Britten, and George Frideric Handel. (Handel can absolutely
be called a British great. After leaving Germany he lived in
England for nearly 50 years!).
Festivities get underway with Handel’s irresistible Concerto
Grosso in D major. It is springy and vibrant, and paves
the way for Vine’s Smith’s Alchemy and Benjamin Britten’s
delightful Simple Symphony, written when the composer
was just 20 and thus a perfect fit for this ensemble.
Walton’s moving Sonata for String Orchestra has an intriguing
local link that adds to its savour. The work was premiered at
the 1972 Perth Festival, an event now directed by Grandage.
It brings the program to a sublime and uplifting conclusion.
