ACO StudioCasts: Tabula Rasa

Watch on YouTube

Directed by Matisse Ruby and filmed at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion, this spectacular concert film features Artistic Director Richard Tognetti leading the ACO through performances of Arvo Pärt's Tabula Rasa and Shostakovich's Chamber Symphony, integrated with imagery and video projections by renowned cinematographer Jon Frank and Beizj Studio.

Estonian Arvo Pärt is one of the most performed living composers, and his extraordinary music is revered by musicians and non-musicians alike around the world. Written while his Estonian homeland was under Soviet control, Tabula Rasa strives to break free and start afresh through spirituality and independence. Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony is a lament for victims of fascism and war, but also an act of self-reflection as it moves from elegy to brutal force into haunting acceptance.

“Tabula Rasa is such a beloved piece of music,” said Ruby, on making the film. “We wanted to create a multi-sensory film which encapsulated the piece’s meditative and trance-like moments – even in the turbulence, there is this notion of coming back to stillness and tranquillity – through integrating the music with otherworldly projections created by Beizj Studio and Jon Frank.”

ARTISTS
Richard Tognetti Director & Violin
Satu Vänskä Violin
Australian Chamber Orchestra

CREATIVES
Matisse Ruby Director
Drew English Director of Photography
Tyson Perkins Director of Photography
Phoenix Chisholm Editor
Beizj Studio, Matthew Adey, Andre Vanderwert with Sam Whiteside Visual Content and Creation
Jon Frank Additional Footage
Bernard Rofe Recording Producer and Editor

PROGRAM
ARVO PÄRT Tabula Rasa
SHOSTAKOVICH (arr. Barshai) Chamber Symphony in C minor, Op.110a