ACO Up Close: Lawrence Power & Garth Knox

 

Lawrence Power and Garth Knox are champions of their instrument, Power as a soloist, philanthropist and commissioner, and Knox as a composer, performer and educator. Their friendship has inspired groundbreaking new viola repertoire, and both performers love to push their instruments to the limits. In this special concert, ACO Principal Viola Stefanie Farrands and ACO Principal Cello Timo-Veikko Valve join the friends to form an intimate chamber ensemble.

Beginning in the Baroque with the poignant notes of Marais’ Les Voix Humaines and Westhoff’s Imitation of the Bells, the program features Satie’s evocative Gnossienne No.1 and the Australian Premiere of Turkish composer Fazıl Say’s Sonata for Viola, a piece that ranges from mysterious to fevered in 15 gorgeous minutes. Interspersed with three of Knox’s original compositions, and York Bowen’s colourful Fantasia for Four Violas, you’ll hear repertoire ranging four centuries and exploring the many moods of the viola.

Expect an extraordinary display of collaboration, improvisation, camaraderie and joy in this revealing celebration of the viola.