Silk, Metal, Wood Program Guide | August 2023

Silk, Metal, Wood

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Musica Viva Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the many lands on which we meet, 

work and live. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present – people who have 

sung their songs, danced their dances and told their stories on these lands 

for thousands of generations, and who continue to do so. 

SILK, METAL, WOOD 

JEAN-GUIHEN 

QUEYRAS 

cello 

SATSUKI 

ODAMURA 

koto & bass koto 

JAMES 

MORLEY 

cello 

MATTHEW 

MARSHALL 

lighting designer 

ADELAIDE 

Adelaide Town Hall 

Wednesday 23 August, 7.30pm 

• Pre-concert talk: 6.45pm, 

Prince Alfred Room 

MELBOURNE 

Elisabeth Murdoch Hall, 

Melbourne Recital Centre 

Tuesday 15 August, 7pm 


Salzer Suite, Level 2 

Saturday 26 August, 7pm 

Paul Morawetz Tribute Concert 


Salzer Suite, Level 2 

• Meet the Artists after the concert 

NEWCASTLE 

City Hall 

Thursday 17 August, 7.30pm 


Mulubinba Room 

PERTH 

Perth Concert Hall 

Monday 21 August, 7.30pm 


Corner Stage Riverside, Terrace Level 

• Meet the Artists after the concert 

SYDNEY 

City Recital Hall 

Monday 14 August, 7pm 


Function Room, Level 1 

• Meet the Artists after the concert, 

Concert Hall 

Saturday 19 August, 2pm 

Recorded for broadcast by ABC Classic 


Function Room, Level 1 

• CD signing after the concert, 

Main Foyer 

— 

With special thanks to the Producers’ Circle and Amadeus Society for their support of the 2023 Concert Season. 

01

From the Artistic Director 

© Darren Leigh Roberts 

I first encountered the brilliant cellist Jean-Guihen 

Queyras through a 1998 recording of Britten’s Cello 

Suites. This disc swept away its predecessors – 

including to my mind the outstanding recordings 

made by Rostropovich under the composer’s 

supervision. It was so intimate, so tender, so 

effortlessly playful yet virtuosic. Listening to it today 

– after hearing so many new recordings and concert 

performances of the Suites in the intervening years – 

I return instantly to the feelings of awe and pleasure 

I felt over 20 years ago. 

Of course, one of these Suites had to be included on 

this recital program; how could it not be? Yet Jean- 

Guihen wanted his first Australian tour to include 

substantial elements of engagement with Australian 

artists and music from the region. His enthusiastic 

response to recordings of beautiful koto playing by 

Satsuki Odamura led us to set about working out a 

collaboration. Composer Jakub Jankowski – himself 

a cellist – was our entry point; we commissioned 

a work from him for cello and koto, to which he 

responded with great enthusiasm and curiosity. 

Two cellos, actually; Jean-Guihen responded so 

positively to the playing of the young Adelaide cellist 

James Morley, now studying in Basel, that we asked 

Jakub to write for this unusual line-up. Jean-Guihen 

and James will also perform a thrilling duo by 

Offenbach, the emerging soloist sitting comfortably 

next to one of the great cellists of today. 

There is a simple arc to the concert: three musicians 

sharing music with each other from their own 

cultures/backgrounds, combining in a new work that 

brings together all these threads – the silk strings 

of the traditional koto, the metal strings of the cello, 

and the wood casing of both instruments. We get to 

eavesdrop and be enriched by the exchange. 

Paul Kildea 

Artistic Director 

Musica Viva Australia 

02

Program 

Please note that the first half of this concert is performed without pause. 

Please hold your applause until the end of the half. 

Johann Sebastian BACH (1685–1750) 

Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007 (1717–23) 

I 

II 

III 

IV 

V 

VI 

Prelude 

Allemande 

Courante 

Sarabande 

Minuets I and II 

Gigue 

Yatsuhashi KENGYŌ (1614–1685) 

Midare (Disorder) 

Jakub JANKOWSKI (b 1994) 

Eclogue (2023) 

Commissioned for Musica Viva Australia by the Adelaide Commissioning Circle 

World premiere performances 

20 min 

10 min 

9 min 

INTERVAL 

Robin WILLIAMSON (b 1943) 

Letter from a Stranger’s Childhood (1987) 

6 min 

Benjamin BRITTEN (1913–1976) 

Cello Suite No. 1, Op. 72 (1964) 

25 min 

I Canto primo: Sostenuto e largamente (First Canto: Sustained and broad) 

II Fuga: Andante moderato (Fugue: At a moderate walking pace) 

III Lamento: Lento rubato (Lament: Slow, flexible) 

IV Canto secondo: Sostenuto (Second Canto: Sustained) 

V Serenata: Allegretto pizzicato (Serenade: Fairly fast, plucked) 

VI Marcia: Alla marcia moderato (March: At a moderate march pace) 

VII Canto terzo: Sostenuto (Third Canto: Sustained) 

VIII Bordone: Moderato quasi recitativo (Bourdon: At a moderate pace, like a recitative) 

IX Moto perpetuo e Canto quarto: Presto (Perpetual Motion and Fourth Canto: Quick) 

Jacques OFFENBACH (1819–1880) 

Duo for two cellos in B-flat major, Op. 53 No. 1 

I Allegro (Fast) 

II Adagio (Slow) 

III Rondo 

14 min 

Please ensure that mobile phones are turned to silent before the performance. 

Photography and video not permitted during the performance. 

03

Masterclasses 

Further Listening 

Musica Viva Australia creates opportunities 

for Australian and internationally acclaimed 

artists to share their experience and expertise 

with talented early-career artists and young 

music students, creating an enriching learning 

experience. 

The following masterclasses are presented as 

part of this tour: 

SATSUKI ODAMURA 

• Fri 25 August: Melbourne 

Victorian College of the Arts 

Secondary School (VCASS) 

(closed to public) 

• Date TBC: Sydney 

Sydney Conservatorium 


JEAN-GUIHEN QUEYRAS 

• Fri 25 August: Melbourne 

Monash University 


• Sat 26 August: Melbourne 

Australian National Academy of Music 

(ANAM) 


• Date TBC: Perth 

Western Australian Academy of 

Performing Arts (WAAPA) 

For further details visit: 

musicaviva.com.au/masterclasses 

Musica Viva Australia’s Masterclass 

program is supported by: 

Nicholas Callinan AO & Elizabeth Callinan 

Caroline & Robert Clemente 

Ian Frazer AM & Caroline Frazer 

Patricia H Reid Endowment Fund 

Andrew Sisson AO & Tracey Sisson 

Mick & Margaret Toller 

Anonymous (2) 

Musica Viva Australia Masterclasses 

in Western Australia are supported 

by Wesfarmers Arts. 

Jean-Guihen Queyras’ discography is 

impressive. His recordings of cello concertos 

by Edward Elgar, Antonín Dvořák, Philippe 

Schoeller and Gilbert Amy have been 

released to critical acclaim. As part of a 

Harmonia Mundi project dedicated to 

Schumann, he has recorded the composer’s 

complete piano trios with Isabelle Faust 

and Alexander Melnikov as well as the 

Schumann cello concerto with the 

Freiburg Baroque Orchestra under Pablo 

Heras-Casado. The recording THRACE – 

Sunday Morning Sessions explores, in 

collaboration with the Chemirani brothers 

and Sokratis Sinopoulos, the intersections 

of contemporary music, improvisation 

and Mediterranean traditions. His most 

recent releases include a disc of works by 

composer Marin Marais with Alexandre 

Tharaud, and the album Invisible Stream, 

where he performs with clarinettist/ 

saxophonist Raphaël Imbert, pianist Pierre- 

François Blanchard and drummer Sonny 

Troupé. Jean-Guihen Queyras records 

exclusively for Harmonia Mundi. 

Satsuki Odamura has appeared on several 

CD releases, introducing new audiences 

to the koto. Her first CD, Like a Bird, was 

released in 1994 on the Tall Poppies label 

to critical acclaim, and was followed by 

Koto Dreaming in 2006 which featured 

compositions for koto by Australian 

composers. Her latest release, Burning 

House, features music inspired by traditional 

koto music as well as contemporary works 

by some of Australia’s best-loved composers 

including Anne Boyd, Barry Conyngham 

and Liza Lim. Other collaborations include 

CD releases with Gest8, Way Out West 

and Waratah. 

Discover more at satsukikoto.com.au 

04

Jean-Guihen Queyras cello 

Curiosity, diversity and a firm focus on the 

music itself characterise the artistic work of 

Jean-Guihen Queyras. Whether on stage 

or on record, this is an artist dedicated 

completely and passionately to the music, 

whose humble and unpretentious treatment of 

the score reflects its clear, undistorted essence. 

The inner motivations of composer, performer 

and audience must all be in tune with one 

another in order to bring about an outstanding 

concert experience: Jean-Guihen learnt this 

interpretative approach from Pierre Boulez, 

with whom he established a long artistic 

partnership. This philosophy, alongside a 

flawless technique and a clear, engaging tone, 

also shapes Jean-Guihen’s approach to every 

performance and his absolute commitment to 

the music itself. 

His approaches to early music – as in his 

collaborations with the Freiburg Baroque 

Orchestra and the Akademie für Alte 

Musik Berlin – and to contemporary music 

are equally thorough. He has given world 

premieres of works by, among others, Ivan 

Fedele, Gilbert Amy, Bruno Mantovani, 

Michael Jarrell, Johannes Maria Staud, 

Thomas Larcher and Tristan Murail. 

Conducted by the composer, he recorded Peter 

Eötvös’ Cello Concerto to mark the composer’s 

70th birthday in 2014. 

The versatility in his music-making has led to 

invitations from many concert halls, festivals 

and orchestras to be Artist in Residence, 

including the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and 

the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Vredenburg 

Music Centre in Utrecht, De Bijloke in Ghent 

and the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Jean-Guihen often appears with renowned 

orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, 

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Mahler 

Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, 

London Symphony Orchestra, Gewandhaus 

Orchestra and the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, 

working with conductors including Iván Fischer, 

Philippe Herreweghe, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, 

François-Xavier Roth, Sir John Eliot Gardiner 

and Sir Roger Norrington. 

Highlights in the 2022/23 season include 

concerts with his ensembles Invisible 

Stream and Thrace, concert tours to Japan 

and Canada, invitations from the Prague 

Symphony Orchestra, the Bochum Symphony 

Orchestra, the Residentie Orchestra in The 

Hague and the Hamburg State Philharmonic 

Orchestra, as well as chamber music concerts 

with Alexander Melnikov, Jörg Widmann, 

the Belcea Quartet, Quatuor Modigliani and 

Isabelle Faust. Alongside Yuja Wang, Jean- 

Guihen Queyras has been a Spotlight Artist of 

the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 2022/23, 

and was Resident Artist at the Cello Biennale 

Amsterdam in 2022. 

Jean-Guihen holds a professorship at the 

University of Music Freiburg and is Artistic 

Director of the Rencontres Musicales de 

Haute-Provence festival in Forcalquier. 

He plays a 1696 instrument by Gioffredo 

Cappa, made available to him by the 

Mécénat Musical Société Générale. 

© Peter Meisel 

05

Satsuki Odamura koto 

Satsuki Odamura is a master of the koto and 

shamisen. She has pioneered awareness of 

these ancient Japanese instruments through 

her performances in Australia, and through 

teaching her students around the country. She 

is the Director of the Koto Music Institute of 

Australia. 

Satsuki began learning the koto when she was 

ten. She joined the Sawai Koto School of Music 

in Tokyo when she was 18 and underwent 

the discipline of being a live-in student with 

her teachers Tadao and Kazue Sawai. Her 

experience with these two towering figures in 

the history of koto music has deeply influenced 

her philosophy of music and her approach to 

performing and collaborating with other artists 

from a wide range of musical genres, including 

jazz, Western classical, Western modern and 

Aboriginal music. She believes that artists with 

no previous knowledge of the koto are able to 

create exciting new directions and dimensions 

for the instrument. Satsuki has inspired a 

number of Australian composers to write 

for her instrument, including Ross Edwards 

(Koto Dreaming) and Peter Sculthorpe (Little 

Requiem) among many others. 

Satsuki’s collaborations include performances 

with Australian, European and Asian artists 

worldwide. She is a member of GEST8 with 

Sandy Evans and Tony Gorman, Way Out 

West with Peter Knight, Elision Contemporary 

Music Ensemble, Shashaten with Butoh dancer 

Yumi Umiumare, Waratah with Tony Lewis 

and Sandy Evans, and Prrim with Tunji Beier 

and Adrian Sherriff. She has performed with 

leading Australian ensembles and orchestras 

including the Queensland Symphony 

Orchestra, Adelaide Chamber Orchestra, 

Hunter Orchestra, Australian Chamber 

Orchestra, Synergy Percussion, Taikoz and 

The Song Company. 

Festival highlights have included 

performances at the Melbourne International 

Arts Festival, Adelaide Festival, Sydney 

Festival, Perth International Arts Festival, 

Brisbane Festival, Bellingen Global Carnival, 

Four Winds Festival, Wangaratta Jazz 

Festival, WOMADelaide, Berlin Festival, 

Hong Kong International Arts Festival, Bang 

on a Can Festival (New York), Huddersfield 

Contemporary Music Festival (UK) and Expo 

2005 Aichi (Japan). 

06

James Morley cello 

Switzerland-based Australian musician 

James Morley works largely as a soloist and 

chamber musician, and frequently extends 

into experimental improvisation, electronics, 

and orchestral work. He is from Adelaide/ 

Tandanya where he studied cello with Hilary 

Kleinig, Janis Laurs and Rachel Johnston. 

After completing his Bachelor of Music 

(Performance) at the Sydney Conservatorium 

with Julian Smiles in 2018, he studied under the 

tutelage of Howard Penny at the Australian 

National Academy of Music (ANAM) in 

Melbourne. Now completing a Masters of 

Contemporary Music Performance at the 

Musik-Akademie Basel, he is mentored in 

contemporary music by Marcus Weiss, Yaron 

Deutsch, Sarah Maria Sun and Mike Svoboda, 

and in cello by Thomas Demenga. 

© Weedon 

James is a specialist in contemporary music 

performance and has had the pleasure of 

closely collaborating with many composers 

and performers. Endlessly fascinated by 

experimental improvisation, James looks 

forward to releasing EPs from collaborations 

with fellow Melbourne cellist Ceridwen 

McCooey, and bassist/vocalist Helen Svoboda 

(Musica Viva Australia FutureMaker 2023–24). 

Chamber music is a core focus in James’ work. 

In Europe he performs with a diverse array 

of new music ensembles, including ensemble 

S C O P E, Ensemble of Nomads, Ministry of 

Bad Decisions, Ensemble Aventure, and zone 

expérimentale. Regular projects in Melbourne 

included collaborations with Wilma & Friends, 

Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, members of 

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and both the 

Penny and Partridge String Quartets. 

James has won multiple competitions and 

prizes across Australia and New Zealand 

including the Audience Choice award in the 

2019 ANAM Concerto Competition final, the 

2020 Most Outstanding Recital Prize, and the 

2021 prize for Best Performance of a Work 

by an Australian Composer. James has also 

performed concertos with Adelaide Youth 

Orchestra and Sydney Youth Orchestra Wind 

Orchestra, and was a featured soloist in the 

2018/19 seasons of Ensemble Apex. Other 

solo engagements include the Adelaide 

International Cello Festival, recitals for the 

National Youth Concerto Competition, Play 

On, and the St Silas series. James was the 

Emerging Artist for cello with the Australian 

Chamber Orchestra in 2019, and in 2022–23 

was Akademist for cello with Kammerorchester 

Basel, touring extensively with both orchestras. 

In 2020 James was a finalist in the prestigious 

Freedman Fellowship and hopes to use the 

experience to inform the creation of future 

multimedia collaborative works. 

James plays the ‘Ex-Robert Barrett’ cello made 

in 2004 by Rainer Beilharz, kindly on loan from 

Professor Mitra Guha, in memory of her late 

husband. 

07

Matthew Marshall lighting designer 

Born and raised in Perth, Matthew Marshall is 

a graduate of the West Australian Academy of 

Performing Arts (WAAPA) Production & Design 

course in 2000. 

Matt has twice been nominated for a 

Helpmann Award for Best Lighting Design 

(2012, 2017) and has received nominations 

for Best Lighting Design from the Australian 

Production Design Guild. With 20 years of 

design experience Matt has worked for all the 

major performing arts companies and festivals 

in Australia. 

Recent designs include Equations of a 

Falling Body (Perth Festival), Vigil (Sydney 

Festival), The Crowd & I (Australian Chamber 

Orchestra), Eireborne (National Tour), 

A Winter’s Journey (Musica Viva Australia 

National Tour), Ballet at the Quarry (West 

Australian Ballet), Mary Stuart (Perth Festival), 

Dark MOFO, The Barber of Seville (State 

Opera of South Australia), The Marriage of 

Figaro (New Zealand Opera), Whale Fall 

(Perth Festival), Children of the Sea (Perth 

Festival), James Galea’s Best Trick Ever 

(Sydney Opera House), The Other Place 

starring Kate Walsh (Fremantle Theatre 

Company), Tim Minchin's The Absence of 

You music video, Cinderella (Seattle Opera), 

Turn of the Screw (New Zealand Opera), 

Tchaikovsky (Tulsa Ballet), La bohème (Opera 

Australia), American Idiot (Shake & Stir/ 

QPAC), Athalia (Pinchgut Opera), Askungen 

(Royal Swedish Opera), The Barber of Seville 

(Seattle Opera), Carmen (Oper Leipzig), 

Club Swizzle (Roundhouse London), and 

La Cenerentola (Oper Leipzig, San Diego 

Opera). 

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© Bridget Elliot

About the music 

Johann Sebastian Bach’s six Suites for 

Unaccompanied Cello are now some of the 

best-known, most frequently played and most 

variously interpreted of any solo compositions 

for cello ever written. They are renowned 

for their intimacy, technical difficulty, and 

emotional range and depth. 

The cello was not generally regarded as a 

solo instrument in Bach’s day, so his creation 

of these works, which show so richly what 

the cello can do, was to an extent visionary. 

Given that the cello’s original role was to 

present a one-note-at-a-time musical bassline 

accompaniment, these works posed a 

compositional challenge: to devise a solo 

melodic line that can stand alone, while also 

supplying its own bass line. The depth and 

‘singing’ quality of the cello help deliver a 

melodic line, while Bach’s expertise with 

counterpoint results in his dexterous integration 

of contrapuntal passages with several 

simultaneously heard voices. 

In Bach’s day the Suites were used mainly as 

finger-exercises and a study tool. They did not 

become widely known until after they were first 

recorded by Pablo Casals in the 1930s. Since 

then they have become a staple of the cellist’s 

canon. 

In Suite No. 1, the arpeggio-based Prelude 

makes full use of the cello’s resonant open 

G string; this is the most famous movement 

from all the Suites, having achieved almost 

pop status after being used so frequently in 

films and on television. It is followed by a slow, 

flowing Allemande, a Courante with sprightly 

leaps, and a Sarabande – Bach wrote more 

of these than any other dance type, and this 

example, still with its characteristic accent 

on the second beat, features a multi-voice 

chorale-like section. Bach then opts for a pair 

of Minuets – the most popular dance in Europe 

in the late Baroque period – before a brief, 

athletic Gigue brings the suite to a close. 

ADAPTED FROM A NOTE BY ERICA FRYBERG © 2013 

Yatsuhashi Kengyō was a Japanese musician 

and composer, known today as the Father of 

Modern Koto. Living and working in the early 

Edo period (1624–1685), he is credited with 

introducing the koto to general audiences, 

as it was previously an instrument restricted 

to the court. The name Kengyō is actually 

a title, given to the most highly skilled blind 

musicians: during the early Edo period 

kengyō were employed as in-house musicians 

by daimyo (feudal lords) and wielded 

considerable power and authority. Yatsuhashi 

Kengyō, visually impaired from childhood, 

earned his reputation, creating a new style of 

koto performance by altering the traditional 

tuning of the instrument and expanding its 

repertoire. 

Midare is an unusual example of the 

established dan-mono form. Dan-mono are 

traditionally composed in accordance with 

strict rules and structure: each dan-mono piece 

is constructed with a number of variations (dan 

in Japanese means ‘step’ or ‘stage’), but each 

variation must contain a fixed number of 52 

beats. Conventionally, every dan-mono piece 

begins slowly, gradually increasing in speed 

throughout the variations until the final phrase 

of the last variation, which ends slowly once 

more. 

Midare breaks these rules, which makes sense 

given the work’s title: midare in Japanese 

translates to ‘disorder’. Unlike traditional 

dan-mono compositions, the number of beats 

in each of Midare’s variations is irregular. The 

composition’s tempo is similarly transgressive, 

with some interpretations slowing down 

midway through the work before the explosive 

finale. 

© JAMES MOUNTAIN 2023 

Jakub Jankowski is an Adelaide composer 

working primarily in the field of chamber and 

orchestral music. His cello sonata Aspects of 

Return was premiered by Nicolas Altstaedt 

and Aleksandar Madžar as part of their 2017 

Musica Viva International Concert Season tour, 

and his Octet was given its first performance 

at the Musica Viva Festival in the same year. In 

2018 he completed a fanfare for the Adelaide 

Youth Orchestra, as well as two piano trios, 

for the Seraphim Trio and the Benaud Trio 

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espectively. His orchestral work Clairières was 

commissioned for the Adelaide Symphony 

Orchestra and premiered by them in 2021. 

In April 2019, Jakub was a composer in 

residence at the Tongyeong International 

Music Festival in South Korea, where his works 

were performed by the Fabergé Quintet, cellist 

Hee-Young Lim and pianist Holger Groschopp, 

and his quartet The Dove Descending, written 

especially for the Arditti String Quartet, was 

given its world premiere. 

Jakub’s music has also been featured at a 

number of festivals, including the Coriole Music 

Festival, the Huntington Estate Music Festival, 

the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival and 

the London International Mime Festival. 

Jakub is a graduate of the Elder 

Conservatorium of Music and holds a Bachelor 

of Music degree with Honours in Composition. 

The composer writes that Eclogue is a 

pastorale (one translation of the word being 'a 

composition evocative of rural life'). As such, its 

sound world represents a range of ideas such 

as birds and spirals, and the colour green. 

Through a variety of extended techniques 

including plectrum scrapes on the koto, 

flautando on the cellos (a technique whereby 

the player is instructed to produce a flute-like 

tone by bowing over the fingerboard), 

bow-scrapes, harmonics, and even whistling, 

Jakub explores the unique gamut of sounds 

available to this unusual combination of 

Western and Eastern instruments. 

Robin Williamson is perhaps best known as 

one of the founding members of the British 

folk group The Incredible String Band, but he 

is an accomplished composer in his own right. 

Born in Scotland during the Second World 

War, Williamson developed a love for folk 

music at an early age, counting fiddle, guitar, 

harp, mandolin and banjo among the many 

instruments he has mastered. 

Greatly inspired by the authors from the Beat 

Generation whose writing was imbued with 

a sense of spontaneity (in fact, Williamson 

wanted to be an author before finding 

success as a musician), his music has an 

improvisational quality that blends the idioms 

of his Celtic heritage with flashes of virtuosity. 

Letter from a Stranger’s Childhood is unusual 

for solo koto repertoire, as the performer is 

directed not to use a pick during performance, 

instead plucking at the strings with their 

fingers as one would on a Western pedal 

harp. The piece begins with plaintive rolled 

chords before gradually building momentum 

with the introduction of a repeated pattern in 

the lower register of the instrument. Layers 

of melody and harmony are then built on 

top of this pattern, occasionally interjected 

with glissandi (where the performer’s fingers 

sweep across several strings of the instrument), 

again reminiscent of the harp. This continues 

until the turbulence is quelled once more in 

the final section of the piece, which echoes its 

melancholy opening. 


Benjamin Britten composed for Mstislav 

Rostropovich a trilogy of suites for solo cello 

that constitute rare and valuable examples of 

a genre sadly neglected by composers since it 

reached a peak of perfection at the hands of 

Bach around 1720. The compositional idiom of 

Britten’s suites harks back in some respects to 

the precociously inventive instrumental works 

of his youth, when he had been branded as 

merely ‘clever’ by astonished critics as he first 

made his name in the 1930s, and before he 

devoted most of his attention to composing 

operas and vocal music. 

The suites’ self-evident delight in technical 

wizardry, their exploration of the contrast 

between drama, lyricism and wit, together with 

the evocative titles of the individual character 

pieces which make up each suite, all form 

a direct link with Britten’s early instrumental 

display pieces such as the Variations on a 

Theme of Frank Bridge. (His use of sometimes 

flamboyant Italian tempo markings in the 

suites is perhaps symptomatic of the relish with 

which he returned to instrumental composition, 

since he generally avoided them in his vocal 

works.) 

Britten’s cello writing reveals the influence of 

Bach in its skilful suggestion of a harmonic 

dimension by purely linear means, and in 

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the fugues which appear in all three suites. 

Britten even shows himself able to create the 

illusion of several apparently independent 

contrapuntal parts by subtle displacements 

of a single melodic line. In spite of these 

intriguing technical experiments, Britten’s 

musical conceptions are never superficial: 

the technical demands placed on the soloist 

are always inextricable from genuine musical 

substance. 

Suite No. 1 was composed in November and 

December 1964 and was Britten’s first major 

score after completing the church parable 

Curlew River; it received its premiere at the 

Aldeburgh Festival on 27 June 1965. In the 

manner of much of Britten’s music in this 

period, a ritornello theme (here entitled Canto) 

is used to link the constituent sections, and 

to provide an outer frame. The remainder of 

the music falls into six distinct movements: an 

ingenious Fuga (Fugue); Lamento (Lament); a 

pizzicato Serenata or Serenade (the homage 

here is to Debussy, whose Cello Sonata Britten 

had recorded with Rostropovich in 1961); 

Marcia (March); Bordone (referring to the 

bourdon or ‘burden’, the drone note common 

in many folk traditions) and a concluding Moto 

perpetuo (Perpetual Motion) that merges with 

the final restatement of the ritornello. 

When Britten first sent Rostropovich the score 

and expressed some lack of confidence in 

it, the cellist responded in January 1965: 

‘Dear, darling, beloved Ben of genius, the 

surprise which I received here in Paris via 

Marion [Harewood, Britten’s friend, who had 

delivered a copy of the manuscript], was 

stupefying!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You write in the letter that 

you don’t consider this work too successful. 

I looked at it, so far only on paper, but I tell 

you honestly: either you are too stupid to 

understand what a piece you have created or 

it is simply pretence! You have again produced 

a masterpiece! The greatest thanks for making 

me so happy.’ 

© MERVYN COOKE 2013 

REPRINTED BY KIND PERMISSION 

Before achieving renown as a composer, 

Jacques Offenbach was celebrated 

internationally as a cello virtuoso, having 

taken up the instrument at nine years of 

age. Three years later, he started giving 

performances of his own compositions, the 

technical difficulties of which reportedly 

‘terrified’ his cello teacher Bernhard Breuer. 

He studied briefly at the Paris Conservatoire 

(at 14 years of age) but left after only a year, 

becoming bored with the academic rigor that 

the institute demanded. 

His life’s ambition was to compose comic works 

of musical theatre, but he struggled to find 

opera companies interested in staging his 

works in his early career. In 1835, he secured 

a permanent position as a cellist at Paris’s 

Opéra-Comique where his controversial sense 

of humour frequently got him into trouble. In 

one infamous anecdote, Offenbach played 

every second note on the score while the 

principal cellist played the others. On another 

occasion, the two pranksters sabotaged their 

colleagues’ music stands so that they would 

collapse mid-performance. 

Offenbach’s sense of humour imbued much of 

his œuvre. He was a master of musical satire, 

and frequently mocked the social and political 

issues of the time in his compositions. While 

his operettas remain his most celebrated 

works, his other compositions, including works 

for ballet and orchestra, chamber music and 

songs, showcase his talent and versatility. 

The Three Duos for two cellos, Op. 53 

demonstrate Offenbach’s compositional 

ability to balance the virtuosic with the 

accessible. In the first movement of Duo 

No. 1, each performer takes turns carrying 

the melody whilst the other lays down the 

harmony, occasionally interjecting with 

virtuosic flourishes. The theme of the piece is 

given several variations, some with soaring 

accompaniment, others featuring chromatic 

scales. The Adagio second movement begins 

with soft chords and the two cellists sound as 

one instrument. A brief melodic section follows, 

only to be echoed once more with the chords 

from the opening. The Rondo demonstrates 

the catchy melodies and lively rhythms that 

came to characterise Offenbach’s music and 

features the only section of the piece where the 

performers pluck the strings rather than using 

their bows. 


11

Meet the Artists 

BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE 

Satsuki Odamura positions herself before 

a curved length of fine-grained Paulownia 

wood. 

There are 13 strings attached, their nylon 

stretched over little bridges that Satsuki shifts 

closer to her body or farther down the wood. 

She must place them carefully, though – they 

will change the way the strings sound, higher 

or lower according to their place. 

After tuning each string, Satsuki reads 

Japanese sheet music that tells her which ones 

to pluck with the fingers of her right hand. Her 

left lingers above the bridges, waiting to apply 

pressure to the strings; their pitches bend as 

they resonate. The notation reveals a series of 

numbers representing each string from the top 

of the instrument to the bottom, if you were to 

look through Satsuki’s eyes. 

The koto became increasingly popular in 

Japan through the 17th century, though it was 

used in court music about a thousand years 

earlier. It is now the national instrument of 

Japan, and its presence in Australia grows 

stronger through concerts like Musica Viva 

Australia’s Silk, Metal, Wood, featuring brand 

new music for the koto. 

Satsuki is Australia’s foremost koto player, and 

for much of her career she has also worked 

with Western composers – Ross Edwards, 

Peter Sculthorpe, and today Jakub Jankowski 

– to develop her original approach to the 

instrument. Satsuki tells us: 'My aim is to 

incorporate all that I have experienced with 

Australian musicians from different musical 

genres, to create a unique style of Australian 

koto music.' 

Her early koto training took place in Tokyo, 

and as a young adult she spent four years 

living with her teachers – famous composer 

and koto performer Tadao Sawai; and 

renowned soloist and improvisor Kazue Sawai, 

who has collaborated with Yuji Takahashi and 

John Cage. 

Satsuki describes this live-in educational 

method as immersive and traditional. In return 

for free lessons with these koto masters, she 

became an apprentice, expected to help with 

domestic and professional tasks alike. 

'The purpose of this training is that in addition 

to formal lessons, the student learns through 

observation, acquiring skills and techniques 

through their own effort and understanding,' 

Satsuki shares. 

'It was an extremely rigorous period in which 

I practised a lot, but the real value of this 

experience was being continually surrounded 

by koto music every day, and learning the 

musical philosophy of my teachers.' 

'This helped me tremendously to absorb the 

music and improved my koto proficiency.' 

12

Along with technical skill, the virtuoso also 

practises the concept of ma ( 間 ) – 'not 

something that is learnt at university'. 

'It is a concept that is deeply embedded in 

Japanese culture – not just koto music – and 

can be considered part of the Japanese DNA.' 

In English, this word may conjure the idea of a 

'pause' or 'space' between. 

'In koto music, it is in this space or silence that 

one listens to the fading of the notes, and feels 

the tension and emotion of the koto player.' 

Whether listening to the attack of the notes or 

their ethereal resonance, Adelaide composer 

Jakub Jankowski says this string instrument 

reveals 'a beautiful and enchanting sound'. 

'The timbre is unique. From a composer’s 

perspective, there are so many things to love, 

but for me the wide array of pitch-bending 

and plucking techniques really stand out.' 

Jakub has composed new music for Satsuki 

to perform in Silk, Metal, Wood. His piece 

Eclogue brings together Japanese and 

Western instruments: internationally renowned 

cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras (France) and 

contemporary music specialist James Morley 

(Australia/Switzerland) share the stage with 

Satsuki to form an unusual new trio. 

Jakub’s music has been commissioned by the 

ABC and performed by some of Australia’s 

biggest orchestras. He works with Western 

notation – and continued to do so for Eclogue, 

under Satsuki’s advice. For this collaboration, 

she then transcribed each of the notes he had 

written on the page. ('I am happy to work with 

such a young talented composer,' she adds.) 

Eclogue is a pastorale, according to Jakub, 

and its soundworld represents a range of 

ideas such as 'birds and spirals, and the 

colour green'. James says Jakub’s striking 

combination of koto and cello 'has kept me 

extremely curious and excited for some time 

now'. 

'Koto is to me perhaps an instrument that 

everyone knows, even in the Western world – 

and yet people very rarely seem to recognise it 

by name,' James observes. 

'There’s something almost puppeteer-like in 

the way the performer works, in the posture of 

the hands and the longitudinal and latitudinal 

plane they extend across.' 

Noting how rarely this instrument is presented 

by Australian arts organisations, the cellist 

adds that 'any opportunity to hear something 

new and unique is a great thing, so why 

not bring it to a big classically billed tour?' 

Favourites from Bach and Britten feature 

alongside it. 

Preparing for this tour, James listened to 

recordings of Satsuki and Jean-Guihen to 

understand 'the essence of their individual 

approaches'. The trio has also been in touch 

to talk through Jakub’s piece as it was being 

developed, even when they couldn’t meet in 

person. 

Jakub and James’ relationship extends even 

further back; they used to play cello together in 

the Adelaide Youth Orchestra. 

'I think Jakub was always placed ahead of me 

in orchestra, so I guess his musical intelligence 

was apparent from a young age, which one 

obviously must have in order to be a good 

composer,' James says lightly. 

Jakub adds that he is grateful to have been 

commissioned for Silk, Metal, Wood. 

'Musica Viva Australia is an incredible 

organisation with an absolutely wonderful 

team. Their support of Australian music is 

inspiring, as are their continued efforts to bring 

stellar musicians and performances to the 

Australian stage.' 

13

Wildschut & Brauss 

Violinist Noa Wildschut and pianist Elisabeth Brauss 

make one of the most exciting musical partnerships heard in years. 

Joins us for their Australian debut in a seven city national tour. 

musicaviva.com.au/wildschut-brauss 

1800 688 482 

13–28 NOVEMBER

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ENSEMBLE 

PATRONS 

+ 

CONCERT 

CHAMPIONS 

For nearly 80 years Musica Viva Australia has delivered tours of the highest calibre 

in concert halls throughout the country. At the heart of our touring program are our 

generous Ensemble Patrons and Concert Champions, whose extraordinary vision 

of supporting the finest possible Australian and international artists has 

enriched the lives of music lovers through live performance and online. 

Thank you for everything you do. 

For information about our Ensemble Patrons and Concert Champions programs, please contact: 

Zoë Cobden-Jewitt, Director of Development 

zcobden-jewitt@musicaviva.com.au 

0409 340 240

Patrons 

CUSTODIANS 

ACT Margaret Brennan, Clive & Lynlea Rodger, 

Ruth Weaver, Anonymous (4) 

NSW Catherine Brown-Watt PSM & Derek Watt, 

Jennifer Bott AO, Lloyd & Mary Jo Capps AM, Andrew & 

Felicity Corkill, Peter Cudlipp, Liz Gee, Suzanne Gleeson, 

David & Christine Hartgill, Annie Hawker, Elaine Lindsay, 

Trevor Noffke, Dr David Schwartz, Ruth Spence-Stone, 

Mary Vallentine AO, Deirdre Nagle Whitford, Richard 

Wilkins, Kim Williams AM, Megan & Bill Williamson, 

Ray Wilson OAM, Anonymous (12) 

QLD Anonymous (2) 

SA Monica Hanusiak-Klavins & Martin Klavins, 

Anonymous (4) 

TAS 

Kim Paterson QC, Anonymous 

VIC Elizabeth & Anthony Brookes, Julian Burnside AO 

QC, Ms Helen Dick, Robert Gibbs & Tony Wildman, Helen 

Vorrath, Anonymous (8) 

WA Graham Lovelock, Anonymous (4) 

LEGACY DONORS 

ACT 

The late Geoffrey Brennan 

NSW The late Charles Berg, The late Stephen Center, 

The late Janette Hamilton, The late Dr. Ralph Hockin in 

memory of Mabel Hockin, The late Geraldine Kenway, 

The late Kenneth W Tribe AC 

CONCERT CHAMPIONS 

The mainstage concerts of our 2023 Season are brought 

to life thanks to the generosity of our Concert Champions 

around the country. 

Adelaide Helen Bennetts & Tim Lloyd, The late Lesley Lynn, 

Dr Susan Marsden & Michael Szwarcbord, Leonie Schmidt 

& Michael Davis, Anonymous (2) 

Brisbane Ian & Cass George, Andrea & Malcolm Hall-Brown, 

Andrew & Kate Lister, Barry & Diana Moore, Anonymous (2) 

Canberra Andrew Blanckensee Music Lover, Professor 

Malcolm Gillies & Dr David Pear, Sue & Ray Edmondson, 

Claudia Hyles, Margaret Lovell & Grant Webeck, 

Ruth Weaver & Anonymous, Dr Suzanne Packer, 

Sue Terry & Len Whyte 

Melbourne Alexandra Clemens & Bibi Aickin, Penelope 

Hughes, Peter Lovell, The Morawetz Family in memory of 

Paul Morawetz, Dr John Tang, Dr Michael Troy, Ray Turner 

& Jennifer Seabrook, The late Dr G D Watson, 

Dr Victor Wayne & Dr Karen Wayne OAM, Igor Zambelli 

Newcastle Judith Bennett, Gabrielle Bookallil & The Musica 

Viva Newcastle Committee, Megan & Bill Williamson 

Perth Dr Robert Larbalestier AO, Deborah Lehmann AO 

& Michael Alpers AO, Prichard Panizza Family (2), 

For Stephanie Quinlan (2), Valerie & Michael Wishart 

Sydney Judith Bennett, Patricia Crummer, Pam Cudlipp, 

Dr Jennifer Donald & Mr Stephen Burford, Charles Graham 

– in acknowledgement of his piano teacher, Sana Chia, 

Katherine & Reg Grinberg, Anthony Strachan, Tribe Family, 

Kay Vernon, Kim Williams AM & Catherine Dovey (2) 

QLD 

The late Steven Kinston 

SA The late Edith Dubsky, In memory of Helen Godlee, 

The late John Lane Koch, The late Lesley Lynn 

VIC In memory of Anita Morawetz, The family of 

the late Paul Morawetz, The late Dr G D Watson 

PRODUCERS’ CIRCLE 

Darin Cooper Foundation, Peter Griffin AM & Terry Swann 

WA 

Anonymous 

AMADEUS SOCIETY 

ENSEMBLE PATRONS 

Our artistic vision for 2023 is made possible thanks to 

the extraordinary generosity of our Ensemble Patrons, 

each of whom supports the presentation of an entire 

national tour for our 2023 Season. 

Ian & Caroline Frazer (Karin Schaupp & Flinders Quartet) 

Ian Dickson AM & Reg Holloway and Anonymous 

(The Cage Project) 

Stephen & Michele Johns & Anonymous (Chopin’s Piano) 

Eleanore Goodridge OAM (Wildschut & Brauss) 

Tony Berg AM & Carol Berg, Marc Besen AC & Eva Besen AO 

dec., Ms Jan Bowen AM, Tom Breen & Rachael Kohn AO, 

Dr Di Bresciani OAM, Ms Annabella Fletcher, Dr Annette 

Gero, Katherine & Reg Grinberg, Jennifer Hershon, Penelope 

Hughes, Michael & Frédérique Katz, Ruth Magid & Bob 

Magid OAM, Dr Hadia Mukhtar, Prof. John Rickard, 

Philip Robinson, Andrew Rosenberg, Ray Wilson OAM 

17

MASTERCLASSES 

GIVING CIRCLE 

The Masterclasses Giving Circle is a group of generous 

donors whose collective support will enable the artistic 

development of the next generation of Australian 

chamber musicians. 

Nicholas Callinan AO & Elizabeth Callinan, Caroline & 

Robert Clemente, Patricia H. Reid Endowment Fund, 

Andrew Sisson AO & Tracey Sisson, Mick and Margaret 

Toller, Anonymous (1) 

COMMISSIONS 

Musica Viva Australia is proud to support the creation 

of new Australian works through The Ken Tribe Fund 

for Australian Composition and The Hildegard Project. 

We are grateful to the following individuals and 

collectives for their generous support of this work: 

In loving memory of Jennifer Bates, Christine Bollen & 

Friends, Stephen Johns for his wife Michele, 

The Barry Jones Birthday Commission, DR & KM Magarey, 

Naomi Milgrom Foundation & Ian Dickson AM & 

Reg Holloway, Playking Foundation, Tribe Family in honour 

of Doug Tribe’s 75th Birthday, Adelaide Commissioning 

Circle, Perth Commissioning Circle 

The Barry Jones Birthday Commission ($500+) 

Steve Bracks AC & Terry Bracks AM, Dr George Deutsch 

OAM & Kathy Deutsch, Carrillo Gantner, Professor Margaret 

Gardner AC & Professor Glyn Davis AC, Naomi & George 

Golvan QC, Hon David Harper AM, Ellen Koshland & James 

McCaughey, Miles Lewis, Julie & Ian Macphee, Barry McGaw, 

Jeannette McHugh, Fiona McLeod AO SC, Peter & Ruth 

McMullin, peckvonhartel architects, Ralph & Ruth Renard, 

Anne & Robert Richter QC, Gianna Rosica, Joy Selby Smith, 

Smith Family, Maureen & Tony Wheeler, Lyn Williams, 

Dr Robyn Williams AO, Bob, Robyn, Annie & Nick, 

Anonymous (3) 

MAJOR GIFTS 

$100,000+ 

NSW The Berg Family Foundation, 

Patricia H. Reid Endowment Fund, Anonymous 

$50,000+ 

ACT 

Marion & Michael Newman 

NSW J A Donald Family, Katherine & Reg Grinberg, 

Tom & Elisabeth Karplus 

$20,000+ 

NSW Michael & Frédérique Katz, Vicki Olsson 

QLD 

Ian & Caroline Frazer, Andrea & Malcolm Hall-Brown 

VIC The Morawetz Family in memory of Paul Morawetz, 

Marjorie Nicholas OAM, Anonymous 

WA 

$10,000+ 

ACT 

Anonymous 

R & V Hillman, Mick & Margaret Toller, Anonymous 

NSW Gardos Family, Gresham Partners, Hilmer Family 

Endowment, Ian Dickson & Reg Holloway, Mrs W G 

Keighley, Anthony Strachan, Jo Strutt, Ray Wilson OAM 

QLD 

Anonymous 

SA Jennifer & John Henshall, Stoneglen Foundation, 

Anonymous 

VIC Roger Druce & Jane Bentley, Peter Lovell, 

In Memory of Dr Ian Marks, Mercer Family Foundation, 

Anonymous 

WA Legacy Unit Trust, Deborah Lehmann AO 

& Michael Alpers AO 

$5,000+ 

ACT Goodwin Crace Concertgoers, Craig Reynolds, 

Sue Terry & Len Whyte 

NSW Christine Bishop, Tom Breen & Rachael Kohn AO, 

Patricia Crummer, Sarah & Tony Falzarano, Katherine & 

Reg Grinberg, David & Carole Singer, Diane Sturrock, 

Richard Wilkins, Kim Williams AM & Catherine Dovey 

QLD 

SA 

Anonymous 

Aldridge Family Endowment, Anonymous 

VIC In memory of Kate Boyce, Dr Di Bresciani OAM 

& Lino Bresciani, Julian Burnside AO KC & Kate Durham, 

William J Forrest AM, Leanne Menegazzo, Joy Selby Smith, 

Greg Shalit & Miriam Faine, Musica Viva Australia Victorian 

Committee MICMC Prize, Bruce Missen, Anonymous 

WA David Wallace & Jamelia Gubgub, Zoe Lenard & 

Hamish Milne, Anonymous 

18

ANNUAL GIFTS 

$2,500+ 

ACT Kristin van Brunschot & John Holliday, 

Dr Andrew Singer, Anonymous 

NSW ADFAS Newcastle, Penny Beran, Susan Burns, 

Hon. Professor Ross Steele AM 

SA 

DJ & EM Bleby 

VIC Jan Begg, Alastair & Sue Campbell, Anne 

Frankenberg & Adrian McEniery, Lyndsey & Peter Hawkins, 

Michael Nossal & Jo Porter, Ralph & Ruth Renard, 

Maria Sola, Wendy R. Taylor, Helen Vorrath, Igor Zambelli 

WA 

$1,000+ 

Ros Kesteven, Mrs Morrell, Anonymous 

ACT Andrew Blanckensee, The Breen/Dullo Family, 

Odin Bohr & Anna Smet, Dudley & Helen Creagh, 

Martin Dolan, Liz & Alex Furman, Kingsley Herbert, 

Margaret & Peter Janssens, Margaret Oates, S Packer, 

Clive & Lynlea Rodger, Hannah Semler, Anonymous (4) 

NSW Judith Allen, David & Rae Allen, Maia Ambegaokar 

& Joshua Bishop, Stephen Booth, Jennifer Bott AO, 

Vicki Brooke, Neil Burns, Hugh and Hilary Cairns, 

Hon J C Campbell QC & Mrs Campbell, Lloyd & 

Mary Jo Capps AM, Richard Cobden SC, Opus 109 

Sub-fund, Community Impact Foundation, Robin & Wendy 

Cumming, Thomas Dent, Nancy Fox AM & Bruce Arnold, 

John & Irene Garran, Charles & Wallis Graham, Kate 

Girdwood, H2 Cairns Foundation, Annie Hawker, Robert 

& Lindy Henderson, Lybus Hillman, Dr Ailsa Hocking & 

Dr Bernard Williams, Dorothy Hoddinott AO, Catharine & 

Robert Kench, Kevin & Deidre McCann, DR & KM Magarey, 

Arthur & Elfreda Marshall, Dr Dennis Mather & John 

Studdert, Mora Maxwell, Professor Craig Moritz, Michael 

& Janet Neustein, Paul O’Donnell, Laurie Orchard, 

Ms Vivienne Sharpe, Dr Robyn Smiles, Tom & Dalia Stanley, 

Geoff Stearn, Richard & Beverley Taperell, Graham & 

Judy Tribe, Kate Tribe, Dr Elizabeth Watson, John & Flora 

Weickhardt, Megan & Bill Williamson, Anonymous (6) 

QLD George Booker & Denise Bond, Prof. Paul & Ann 

Crook, Stephen Emmerson, Robin Harvey, Lynn & 

John Kelly, Andrew & Kate Lister, Jocelyn Luck, Barry & 

Diana Moore, Keith Moore, Barbara Williams & 

Jankees van der Have, Anonymous (2) 

SA Ivan & Joan Blanchard, Richard Blomfield, 

Max & Ionie Brennan, Peter Clifton, Joan Lyons, Fiona 

MacLachlan OAM, Dr Leo Mahar, Ruth Marshall & Tim 

Muecke, Geoff & Sorayya Martin, Ann & David Matison, 

Diane Myers, Leon Pitchon, Jennie Shaw, Anne Sutcliffe, 

Anonymous (3) 

TAS 

Dianne O’Toole 

VIC Joanna Baevski, Russ & Jacqui Bate, Marlyn Bancroft, 

Jannie Brown, Alison & John Cameron, Mrs Maggie Cash, 

Alex & Elizabeth Chernov, Kathy & George Deutsch OAM, 

Dhar Family, Lord Ebury, Dr Gelnys & Dr Alan French, 

Naomi Golvan & George Golvan KC, Virginia Henry, Doug 

Hooley, Helen Imber, The Hon. Dr Barry Jones AC & Ms 

Rachel Faggetter, Angela Kayser, Angela & Richard Kirsner, 

Angela Li, Janet McDonald, Ruth McNair AM & Rhonda 

Brown in memory of Patricia Begg & David McNair, June K 

Marks, Christopher Menz & Peter Rose, Traudl Moon OAM, 

D & F Nassau, Adrian Nye, Resonance Fund – Michael 

Cowen & Sharon Nathani, Barry Robbins, Murray 

Sandland, Ms Thea Sartori, Marshall Segan & Ylana Perlov 

in memory of his late parents, Gary Singer & Geoffrey 

Smith, Ray Turner & Jennifer Seabrook, Dr Victor Wayne & 

Dr Karen Wayne OAM, Lyn Williams, Mark & Anna Yates, 

Anonymous (2) 

WA David & Minnette Ambrose, Dr S Cherian, 

Michael & Wendy Davis, In memory of Raymond Dudley, 

Dr Penny Herbert in memory of Dunstan Herbert, 

Ms Helen Hollingshead, Anne Last & Steve Scudamore, 

Hugh & Margaret Lydon, Olivier David & Dr Bennie Ng, 

Marian Magee & David Castillo, John Overton, 

Margaret & Roger Seares, Robyn Tamke, Anonymous (4) 

$500+ 

ACT Margaret Brennan, Christine Bollen, Christopher 

Clarke, Peter Cumines, Susan Edmondson, Jill Fleming, 

Claudia Hyles OAM, Margaret Millard, Helen Rankin, 

Ruth Weaver, Dr Paul & Dr Lel Whitbread, Anonymous 

NSW Denise Braggett, Christopher & Margaret Burrell, 

Robert Cahill and Anne Cahill OAM, Lucia Cascone, 

Trish & John Curotta, Howard Dick, Dr Arno Enno & Dr Anna 

Enno, Bronwyn Evans, Anthony Gregg, The Harvey Family, 

Robert Hefner, Roland & Margaret Hicks, David & Sarah 

Howell, Alicia Howlett, In honour of Michael Katz, Cynthia 

Kaye, Mathilde Kearny-Kibble, Trish Ludgate, Bruce Lane, 

Olive Lawson, Dr Colin MacArthur, Ian & Pam McGaw, 

Frances Muecke, Kim & Margie Ostinga, Trish Richardson 

in memory of Andy Lloyd James, Dr John Rogers, Penny 

Rogers, Peter & Heather Roland, Professor Lynne Selwood, 

Christopher Sullivan & Jim Lennon, Kathie & Reg Grinberg – 

In honour of Dalia Stanley’s birthday, Kay Vernon, Andrew 

Wells AM, Margaret Wright OAM, Anonymous (15) 

QLD Geoffrey Beames, Noela Billington, Janet Franklin, 

Timothy Matthies & Chris Bonnily, Anonymous 

SA Zoë Cobden-Jewitt & Peter Jewitt, Daniel & Susan 

Hains, Elizabeth Hawkins, Elizabeth Ho OAM, in honour 

of the late Tom Steel, Dr Iwan Jensen, The Hon. Christopher 

Legoe AO QC & Mrs Jenny Legoe, Helga Linnert & Douglas 

Ransom, Julie Mencel & Michael McKay, Trish Ryan & 

Richard Ryan AO, Tony Seymour, Anonymous (5) 

TAS 

Anonymous 

VIC David Bernshaw & Caroline Isakow, Coll & Roger 

Buckle, Pam Caldwell, John & Mandy Collins, John & Chris 

Collingwood, Mary-Jane Gething, John & Margaret 

Harrison, Dr Anthea Hyslop, Eda Ritchie AM, Darren Taylor, 

Maureen Turner, Anonymous (6) 

WA Jennifer Butement, Joan Carney, Fred & Angela 

Chaney, Rachel & Bruce Craven, Helen Dwyer, 

Dr Barry Green, Russell Hobbs & Sue Harrington, Paula 

Nathan AO & Yvonne Patterson, Lindsay & Suzanne Silbert, 

Father Richard Smith, Ruth Stratton, Christopher Tyler, 

Anonymous (5) 

19

Concert Partners 

Perth Concert Series Sydney Morning Masters Series Musica Viva Australia at The Edge Series 

Commissioning Partner (The Cage Project) 

Rehearsal Partner (The Cage Project) 

Project Partner (The Cage Project) 

Legal 

Chartered Accountants 

Piano & Tuning 

Media Partner Wine Partner act, nsw, qld, sa, vic Wine Partner wa 

Hotel Partner 

Hotel Partner 

Government Partners 

Musica Viva Australia is assisted by the 

Commonwealth Government through the 

Australia Council its arts funding and advisory body. 

Musica Viva Australia is supported 

by the NSW Government through 

Create NSW. 

Musica Viva Australia is a Not-for-profit Organisation 

endorsed by the Australian Taxation Office as a Deductible 

Gift Recipient and registered with the Australian Charities 

and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC). 

Emerging Artists Partners 

Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition 

Principal Partner 

Strategic Partner 

Grand Prize Partner 

Key Philanthropic Partner 

FutureMakers Lead Partner FutureMakers Residency Partner Key Philanthropic Partner 

20

Education Partners 

Government Partnerships & Support 

National Education Supporters 

J A Donald Family 

Marion & Mike Newman 

Musica Viva Australia In Schools & Professional Development 

• Aldridge Family Endowment • Godfrey Turner Memorial Music Trust • In Memory of Anita Morawetz 

• Keith MacKenzie Will Trust • Margaret Henderson Music Trust • Marsden Szwarcbord Foundation 

• Perpetual Foundation - Alan (AGL) Shaw Endowment • Scully Foundation 

National Music Residency Program 

The 

Benjamin 

Fund 

Day Family 

Foundation 

The Marion & 

E.H. Flack Trust 

• Aldridge Family Endowment • Carthew Foundation • Foskett Foundation • FWH Foundation 

• John & Rosemary McLeod • Joy Selby Smith • Klein Foundation • Legacy Unit Trust 

• Lipman Karas • Seeley International • Anonymous Donors (3) 

21

Stories to inspire 

BY ZOË COBDEN-JEWITT 

MUSICA VIVA AUSTRALIA 

CONCERT CHAMPIONS – 

BRINGING OUR CONCERTS TO LIFE 

Why ‘Concert Champions’? 

When Director of Development, Zoë Cobden- 

Jewitt, was considering the work of Musica 

Viva Australia in late 2020 and how it might be 

even better supported, it was clear that – even 

in those early days of Covid – something new 

would have to be conceived. 

Thus was born the idea of the Concert 

Champions program (alongside the Ensemble 

Patrons program), with a simple but tangible 

premise: giving the company’s loyal and 

generous donors the chance to support an 

individual concert, in their city, in the amount 

of $5,000 (tax deductible). 

Since then, Musica Viva Australia has been 

delighted and humbled by the success of the 

program, with donors from around the country 

stepping up to make their gift and ‘bring a 

concert to life’ in cities around Australia: 

Life has been good to me in so many 

ways. I have enjoyed a successful 

professional career in an area where I 

have enjoyed helping people. I believe 

society has given me a lot and I’m in 

the time of life where I should give back. 

Sponsoring the arts, supporting charity 

and encouraging my peers to do likewise 

by showing leadership I think is how to 

do this. [Being a] Concert Champion 

is really showing that giving is in the 

realm of most professionals my age. Not 

just for the millionaires. I enjoy helping 

people in whatever way I can. 

— ROBERT LARBALESTIER, 

CONCERT CHAMPION WA 

Many of our donors have commented on 

their joy at supporting something that feels 

tangible, and also being able to choose one 

(or sometimes more!) concerts and ensembles 

that really speak to them directly. From string 

quartets to solo pianists, there is something for 

everyone! 

Underpinning the Art 

Like many industries globally, the arts have 

had a very challenging few years and the 

sector is working hard to rebuild towards 

a vibrant cultural future. Furthermore, as 

Musica Viva Australia looks towards its 80th 

anniversary in 2025, creating philanthropic 

programs that underpin the company’s artistic 

and concert programs has never been more 

important: 

It has been humbling, and indeed a 

privilege, to work not only with our 

donors to ‘match’ them and their 

personal passions with the incredible 

tours, but also with my State Manager 

colleagues around the country to do 

the same. We remain indebted to this 

group of donors whose generosity 

and connection to our work means 

that together, we can keep delivering 

national tours featuring the finest 

artists for audiences of all ages and 

backgrounds to enjoy across Australia. 

Thank you! 

— ZOË COBDEN-JEWITT, 

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT 

22

Fireworks were happening on stage 

at the Melbourne Recital Centre 

during a wet and rainy evening, when 

Musica Viva Australia’s Paul Kildea 

organised a concert where three super 

stars (flute, viola and harp) delivered 

several inspiring pieces. This unusual 

lineup thrilled the audience with superb 

artistry. How lucky are we to enjoy 

such a performance. 

— IGOR ZAMBELLI, 

CONCERT CHAMPION VIC 

How can you become a Concert Champion? 

If you are interested in becoming a Concert 

Champion in your city, please don’t hesitate 

to contact Zoë, or your local State Manager – 

they would be delighted to hear from you and 

to tell you more about this crucial program. 

Thank you 

Concert Champion Igor Zambelli with 

Timothy Ridout, Anneleen Lenaerts and 

Adam Walker in Melbourne, May 2023. 

MVA would like to take this opportunity to 

thank all our current Concert Champions 

(and all donors!) for their generosity towards 

this, and so many of Musica Viva Australia’s 

programs. Every gift truly makes a difference. 

— 

For more information contact Zoë Cobden-Jewitt 

zcobden-jewitt@musicaviva.com.au | 0409 340 240 | musicaviva.com.au/support-us 

23

Tribute 

The concert in 

Melbourne on 

Saturday 26 August 

commemorates 

Paul Morawetz’s 

contribution to 

Musica Viva Australia. 

A Genuine Love for Music 

PAUL MORAWETZ 

(1914–2001) 

Paul Morawetz was born in Austria in 1914, 

and died in Melbourne in April 2001. His love 

of music, and chamber music in particular, 

led him to become involved with Musica Viva 

Australia at the time of its founding in 1945. 

Upon his arrival in Australia, the public 

performance of chamber music was in its 

infancy, but Paul’s European background laid 

the foundation for a major role in bringing 

chamber music to the wider Melbourne 

community. 

Paul took a leading role in arranging chamber 

music concerts in Melbourne, eventually 

becoming Musica Viva Australia’s Victorian 

Vice-President for several years. 

He was central to the organisation’s 

fundraising efforts, and managed to 

successfully find sponsors at a time when 

Musica Viva Australia was struggling to 

stay afloat. 

Paul also took particular pleasure in 

supporting young musicians, often helping 

them to gain public recognition and 

furthering their talents. 

Paul would never miss a Musica Viva Australia 

concert when in Melbourne, and held a 

genuine love for music throughout his entire 

life. He is greatly missed by the Musica Viva 

Australia community, and it is with great 

pleasure that we honour him with this concert. 

24

Vision String Quartet 

The Australian debut of this prizewinning ensemble from Berlin. 

Liberated from the page, they perform masterpieces from memory, 

creating direct, emotional connections with audiences. 

NATIONAL TOUR: 21 SEP–12 OCT 

musicaviva.com.au/vsq 

1800 688 482

la música habla 

:”( 

nagsasalita ang musika 

η μουσική μιλάει 

âm nhac nói . 

:-D 

... 

;-)) :o 

ਸੰਗੀਤ ਬੋਲਦਾ ਹੈ 

LA MUSICA PARLA 

mizik la ka palé 

音乐说话 

:-) 

waiata korero 

The language of music is universal; 

it transcends borders and unites us as people. 

At Musica Viva Australia we believe that music 

makes the world a better place. 

It’s our ongoing mission to create unforgettable experiences for audiences 

across the country: from a child in a classroom seeing live music for the first time, 

through to the seasoned concertgoer discovering new work. 

Help us to continue our work so that everyone, regardless 

of age, location or circumstance, can access 

and share the very best live music. 

To make a gift: 

musicaviva.com.au/support-us 

For more information: 

Caroline Davis | cdavis@musicaviva.com.au | 0421 375 358

Silk, Metal, Wood Program Guide | August 2023

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