【Prison Yard FestivalPrison Yard Festival】Australian Chamber Orchestra - The Ottoman Four Seasons

Description

As the centrepiece in their Tai Kwun residency, the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) - a visionary gathering of local and international string virtuosos -offers a glimpse of the famed Venetian Republic plainly fashioned in their own image. Set at the crossroads of Western Europe and the Ottoman Empire, their Venice is an unrivalled financial hub and international marketplace limited only by access to the sea, a thrilling cultural centre where goods and ideas from Asia, the Middle East and North Africa freely intermingle with the best that Europe had to offer.

Interspersed with Vivaldi’s evocative The Four Seasons, a timeless memorial of the era, is the music of the Egyptian-born, Sydney-based oud virtuoso and composer Joseph Tawadros, arranged for strings by the ACO’s Artistic Director Richard Tognetti. Echoes of melodies and harmonies, along with similar rhythms and playing techniques, between the Arabic tradition and the Italian Baroque reveal once again that the further back you look in history, the more our cultures have in common.

Director & Violin: Richard Tognetti

Oud: Joseph Tawadros

Riq’ & Bendir: James Tawadros

Principal Violin: Satu Vänskä

Violin: Anna da Silva Chen, Ilya Isakovich, Liisa Pallandi, Thibaud Pavlovic-Hobba, Ike See, Tim Yu

Principal Viola: Stefanie Farrands

Viola: Elizabeth Woolnough

Principal Cello: Timo-Veikko Valve

Cello: Julian Thompson

Principal Bass: Maxime Bibeau

Harpsichord and Organ: Donald Nicolson

Theorbo: Simon Martyn-Ellis

Programme

Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons

Music by Joseph Tawadros

Original Ottoman Baroque works

Duration: Approximately 2 hours with a 20-minute interval