Variations on brilliance: the ACO in Sydney

By Zoltán Szabó, 13 August 2018

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Reviewed at City Recital Hall, Sydney on 11 August 2018

Bach, Canons on a Goldberg Ground (Arr. Tognetti)

Stravinsky, 3 Pieces for string quartet

Adès, 4 Quarters for String Quartet (Nightfall)

Bach, Goldberg Variations, BWV988 (Arr. Labadie)

Australian Chamber Orchestra

Richard Tognetti, Director

Erin Helyard, Harpsichord

Australian Chamber Orchestra in Melbourne: Gershwin, Shostakovich

Sandra Bowdler, 10th August

Two works by Shostakovich sandwiching Rhapsody in Blue made for an exhilerating concert from the Australian Chamber Orchestra in Melbourne

****1

Bach sheds light in an impressively dark outing from the ACO

Nick Boston, 21st March

Energetic commitment from the ACO at the Barbican, with precision and edge from Alexander Melnikov and Jeroen Berwaerts in an evening of darkness and light.

****1

Mesmerising, but relentless Brahms and Beethoven from the ACO

Zoltán Szabó, 11th February

Awe-inspiring performances of much loved classics in Sydney, yet the musical eyebrows have reasons to go (and stay) up.

****1

Why isn't the music enough? “Silence and Rapture” from the ACO

Sandra Bowdler, 14th August

Iestyn Davies joins the Australian Chamber Orchestra for music by Bach and Pärt in a programme featuring distracting modern dance.

***11

Symphony or song cycle? Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde in Sydney

Zoltán Szabó, 17th May

Mahler's epic five-movement symphonic song cycle is performed by a chamber ensemble with mixed results.

***11

A walk to Beethoven: Bezuidenhout and the Australian Chamber Orchestra

Zoltán Szabó, 23rd March

Kristian Bezuidenhout joins the ACO for a piecemeal programme leading to a complete performance of Beethoven's Emperor Concerto.

***11

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Zoltán Szabó

Zoltán Szabó is a cellist and musicologist. Having migrated from his native Hungary to Australia in 1985, he worked with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in Sydney until 1991, when he became Principal Cello with Opera Australia. In 2017, he was awarded with a Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD). Currently, he is teaching music history and musicology at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Variations on brilliance: the Australian Chamber Orchestra in Sydney