Saturday 31 Aug 2024 7:30pm
Federation Concert Hall, nipaluna / Hobart
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Streaming live & playback via TSO On Demand
Conducted by Eivind Aadland,
featuring Karen Gomyo on violin.
The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra acknowledges the traditional owners and continuing custodians of lutruwita / Tasmania. We pay respect to the Aboriginal community today, and to its Elders past and present. We recognise a history of truth, which acknowledges the impacts of colonisation upon Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and stand for a future that profoundly respects their stories, culture, language and history.
About the concert
Works
Delius The Walk to the Paradise Garden (8 min)
Dvořák Violin Concerto in A minor, Op 53 (32 min)
3 movements:
- Allegro ma non troppo
- Adagio ma non troppo
- Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo
20 minute interval
Schumann Symphony No 1 in B-flat, Op 38, ‘Spring’ (30 min)
3 movements:
- Andante un poco maestoso – Allegro molto vivace
- Larghetto
- Scherzo (Molto vivace – Molto più vivace)
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A 'movement' is a longer piece of music broken up into bite-size pieces. It makes it easier to perform and provides contrast within the work. Find out more here.
Portrait of Frederick Delius.
Uncover the stories behind the works.
Star-crossed lovers
The Walk to the Paradise Garden
Composed by Frederick Delius (1862-1934)
8 minutes
We start our evening with The Walk to the Paradise Garden; an atmospheric piece, full of emotion and imagery. It’s from the opera A Village Romeo and Juliet, but you don’t need to know the whole story to enjoy it. ). As the title of the opera suggests, the plot centres around star-crossed lovers, but the setting is 19th-century rural Switzerland, not 14th-century Verona.
The Paradise Garden of the title is the name of a country inn. The young pair, Sali and Vreli, walk hand-in-hand to The Paradise Garden where they come to realise that the long-standing feud between their two families will keep them apart forever. They resolve to end their lives together, drowning in the stream beside the inn. Tender and idyllic, The Walk to the Paradise Garden is less concerned with the tragedy to come than the emotional ties that bind the young couple.
As you listen, imagine you’re strolling through a lush, dream-like garden—a place where time seems to slow down. Delius was a master of creating these rich soundscapes, and this piece is no exception. It’s not about big, dramatic moments but more about creating a mood, a sense of place, and drawing you into a tranquil, almost magical world.
Divine Dvořák
Violin Concerto in A minor, Op 53
- Allegro ma non troppo
- Adagio ma non troppo
- Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo
Composed by Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
32 minutes
💡 Musical Storytelling: Karen Gomyo on Dvořák’s Violin Concerto
Karen Gomyo is on a mission to restore Dvořák’s Violin Concerto to its rightful place in the upper echelon of the repertoire.
The Canadian violinist makes her long-awaited return to Nipaluna / Hobart and Sydney in August and September to perform this exquisite masterpiece, one that she feels has been unfairly overlooked when we think not only of the great violin concertos, but also Dvořák’s best works.
Now to the centrepiece of the evening, Czech composer Antonín Dvořák’s violin concerto with Karen Gomyo. A violin concerto is like a musical conversation between a solo violin and an orchestra. In this piece, the violin is the star of the show, while the orchestra provides the setting and the drama around it. Dvořák’s concerto has three movements, or sections, each with a different mood.
We open with a brief, dramatic flourish for full orchestra before the solo violin enters with the principal theme, which veers between the assertive and the slightly melancholy. The home key of A minor is established right from the start with embellishments around the chords of A minor and its dominant, E major. Further working-out of the opening theme (much of it tense and dramatic) leads to a calmer episode and a tuneful new theme (marked ‘dolce’, sweetly). Dvořák eschews sonata form in the opening movement, favouring a looser, episodic structure, and he leads without a break into the serene and often bucolic middle movement. As befitting a composer of several volumes of Slavonic Dances, Dvořák evokes folk idioms in the lively finale, which opens with a catchy, syncopated, A-major theme announced by the solo violin. Additional folk-like gestures follow and, after extended bravura passages for the soloist, the concerto comes to an exhilarating close. Composed in 1879, the Violin Concerto was premièred in Prague in 1883.
Spring Time
Symphony No 1 in B-flat, Op 38, ‘Spring’
- Andante un poco maestoso – Allegro molto vivace
- Larghetto
- Scherzo (Molto vivace – Molto più vivace)
Composed by Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
30 minutes
As we approach the end of August, there’s a hint of Spring in the air. We end our night with a symphony filled with warmth, optimism, and a sense of hope, just like the season it’s named after.
In writing his Symphony No 1, Robert Schumann (1810-1856) was inspired by a poem about spring by Adolf Böttger, which paints a picture of nature waking up after a long winter.
Sketched over four days in January 1841 and orchestrated shortly thereafter, ‘Spring’, originally bore movement titles: The Beginning of Spring, Evening, Merry Playmates, Full Spring. Although these titles were subsequently deleted, it is useful to bear them in mind as we navigate our way through the work. Spring arrives with great fanfare (literally, note the trumpet and horn motto at the outset) in the joyous first movement, where all the colours of the orchestra are on display. The Larghetto, which is almost entirely given over to strings and winds, offers a moment of calm while the Scherzo has a lively, rustic lilt. An upward surge in the violins signals the start of ‘Full Spring’, which declares itself with commanding force. Schumann keeps things bouncing along for most of the time but reins in the tempo towards the end for a brief flute cadenza (a bird call perhaps?) before rushing headlong towards the concluding section.
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Musicians
Eivind Aadland
Conductor
Eivind Aadland is one of Norway’s most respected conductors. Since 2020 he has been Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. He was Chief Conductor and Artistic Leader of the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra for seven seasons from 2004, during which time he conducted the complete Beethoven and Mahler symphony cycles. His extensive work with Scandinavian orchestras includes regular guest engagements with the Oslo and Bergen Philharmonics, the Stavanger Symphony, the Gothenburg Symphony and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra. In addition, he has conducted acclaimed productions of Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte and Die Fledermaus for Den Norske Opera, Oslo.
He has also worked extensively in the Far East and Australia. He is a frequent visitor to the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, the National Orchestra of Belgium and Iceland Symphony Orchestra. He has also worked with Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse, Gürzenich-Orchester Cologne, Strasbourg Philharmonic, Lausanne and Scottish Chamber Orchestras and the symphony orchestras of Melbourne, Finnish Radio, Bamberg, Staatskapelle Weimar, SWR Stuttgart and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. In addition to his career as a conductor, Eivind Aadland is a devoted collector of, and authority on, contemporary art. His private collection encompasses works in the diverse media of painting, photography, video and installation.
Karen Gomyo
Solo Violinist
Karen Gomyo is celebrated for her ability to captivate audiences with deeply emotional and heartfelt performances. Known for her flawless command of the violin and expressive elegance, she is recognized as one of today’s leading violinists.
Recent highlights include subscription debuts with the New York Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Orquesta Nacional de España, Czech Philharmonic, and Rome’s Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Karen has also performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France with Mikko Franck, and the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln with Cristian Macelaru.
During the 2023/24 season, Karen will debut with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig under Semyon Bychkov, the Chicago Symphony under John Storgårds, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland with Lio Kuokman, and the KBS Symphony Orchestra in Seoul with Pietari Inkinen. Additional performances include appearances with the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, BBC Philharmonic, and the Vancouver Symphony. In February 2024, she returns to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for the world premiere of Year 2020, a concerto by Xi Wang.
A passionate chamber musician, Karen has collaborated with artists such as Leif Ove Andsnes, James Ehnes, and mezzo-soprano Susan Graham. She recorded Carnival with guitarist Ismo Eskelinen on BIS Records and is a champion of Astor Piazzolla’s Nuevo Tango, collaborating frequently with tango legends such as Pablo Ziegler.
Karen is committed to new music, giving the U.S. premieres of Samy Moussa’s Adrano and Matthias Pintscher’s Mar’eh. She premiered Samuel Adams’ Chamber Concerto with the Chicago Symphony and Esa-Pekka Salonen in 2018.
Born in Tokyo, Karen began her musical studies in Montréal and New York, studying under Dorothy DeLay at Juilliard. She later studied at Indiana University and New England Conservatory. She also participated in a documentary on Stradivarius, The Mysteries of the Supreme Violin, broadcast worldwide by NHK.
Orchestra List
Eivind Aadland Conductor
Karen Gomyo violin
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
Violin
Emma McGrath Concertmaster
Ji Won Kim Associate Concertmaster
Lucy Carrig-Jones Principal Second
Jennifer Owen Principal First
Miranda Carson
Yue-Hong Cha
Tobias Chisnall
Frances Davies
Michael Johnston
Christine Lawson
Elinor Lea
Susanna Low
Christopher Nicholas
Rohana O’Malley
Hayato Simpson
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Did you know our Concertmaster plays a violin hand-crafted by one of the finest and most important luthiers (a string-instrument maker) of the nineteenth century, Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (1798–1875).
He crafted 3000+ instruments in his time and we’re very proud to have a violin made in 1845 on loan from two of our generous Tasmanian patrons.
Viola
Caleb Wright Principal
Douglas Coghill
Sandra Ionescu
Anna Larsen Roach
William Newbery
Cello
Jonathan Békés Principal
Ivan James
Nicholas McManus
Martin Penicka
Double Bass
Stuart Thomson Principal
Aurora Henrich
Matthew McGrath
Flute
Katie Zagorski Principal
Lloyd Hudson Principal Piccolo
Oboe
Rachel Curkpatrick Guest Principal
Dinah Woods Principal Cor Anglais
Clarinet
Andrew Seymour Principal
Eloise Fisher Principal Bass Clarinet
Bassoon
Tahnee van Herk Principal
Melissa Woodroffe Principal Contrabassoon
French Horn
Greg Stephens Principal First
Claudia Leggett Principal Third
Roger Jackson
Julian Leslie
Trumpet
Darcy O’Malley Guest Principal
Mark Bain
Trombone
David Robins Principal
Jackson Bankovic
Bass Trombone
James Littlewood Guest Principal
Timpani
Matthew Goddard Principal
Percussion
Gary Wain Principal
Harp
Jessica Fotinos Guest Principal
*Correct at time of publishing
Federation Concert Hall
Our Southern Home
Federation Concert Hall has been our home since 2001. It's distinctive curve, golden Tasmanian timber, contemporary design and deep red seats set the tone for the ultimate concert experience.
In 2020, major acoustical enhancements were made to the hall, amplifying the venue's, and the TSO's, reputation as world-class.
Photo credit: Fin Matson
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Hotel Offers from Hadley's Orient Hotel
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Spend the night on Saturday 31 August 2024 and discover it yourself.
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What are acoustics and how do they affect my concert experience?
Acoustics are the science of sound, or the way a venue can deliver the thunderous feeling of strings and brass, or the ring of the triangle over all the other instruments.
Read more about the acoustics of the Hall here.
Coming up
Beethoven’s Fifth
Conducted by Eivind Aadland, featuring soprano Camilla Tilling.
Anna Clyne Restless Oceans
Mahler Rückert Lieder
Mahler Rheinlegendchen and Lob des Hohen
Beethoven Symphony No 5 in C minor, Op 67
Find Out More
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