The White Hat Guide to Melbourne Town Hall

Free Tour of Melbourne Town Hall

Chopin & Mendelssohn's Octet

The Australian Chamber Orchestra with Richard Tognetti (Artistic Director and Lead Violin) and Polina Leschenko (piano).  The orchestras three wonderful heritage violins – a Stradivari, a Guarneri and a Guadagnini - will display their wares in the Paganini caprices. Chopin's first piano concerto is a much loved work full of romantic lyricism and although Górecki is best known for his haunting and heartfelt Symphony of Sorrowful Songs, his Piano Concerto bristles with driving rhythms and energy. The concert ends with one of the glories of chamber music - Mendelssohn's Octet. In White Hat's experience ACO's performance of this work is the equal of any performance you are likely to hear anywhere else in the world.

• Paganini (arr. Tognetti) Caprice on Caprices
• Morricone Exercises I: Adagio
• Chopin (arr. Tognetti) Piano Concerto No.1
• Górecki Piano Concerto
• Mendelssohn Octet (one of White Hat's Top 100 Chamber Works)

Melbourne Town Hall Proms - Tognetti Plays Mendelssohn

Although Mendelssohn wrote more than one violin concerto, the Violin Concerto in E minor is universally referred to as the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. It deserves its position as one of the most popular, most tuneful and beautifully crafted concertos in the repertoire. Australian composer Nigel Westlake, possibly best known as a composer of film music (including award-winning scores for Babe, Miss Potter, Antarctica and Solarmax) introduces his newest and powerful work born out of profound tragedy

• Beethoven Coriolan Overture, Op.62
• Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor (one of White Hat's Top 100 Concerti)
• Nigel Westlake Missa Solis - Requiem for Eli

Australian Chamber Orchestra & The Hilliard Ensemble

• Elgar Serenade for strings
• Sheryngham Ah, gentle Jesu
• Raskatov Obikhod (Australian Premiere)
• Pärt Most Holy Mother of God
• Gregorian Chant Veni Creator Spiritus
• Anon (French Medieval) Veni Creator Spiritus
• Edwards Veni Creator Spiritus
• Arensky Variations on a theme by Tchaikovsky

Melbourne Town Hall Proms - Beethoven and Dvorák

The inspiration of the folk music and culture of his native Bohemia invests Dvorák’s music with enormous energy and spirit, and his Seventh Symphony explodes with all the passion and vigour of this inspiration. Paired with works by two German masters who inspired him, this concert of great classics is pure delight.

Dvorák took the Germane tradition of music developed by Beethoven and Brahms and combined it with inspiration drawn from the folk music and culture of his native Bohemia to create the wonderful Symphony No.7. It is both tuneful and exuberant and well suited to a prom concert.

• Brahms Tragic Overture, Op.81
• Beethoven Piano Concerto No.2 in Bb major, Op.19
• Dvořák Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op.70 (one of White Hat's Top 100 Symphonies)

Danielle de Niese with the Australian Chamber Orchestra

Danielle de Niese (soprano) has long been on White Hat's list of Significant Melbourne People. She was born in Melbourne and won Young Talent Time aged 9, then moved to Los Angeles, won an Emmy and made her debut with the LA Opera aged 15. She has blossomed into one of the hottest properties in opera, enrapturing audiences in roles like Cleopatra, Euridice and Susanna at Glyndebourne, the Metropolitan Opera and on screen.

To celebrate her professional debut in her home country, De Niese sings a specially commissioned Australian work, which also marks the centenary of Australia’s Nobel laureate Patrick White. The fireworks of Mozart's Exsultate jubilatee is contrasted Schubert's haunting song, Death and the Maiden. The Australian Chamber Orchestra (Richard Tognetti Artistic Director and Lead Violin) will then perform Schubert's masterly quartet (arranged for string orchestra) which uses that same song as an inspiration.

• Mozart Symphony K196/121, “La finta giardiniera”
• Vine New work (text by Patrick White)
• Meale Cantilena Pacifica
• Mozart Exsultate jubilate
• Schubert (arr. Tognetti) Death and the Maiden
• Schubert (arr. Tognetti) String Quartet No.14, “Death and the Maiden” (one of White Hat's Top 100 Chamber Works)

Melbourne Town Hall Proms - Organ Classics at Town Hall

The concert opens in Sir Andrew Davis’ own transcription of Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, for orchestra. This is followed by Poulenc's organ concerto - a work well suited to show off the mighty Town Hall Organ - before finishing with Brahms second symphony.

• Bach (Orch. Davis) Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV.582 6
• Poulenc Organ Concerto in G minor (one of White Hat's Top 100 Concerti)
• Brahms Symphony No.2 in D, Op.73  (one of White Hat's Top 100 Symphonies)

Melbourne Town Hall Proms - Enigma Variations

This concert celbrates the tenth anniversary of the Melbourne International Festival of Brass and two of the world’s great brass soloists join the MSO. Framing the classic concertos for the horn and tuba are the brilliant, folksong-inspired orchestral variations by Kodály and the stirring Enigma Variations by Elgar. The Enigma is a particularly appropriate choice because of the starring and virtuosic role Elgar assigns teh brass in his masterly orchestration.Presented in collaboration with the Melbourne International Festival of Brass.

• Kodály Peacock Variations
• Mozart Horn Concerto No.2 in E flat, K.417
• Vaughan Williams Tuba Concerto in F minor
• Elgar 'Enigma' Variations, Op.36