The Queensland Orchestra will travel some 6,500km in 2008 taking the works of master composers Mozart, Beethoven, Weber, Tchaikovsky and Sibelius, as well as some light hearted musical interpreptations, to more rural and regional centres than ever before.
The regional touring program was announced today as part of the Season 2008 launch, the first under Chief Conductor Maestro Johannes Fritzsch.
"Queensland is Australia's most decentralised state, with almost half of the potential audience living outside the capital city. This is why we remain committed to our touring activity – and next year we will stage six full company concerts in regional areas, as well as three on the Gold Coast in a first ever dedicated series, and a full program of shows to 10 rural centres by TQO's X-Collective," said Maestro Fritzsch.
"Importantly, we have been able to secure leading artists to accompany the orchestra on tour including iinternationally acclaimed violinists Feng Ning and James Ehnes, conductors Christopher Seaman, Marco Zuccarini and Carl Davis and even British comedian Rainer Hersch," he said.
The Gold Coast series will begin in April with the Best of James Bond, a stunning concert set to showcase 40 years of music from iconic James Bond films – from the famous From Russia with Love (1963) to Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), and all in between, conducted by Carl Davis and featuring soloist Mary Carewe. The second in the series will see TQO's new chief Conductor, Maestro Johannes Fritzsch lead the orchestra in 1001 Nights.
Wonderfully romantic, this concert will take guests on a journey from the beautiful Scheherazade to Borodin's haunting Steppes of Central Asia; and will culminate in the no holds barred Bacchanale from Samson and Delilah. The final concert on the Gold Coast is the stunning Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, part of TQO's critically acclaimed Maestro Series and stars international star violinist James Ehnes, a young Canadian with a dazzling technique, maturity and extraordinary fusion of fireworks and tenderness. The concert will be conducted again by TQO's Chief, Maestro Johannes Fritzsch.
In June the Orchestra returns to the stunning Empire Theatre in Toowoomba with a thoroughly entertaining concert directed by madcap British comedian Rainer Hersch. From Handel's Fireworks to Rossini's William Tell and Gerswhin's Summertime, Hersch leaves no composer untouched as he 'unexplains' classical music in a truly enlightening manner!
Sunshine Coast classical music lovers will be indulged in August when internationally acclaimed, Yehudi Menuhin protégé and 2006 Paganini Competition winner violinist Feng Ning performs Mozart's gorgeous Fourth Violin Concerto and Sibelius' magnificent First Symphony, conducted by Christopher Seaman. Then, in September TQO artists pack their instruments, wave the Concert Hall goodbye and depart Brisbane for the warm reaches of North Queensland.
The company will visit Rockhampton, Cairns, Townsville and Mackay with the Beethoven & Tchaikovsky concerts. Beethoven's Violin Concerto, the Mt Everest of the violin repertoire, will be performed by violinist Feng Ning, while Marco Zuccarini, praised for the warmth and finesse of his music making, will conduct Tchaikovsky's magnificent Fifth Symphony. This is a tour not to be missed. X-Collective, TQO's acclaimed cabaret ensemble will again tour to 10 rural Queensland towns, performing extreme feats of strength, agility and musical virtuosity! Dates and locations will be announced in January 2008 and preview performances will be staged in Brisbane at the TQO Studios, West End on April 19 and 20. -- www.thequeenslandorchestra.com.au
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