Nineteenth century French music will be the focus of a University of Queensland musical performance next month.
Evocations of France will be presented by the School of Music at 2pm on Sunday, August 24 in the Concert Hall of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC).
“The program concentrates on 19th century French music but also embraces a broader Mediterranean sensibility with Italian and Spanish influences, as well as French provincial folk,” said School of Music Head Professor Philip Bracanin.
The UQ Orchestra, directed by Adjunct Professor Maestro Werner Andreas Albert, will commence with Berlioz’s Roman Carnival.
The program also includes Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3 (the organ symphony) with renowned organist Robert Boughen and a selection of Canteloube’s Songs of the Auvergne sung by fourth-year music student and mezzo-soprano Kathleen Parker. Senior UQ music lecturer Gwyn Roberts will feature as soloist in the Lalo Cello Concerto.
“Berlioz’s Roman Carnival juxtaposes two contrasting ideas – a section featuring a haunting cor anglais solo and a wild, fiery and energetic Italian dance,” said Professor Bracanin.
“Lalo, in the finale of his cello concerto, quotes a Spanish folk song and the other two movements contain passages strongly suggestive of this same national temperament.
“Saint- Saëns’ organ symphony, on the other hand, is decidedly Parisian in character. A devoted friend of Berlioz and Liszt, Saint-Saëns, while generally considered a conservative, enjoyed staunch support from these two arch romantics, in fact his organ symphony is dedicated to Liszt.”
Professor Bracanin said the performance would delight and charm audiences, while providing a valuable experience for students to perform a demanding program under the baton of an international conductor in a splendid venue.
It is the second School of Music concert to be held at QPAC this year, following a successful performance at the concert finale of Brisbane classical music station 4MBS Classic FM’s 2003 4MBS Festival of Classics in May.
Tickets will be available at the door or telephone QPAC on 07 3840 7444.
Media: For further information, contact Joanne van Zeeland at UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 2619).
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