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Page 1: TSO Vine Booklet - buywell.com · he gave away the trumpet and took up the piano, ... Mozart, Martinu˚, and Zimmerman with the Symphony Orchestra of Lucerne, was released in 1995

TA S M A N I A N S Y M P H O N YO R C H E S T R A

C A R L V I N E

The TempestThe Tempest

476 226-7

Page 2: TSO Vine Booklet - buywell.com · he gave away the trumpet and took up the piano, ... Mozart, Martinu˚, and Zimmerman with the Symphony Orchestra of Lucerne, was released in 1995

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Carl Vine b. 1954

Oboe Concerto [17’10]1 I 6’092 II 5’173 III 5’44

Diana Doherty oboe

4 Canzona 11’50

Suite from The Tempest [22’26]5 Overture 2’236 Prospero and Miranda 4’427 The Conspirators 3’068 Ferdinand and Miranda 6’199 Prospero relents 3’250 Finale 2’31

! Smith’s Alchemy 18’45

Total Playing Time 70’16

Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra

Ola Rudner conductor

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When Carl Vine was a ten-year-old aspiringtrumpeter living in Perth, he fell from a tree andfractured three vertebrae in his back ending upin traction for three months. While convalescing,he gave away the trumpet and took up thepiano, and suddenly a world of compositionalpossibilities opened up for him.

‘It was probably the beginning of composing asa way of life,’ the Artistic Director of Musica VivaAustralia and leading Australian composer saysnow of the childhood accident. ‘I couldn’t playtrumpet any more because of the diaphragm,so I started on the piano. I soon realised that Icould put notes together and make interestingthings – which is easier to do on piano than ona trumpet!’ He went on to become anaccomplished pianist, going from Grade One to Grade Five on the instrument in a year, and in 1974 winning the state final of the ABC’sInstrumental and Vocal Competition with aperformance of the Rachmaninov Rhapsody ona Theme of Paganini.

Now, on the release of this CD of his works forchamber orchestra, he still finds it strange thatmodern composers tend not to be performersthemselves: ‘This is a modern phenomenon,probably started by Xenakis. In the 19th centuryit was unthinkable for a composer not to be aperformer of some sort. And you can go back to Bach – all he did was play music andprocreate, non-stop!’

But Carl Vine himself denies the virtuoso tag:‘When I was younger I thought I was going tobe a great pianist and I had dreams of studyingwith Ashkenazy in Reykjavik. I didn’t quite havethe guts to go through with it and I think it wasjust as well. I don’t think I would ever havemade a great pianist. I started far too late. Interms of career opportunities, if you’re notextraordinary by the age of nineteen then you’vemissed the boat.’

Playing piano as co-founder of the importantcontemporary music ensemble Flederman from1979 to 1989 also had an oddly adverse effecton his pianism. ‘We were doing 30 or 40concerts a year and a different programme ateach concert, so there was a “quick and easysolution” to every concert which auguredagainst becoming a better performer.

‘By the end of the 1980s it was no longer apleasure to play piano. It was simply a job – thatwas the time to give up.’ Now he only playswhen composing.

Since his breakthrough in 1978 with the brilliantscore to the dance work Poppy for the SydneyDance Company, he’s always been the man towatch in the generation of Australian composerswhich followed Peter Sculthorpe, Richard Mealeand Nigel Butterley.

Through six symphonies, many chamber works,and, in the early years in particular, dance

Page 3: TSO Vine Booklet - buywell.com · he gave away the trumpet and took up the piano, ... Mozart, Martinu˚, and Zimmerman with the Symphony Orchestra of Lucerne, was released in 1995

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scores, he’s built up a number of reputations:superb orchestrator, flexible stylist, rhythmicmaster (transforming the static landscapes of1960s Australian composition), devotee ofpastiche, but perhaps most of all, the composer-most-likely.

His two piano sonatas bear the hallmarks ofgreatness, while several of his six symphoniesare now mainstream orchestral fare, and the listof new commissions is never-ending. While hehas always been interested in electronic musicand modernist compositional techniques, hiscatalogue is peppered with titles drawn from theBaroque and Classical traditions. He’s writtenworks titled Sonata, Concerto Grosso,Symphony, String Quartet and Concerto and hismuch-vaunted rhythmic momentum is perhapsas much Baroque in its inspiration as it isminimalist, finding a widespread and genuinelydevoted audience. Many of his chamber pieceslike Café Concertino and Miniature IV canremind listeners of Les Six in their virtuosity,their instrumental polish, their rhythmic vibrancyand sense of humour.

But it’s in his works for small orchestra, capturedhere in performances by the TasmanianSymphony Orchestra, that Carl Vine finds uniquecompositional challenges. ‘Music for chamberorchestra doesn’t have the intimacy, say, of thestring quartet, nor the diverse timbral range of afull orchestra,’ he says, ‘so all these works onthe CD – and in particular the Suite from The

Tempest – deal with those two problems. Theonly exception in this particular collection is theOboe Concerto, which was actually written forfull orchestra.’

Smith’s Alchemy derives from the composer’sString Quartet No. 3 which was commissionedby the Smith Quartet (London) and firstperformed by them in 1994 at the BrightonFestival. When the Goldner String Quartetplayed it at the opening of the Angel PlaceRecital Hall in Sydney in 2000, its dramatic,virtuoso style caught the ear of Richard Tognetti,Artistic Director of the Australian ChamberOrchestra, and at his request it was rearrangedby the composer for chamber orchestra.

‘The intention of the original work was totransform four stringed instruments into a single“super” instrument while capitalising on theirnatural singing qualities – a kind of auralalchemy,’ the composer says. ‘Although the verystructure of the original work was predicated onthe techniques used to create certain effects,this remains much the same in the new versionfor string orchestra, and some parts requiredlittle amendment. The potential to “share” difficulttechniques across more than one instrument hasin many ways liberated the music, allowinggreater emphasis on its lyric qualities.’

Deeply moving in its slow section (with aprominent solo violin), and with the stringsswirling furiously in its outer reaches, Smith’s

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Alchemy has an emotional depth and appealthat has seen it hailed as one of Australia’sfinest concert works for small orchestra.

But equivalent to those successes in the concerthall, Carl Vine has always had a reputation as a‘natural’ composer for the theatre. His music forThe Tempest was composed for The QueenslandBallet, with choreography by Jacqui Carroll, in1990. It was a highly stylised version of theShakespearean play, but retaining all of the samecharacters and action. ‘Because at the time theQueensland Philharmonic Orchestra was small innumbers – fewer than 20 – the score containedequal amounts of electronic/pre-recorded andorchestral music, plus a certain amount whichwas a combination of both,’ Vine says. To compilethe concert suite, he extracted about 20 minutesof the most poignant sections for orchestraalone (the full score ran to 90 minutes).

The opening movement is an overture depictingthe tempest at sea – the first scene of the play.From here, the Suite follows the sequence of theShakespearean original, albeit in a truncated form,with the second movement featuring Prosperoand Miranda – one of the play’s early scenes –and then the Conspirators emerge. The fourthmovement depicts one of the duets betweenFerdinand and Miranda, before the suite thencuts out the middle section of the play, picking upthe action once more as Prospero relents andgives his blessing to Ferdinand and Miranda,

before resolving in the Finale.

An earlier work (and bearing one of thosedistinctive early-music titles), Canzona wascommissioned by the Australian ChamberOrchestra in 1985. ‘The term “Canzona” is usedhere in its broadest possible sense as a “songfor instruments”,’ Vine says. ‘As the simplest ofstarting-points, then, the chamber orchestra isviewed as a collection of “singing” instrumentspresented either in melody or in complexcounterpoint.’

Canzona is cast in a single movement consistingof two principal sections. ‘The first evolves from a simple melodic movement into a slow waltz-like figure. The second is based on astraightforward chord progression thatundergoes a series of convolutions leading tothe “presto” finale,’ the composer says. WhenJacqui Carroll used Canzona as the score for anew dance work for The Australian Ballet in1986, Carl Vine wrote a Prologue for it, whichserved as a ‘curtain-raiser’, the inclusion ofwhich is now at the discretion of theperformers. While that introductory section isnot performed here, the composer himself ispleased with this particular recording. ‘It’s thefirst time I’ve heard the work in ten years and itactually seems like a much better piece than Iever thought it was!’ he laughs.

As a one-time soloist himself, the concerto formcan bring out the best in Carl Vine the

Page 4: TSO Vine Booklet - buywell.com · he gave away the trumpet and took up the piano, ... Mozart, Martinu˚, and Zimmerman with the Symphony Orchestra of Lucerne, was released in 1995

Diana Doherty

Diana Doherty was born in Brisbane and beganstudying violin, piano and oboe at the ages ofsix, seven and eight respectively. She studiedat Queensland Conservatorium and at theVictorian College of the Arts in Melbourne,where she was awarded the MENSA prize for top graduating student. She won the OtherInstruments section of the ABC Instrumental andVocal Competition and was named MostOutstanding Competitor Overall for 1985.

Receiving an Australia Council Overseas StudyGrant, she studied in Zurich with ThomasIndermühle and took courses with MauriceBourgue. She won first prizes in the InternationalLyceum Club Competition, the InternationalChamber Music Competition in Martigny andthe Prague Spring Festival Competition of 1991,where she was awarded an additional prize forbest interpretation of a Czech concerto,performing Martinu. She was joint winner of the1995 Young Concert Artists International Auditionsin New York. She was subsequently presented inNew York and Washington recital debuts tocritical acclaim, and toured extensively within theUS doing recitals and masterclasses. She alsoperformed in the chamber music series at theSpoleto Festival in South Carolina, as well as aconcerto performance at the Lincoln Center.

Between 1990 and 1997, Diana Doherty wasPrincipal Oboe in the Symphony Orchestra of

Lucerne and a member of the BaslerKammerensemble, the Lucerne Wind Soloistsand the trio La Patisserie. Her first CD, ofconcertos by Haydn, Mozart, Martinu, andZimmerman with the Symphony Orchestra of Lucerne, was released in 1995.

She joined the Sydney Symphony as PrincipalOboe in July 1997. Her album Romantic OboeConcertos with the Queensland SymphonyOrchestra under Werner Andreas Albert wasreleased in 1998, and the CD Blues for DD – a recital program of folk and jazz-influencedworks with pianist David Korevaar – wasreleased in 2000.

Her most recent album, Souvenirs, was releasedin late 2003 to great acclaim.

In 2001 Diana Doherty won a MO award forClassical/Opera Performer of the Year for herpremiere performance of Graeme Koehne’s oboeconcerto Inflight Entertainment.

In 2002 Diana performed another new Australianoboe concerto, this time by Ross Edwards, withthe Sydney Symphony under the direction ofLorin Maazel. For this performance shereceived the 2003 APRA Australian MusicCentre Award for best performance of anAustralian work. Another highlight of 2002 was atour for Musica Viva with the Belcea Quartet.

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composer, but the prospect of writing an Oboe

Concerto (for oboist David Nuttall and theCanberra Symphony Orchestra in 1996)presented considerable challenges. ‘Although it’sone of the finest melodic instruments, the oboeis easily overpowered, is a little harder to controlthan other wind instruments, and lacks thetimbral range of, say, the string or percussionfamilies,’ he says. ‘The solution here was to limitthe form to “monody”, or simple accompaniedmelody, and to limit orchestral size to a windquartet, two horns, two trumpets, percussionand strings.’ Opening in a minor mode (mostlywith a flattened second), the sound-world is filledwith arabesques idiomatic to the oboe. Accordingto the composer, ‘it progresses smoothly into aregular motoric section that concludes withbrilliant trills on the oboe. This is followed by anextended slow movement that moves intoreassuringly romantic, major-chord territory.’

The third and final section of the concerto opensin the same minor modality as the opening, butin an energetic, syncopated rhythm. ‘This fallsaway abruptly to an unmeasured melismatic soloand a brief cadenza before returning to close thework, this time in an unashamed major key,’ thecomposer says. Dramatic, but most of all lyrical,it’s composed with the technical facility anddepth of expression which characterises all fourpieces on this engaging, imaginative, andintensely expressive CD.

Martin Buzacott

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Page 5: TSO Vine Booklet - buywell.com · he gave away the trumpet and took up the piano, ... Mozart, Martinu˚, and Zimmerman with the Symphony Orchestra of Lucerne, was released in 1995

Ola Rudner

Swedish-born Ola Rudner began his career as aviolinist – he is a prize winner of the PaganiniCompetition in Genoa and in 1979 was awardedthe annual prize of the Association of Critics inCopenhagen. After ten years as a soloist he tookup conducting, and has been Kapellmeister atthe Vienna Volksoper, Artistic Director ofPhilharmonia Wien and Principal Conductor andArtistic Director of the Tasmanian SymphonyOrchestra. In 2004 he takes up the position ofChief Conductor of the Haydn Orchestra in Italy.

Conducting highlights include work with theSydney Symphony, West Australian SymphonyOrchestra, The Queensland Orchestra, Bergen,Belgrade and Oslo Philharmonic Orchestras,Scottish and Swedish Chamber Orchestras,Stockholm Sinfonietta, Thüringen Philharmonie,Gothenburg, Aalborg, Trondheim and ErzgebirgeSymphony Orchestras, Frankfurt and SwedishRadio Orchestras, NTO Tonkünstler Orchestra,Vienna Volksoper, Izmir State Symphony, BBCSymphony Orchestra, Haydn Orchestra,Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie and LatvianNational Symphony Orchestra.

His debut in 2001 with Opera Australia at theSydney Opera House (The Gypsy Princess andCosì fan tutte) immediately led to newengagements for 2002: Fidelio in the Sydneysummer season and The Marriage of Figaro in

the Melbourne spring season, and a concertwith the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestraand the Opera Australia Chorus performingMozart’s Symphony No.25 in G minor andBrahms’ German Requiem. In recent seasons hehas also directed modules of SymphonyAustralia’s Conductor Development Program.

Engagements in 2004 include a European tourwith the Philharmonia Wein, concerts with theHaydn Orchestra, Stuttgart Radio Orchestra, RAIOrchestra Turin, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra(including recordings for ABC Classics) and theSydney Symphony and, for Opera Australia, TheMagic Flute in Sydney.

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Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra

The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra is acclaimed as one of the world’s finest small orchestras.German-born Sebastian Lang-Lessing is the orchestra’s Chief Conductor and Artistic Director.

The TSO presents an exciting and diverse annual concert series in Hobart and Launceston as wellas concerts in regional centres. With a full-time playing strength of 47 musicians, its corerepertoire is that of the Classical and early Romantic periods. It is, however, a versatile orchestra,performing repertoire from Baroque to jazz, popular music, opera and ballet, and is recognised forchampioning contemporary music.

The TSO records regularly for radio broadcasts, compact discs and soundtracks for television andfilm. It was the first Australian orchestra to record the complete Beethoven symphonies, and itsrecent recordings on international and Australian labels have been received with critical acclaim.In 2003, the orchestra launched its Australian Music Program and in 2004 releases the firstrecordings of orchestral music as part of the TSO Australian Composer Series.

Encouragement of young talent is of paramount importance to the TSO. It provides an educationprogram and collaborates extensively on a range of programs with Symphony Australia, theAustralian Youth Orchestra and the Australian Music Centre.

The TSO has performed in most of the major Australian festivals and regularly travels to mainlandAustralia, touring both capital cities and regional centres. It has performed in Greece, Israel, Indonesia,South Korea, China, Argentina, Canada and the USA.

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Powering Australian music into the future

Sponsor of the TSO Australian Music Program

Page 6: TSO Vine Booklet - buywell.com · he gave away the trumpet and took up the piano, ... Mozart, Martinu˚, and Zimmerman with the Symphony Orchestra of Lucerne, was released in 1995

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Executive Producers Robert Patterson, Lyle ChanRecording Producer Brooke GreenRecording Engineer Andrew DixonEditorial and Production Manager Hilary ShrubbCover and Booklet Design Imagecorp Pty LtdPhotography Asuka, Tasmania © APL/Volvox (Marine Photo Offices)

For Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra

Managing Director Nicholas HeywardArtistic Administrator Anthony PelusoOrchestra Manager Peter KilpatrickMarketing Manager Wes RoachAustralian Music Program Director Richard Millswww.tso.com.au

Recorded 17-20 February and 5-8 March, 2003 at the Studio of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Hobart.

Print music published by Faber Music, except The Tempest, published by Carl Vine.For more information on Carl Vine, please visitwww.carlvine.com

� 2004 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.© 2004 Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Made in Australia. All rights of the owner of copyright reserved.Any copying, renting, lending, diffusion, public performance orbroadcast of this record without the authority of the copyrightowner is prohibited.

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