War and Peace

Wednesday 14 / Thursday 15 September 2022

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Richard Strauss conceived his Metamorphosen as a threnody for Germany’s musical culture in the wake of the Second World War. Twenty-three string soloists voice distinct lamentations that culminate in a tour de force of orchestral desolation. And yet, the title – borrowed from the poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe – holds a small seed of hope for rebirth or renewal.

The final bars of Metamorphosen quote from an earlier funeral march, from Ludwig van Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ Symphony. Originally dedicated to Napoleon Bonaparte, Beethoven famously struck the inscription from the score and offered it instead ‘to the memory of a great man’: a greatness tarnished by hubris.

Great depths of idealism and disillusionment are held in the harmonic climax, as the music climbs to an astonishingly high point of tension. Beethoven had hoped that Napoleon would inspire a humanist, egalitarian Europe; with a powerful and startlingly original dissonance based on F major, the composer issues his own call to revolution, condemning greed, oppression and the lust for power.

These works of raw intensity find a peaceful counterpoint in Malcolm Williamson’s Second Piano Concerto. Composed over just eight days in 1960, Williamson described the piece as ‘an overtly Australian work aiming at spontaneity and vigour rather than profundity.’ Joyful, tuneful and exuberant, the concerto reflects the composer’s eclectic influences, from Igor Stravinsky and Béla Bartók to George Gershwin and Edward Elgar.

Presented by Canberra Weekly

YOUR CONCERT EXPERIENCE

When to arrive
Doors to Llewellyn Hall will open at 6.15pm. The pre-concert conversation will run from 6.30pm to 7pm (approx.), with the concert commencing at 7.30pm. Please allow sufficient time for parking.

Box Office
The Box Office in the ground floor Athenaeum will be open from 6pm for ticket purchase and collection. The Box Office is card only (no cash). 

Accessibility
FM radio assisted hearing units are available in Llewellyn Hall. To reserve a unit, call CSO Direct at least 24 hours in advance on 02 6262 6772 (weekdays 10am – 3pm). Hearing units can be collected from the Box Office in the ground floor Athenaeum. For information about wheelchair seating and other accessibility requirements, call CSO Direct or enquire directly with Llewellyn Hall.

Cloaking
Cloaking is not available at this time. We apologise for any inconvenience.

Parking
Free after-hours parking is available in front of the ANU School of Music, behind the ANU School of Art and in the Baldessin multi-storey carpark off Childers Street.

Refreshments
Atticus Coffee (Level 5, ANU School of Music) and the Athenaeum and Level 4 bars will be open pre-concert and at interval. The bars will accept card only (no cash).

Pre-concert conversation
Concertgoers are invited to attend a free, pre-concert talk from 6.30pm to 7pm (in Llewellyn Hall) with guest conductor Sam Weller and Andy Baird, CSO Director of Artistic Planning and Engagement.

Interval
There will be a 20-minute interval from 8.30pm to 8.50pm (approx.).

Concert programs
Program notes and artist profiles for this concert are included in the seventh edition of rest, the CSO concert magazine. Complimentary copies will be available at the concert. Program notes are also available online.

Running order
6.00pm – Box Office opens
6.15pm – Doors to Llewellyn Hall open
6.30pm – Pre-concert conversation begins
7.00pm – Pre-concert conversation concludes (approx. timing)
7.30pm – Concert commences
8.30pm – Interval (approx. timing)
9.40pm – Concert concludes (approx. timing)

COVID SAFETY

The CSO is working closely with Aspen Medical to deliver concert experiences in line with ACT Government requirements.