Renowned Australian Haydn Ensemble To Tour The US in October

The internationally noted Australian Haydn Ensemble, one of Australia's leading orchestras specializing in historically informed performances, will make its American debut with a tour of seven concerts from October 12 to 21, 2023 on both the East and West Coasts. The program explores the 18th-century reflections on the times of day with a program of Haydn, Mozart, and J.C. Bach.

A highlight of the tour will be a performance Monday evening, October 16th, 7:30 p.m. EDT at New York's Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Chosen from among all of Australia's musical ensembles, the AHE was selected to celebrate the grand opening of the new Australian Embassy in Washington DC, October 19th, with a program of both early Classical period and contemporary Australian compositions. (For complete schedule, please see below.)

Founded in 2012, The Australian Haydn Ensemble burst onto the Australian music scene with unprecedented energy and passion. Under the direction of Artistic Director Skye McIntosh, the AHE brings together world-class musicians who excel in both modern and period instrument performance and are highly committed to both historical research and performance. The group's repertoire consists principally of music of the late Baroque and early Classical era, and the ensemble has built a reputation for vibrant and accessible performances, which are faithful to the sound-worlds that would have been familiar to Haydn and his contemporaries. Gramophone Magazine called the AHE "a polished, style conscious ensemble," December 2016 and, in a review by Sounds Like Sydney, the writer Shamishta de Soysa noted, "This elegant programme by the AHE was more than just music - it was a lesson rich in history as told in music. The playing, polished with an instinctive understanding of each other, was beautifully balanced, technically impressive, and cohesive." February 17, 2020.

The US Tour October 12 - 21, 2023

The US tour begins in San Diego, CA, at the Conrad Prebys Concert Hall, on Thursday evening, October 12th, 7:30 p.m. PDT and continues Saturday evening, October 14th, 7:30 p.m. PDT at the Musco Center for the Arts at the Chapman University, Orange Country, CA. A highlight of the tour will be a performance Monday evening at New York's Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, on Monday evening, October 16th, at 7:30 p.m. EDT. The next day, Tuesday evening, October 17th, 7:30 p.m. EDT, the ensemble performs at the Murdoch Center at the American Australian Association, 600 Third Avenue, New York City. The ensemble will then be presented by the Morris Museum in Morristown, NJ, for a matinee concert at 2:30 p.m. EDT and an evening concert at 7:30 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, October 18th. On Thursday, October 19th, at 6 p.m. EDT, the Australian Haydn Ensemble will participate in a celebration of the opening of the Embassy of Australia, Washington, DC. On Friday evening, October 20th, 7:30 p.m. EDT the ensemble plays at the Francis Scott Key Auditorium, St. John's University and, on Saturday evening, October 21, 7:30 p.m. EDT, it concludes its tour EDT as part of the Candlelight Concert Series at the Horowitz Performing Arts Center, Columbia, MD.

Conrad Prebys Concert Hall at University of California San Diego (7600 Fay Ave, La Jolla, CA 92037)

Thursday evening, October 12, 2023, 7:30 p.m. PDT

J. C. Bach Symphony in G Minor Op. 6 No. 6
Haydn Symphony No. 6 Le Matin

~Intermission~
Haydn Symphony No. 8 Le Soir
Mozart Symphony No. 29 in A Major

Tickets: For General admission from $50 to $65 please visit ArtPower UC San Diego's website.

Musco Center for the Arts at the Chapman University (One University Dr., Orange, CA 92866)

Saturday evening, October 14, 2023, 7:30 p.m. PDT

J. C. Bach Symphony in G Minor Op. 6 No. 6
Haydn Symphony No. 6 Le Matin

~Intermission~
Haydn Symphony No. 8 Le Soir
Mozart Symphony No. 29 in A Major

Tickets: For general admission from $32.75 to $68 please visit Musco Center for the Arts' website.

Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall (881 7th Ave, New York, NY 10019)

Monday evening, October 16, 2023, 7:30 p.m. EDT

J. C. Bach Symphony in G Minor Op. 6 No. 6
Haydn Symphony No. 6 Le Matin

~Intermission~
Haydn Symphony No. 8 Le Soir
Mozart Symphony No. 29 in A Major

Tickets: For general admission from $69 to $74 please visit Carnegie Hall's website.

Murdoch Center at American Australian Association (600 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10016)

Tuesday evening, October 17, 223, 7:30 p.m. EDT

J. C. Bach Symphony in G Minor Op. 6 No. 6
Haydn Symphony No. 6 Le Matin

~Intermission~
Haydn Symphony No. 8 Le Soir
Mozart Symphony No. 29 in A Major

Morris Museum (6 Normandy Heights Rd, Morristown, NJ 07960)

Wednesday afternoon, October 18, 2023, 2:30 p.m. EDT

Mozart Flute Quartet in D Major

Luigi Boccherini String Quintet in E major, Op. 11, No. 5
Haydn Symphony No. 104 London arr. Salomon (flute and string quartet)

Tickets: For general admission of $30, member admission of $25, and dual concert tickets of $ 60 for public and $50 for members please visit Morris Museum's website.

Wednesday evening, October 18, 2023, 7:30 p.m. EDT

J. C. Bach Symphony in G Minor Op. 6 No. 6
Haydn Symphony No. 6 Le Matin

~Intermission~
Haydn Symphony No. 8 Le Soir
Mozart Symphony No. 29 in A Major

Tickets: For general admission of $35, member admission of $30, and dual concert tickets of $ 60 for public and $50 for members please visit Morris Museum's website. Package of

Grand Opening of the New Embassy of Australia, Washington, DC

Thursday evening, October 19, 2023, 6:00 p.m. EDT

Francis Scott Key Auditorium at St. John's College (60 College Ave, Annapolis, MD 21401)

Friday evening, October 20, 223, 8:00 p.m. EDT

J. C. Bach Symphony in G Minor Op. 6 No. 6
Haydn Symphony No. 6 Le Matin

~Intermission~
Haydn Symphony No. 8 Le Soir
Mozart Symphony No. 29 in A Major

Tickets: For more information please visit St. John's College's website

Candlelight Concerts, Smith Theatre at the Horowitz Performing Arts Center (Campus Dr., Columbia, MD 21044)

Saturday evening, October 21, 2023, 7:30 p.m. EDT

J. C. Bach Symphony in G Minor Op. 6 No. 6
Haydn Symphony No. 6 Le Matin

~Intermission~
Haydn Symphony No. 8 Le Soir
Mozart Symphony No. 29 in A Major

Tickets: General admission of $45 and $10 student tickets are available on Candlelight Concert Society's website.

It has performed all over Australia, including the most important Australian festivals such as the Adelaide Festival (2022), and the Canberra International Music Festival (2022), the Melbourne Festival (2016).

AHE has received critical acclaim for its debut ABC Classics recording, The Haydn Album, which premiered at No. 1 on the Australian Classical Aria Charts. The Australian Haydn Ensemble has collaborated with many leading international and Australian historical specialist performers including Midori Seiler (GER), Melvyn Tan (UK), Marc Destrubé (CAN), Catherine MackIntosh (UK), Charles Neidich (USA), Stefanie True (CAN), Erin Helyard (Australia), Neal Peres Da Costa (Australia), Sara Macliver (Australia), Helen Sherman (UK) and David Greco (Australia).

About the Program:

Johann Cristian Bach

Music in the eighteenth century was often a family affair. Four of Johann Sebastian Bach's sons became composers: Johann Christian was only fifteen when his father died, and his reputation has never quite escaped from beneath that mighty shadow. But in the English-speaking world, at any rate, he deserves better. Johann Christian was "The English Bach": after an apprenticeship in Italy, he settled in London in 1762. He was appointed Music Master to Queen Charlotte, and he extended a kindly welcome to the eight-year-old Mozart when he visited London in 1764. But London fashions were (as ever) transient; and when Johann Christian died aged 46, he left his widow so short of funds that the Queen herself intervened to grant her a pension.

So, we owe him one. Mozart was never in any doubt: "Mr Bach from London has been here for the last fortnight" he wrote to his father Leopold from Paris in August 1778 - "I love him (as you know) and respect him with all my heart." It's easy to hear what might have fascinated Mozart in this sixth - and stormiest - of Johann Christian's six symphonies Op. 6, published in London some time before 1769. Here, in three concentrated movements, are all the elements that represented the cutting edge of musical fashion in the third quarter of the eighteenth century: the powerful, driving crescendos and torrential tremolandi of the ultra-modern "Mannheim" style; the tender, lyrical contrasting themes (as the age of Reason yielded to an age of Sensibility), and the austere, dignified craftsmanship of the central Andante: in which Johann Christian shows himself every bit his father's son.

- Note by Richard Bratby

HAYDN:

Haydn's early symphonies - Le Matin (morning), Le Midi (noon), and Le Soir (night) - were originally composed for Prince Esterházy's small orchestra of between 14 and 18 players who performed under Haydn's direction. They are as much chamber music as they are symphonic works, each featuring stunning solos for violin and cello.

Ever the diplomat, it is thought that Haydn, a newcomer to the court, included these beautiful solo passages to win favor with the musicians, showcase their talents and 'pull out all the stops' to win over his new employer. Luckily, Haydn had at his disposal many excellent musicians to pull off such a trick. This included the gifted violinist Luigi Tomasini; Anton Kraft, a talented cellist that Haydn had recommended for the job; and the flautist Franz Sigel. The symphonies' evocative and innovative nature, which marries humor with beauty in an often operatic style, provides a crystalline window into the unfolding genius of Haydn who was, at the time, a relatively young composer.

- Note by Skye McIntosh

MOZART:

Despite the wealth of prodigious talent that can be observed on YouTube these days, Mozart is perhaps unique in history for his early mastery of music, as demonstrated by this symphony written when he was just 18 years old. By this stage he had amassed vast experience as a performer and composer, and had absorbed much of what the entire history of Western music had to offer in style, form and drama. While it's impossible to clearly categorize Mozart's music within different phases of his short life, it is clear that his trip to Vienna in the autumn of 1773 was highly influential, having exposed him to some of Haydn's latest and greatest work, the Op.20 String Quartets and several Sturm and Drang symphonies. Although they likely did not meet until a few years later, Mozart admired and loved Haydn. It was eventually to be a set of string quartets that Mozart would dedicate to his friend, however one gets the sense in this symphony that he is already an appreciative follower of the old master, having been awakened to the full expressive potential of an orchestra.

Even for musicians and artists, entering the state of mind required to wield beauty such as the melodies and harmony within this symphony is a daunting prospect. An insight into the choice of A major as the key signature for this work might help, with Schubert describing it in 1784 as "declarations of innocent love, satisfaction with one's state of affairs, hope of seeing one's beloved again when parting; youthful cheerfulness and trust in God." Within less than a minute of the opening Mozart uses an enormously expressive series of techniques to create drama. An unconventionally quiet and calming series of octaves in the violins draws in the listener before a surprise canon shifts to the mood to ebullience. The sense of joy in the development of this opening theme on its own is irresistible, however Mozart serves up an extra melody, characterized by a repeating violin trill, just to keep things interesting, as well as a cheeky closing cadenza to the movement.

The second movement, in D major with muted strings, creates an atmosphere of soft sensuality and pleasure. The Minuet of the third movement unfolds like a conversation between two friends of contrasting personality, the one genteel and the other rather more uncouth in their fortissimo outbursts. The finale, Allegro con spirito, is a breathtaking ride of string virtuosity.

- Note by Anthony Albrecht

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