Max Richter Coming to Melbourne Recital Centre, 24 November

Hailed as one of the most influential contemporary composers of the past decade, electro?acoustic polymath Max Richter makes his Australian debut this November, accompanied by New York's 22-piece Wordless Music Orchestra in Vivaldi Recomposed. Max Richter and the Wordless Music Orchestra perform at Melbourne Recital Centre's Elisabeth Murdoch Hall on Monday 24 November.

The German-born, British-raised composer, pianist and producer presents the Australian premiere of his classical-electronic masterwork and chart-topping release Vivaldi The Four Seasons Recomposed (2012), which critics have said 'Makes these nearly 300-year-old concertos gleam like new' (The Australian).

Bridging a league of minimalist greats such as Reich, Glass and Pärt with the pioneering electronics of Eno and Kraftwerk, the Max Richter has spearheaded a strain of heartbroken melodicism welcomed in classical and contemporary circles alike. From a childhood raised on the piano, synthesiser and studies under the influential Luciano Berio, to his decade with neo-classical quintet the Piano Circus, Richter's cinematic arrangements have seen him collaborate with Tilda Swinton on the spoken word full-length The Blue Notebooks (2004), whilst his elegiac balladry has seeped onto the screens of Martin Scorsese (Shutter Island), Clint Eastwood (I. Edgar), Ridley Scott (Prometheus), Terrence Malick (To the Wonder) and Ari Folman's Golden Globe-winning Waltz with Bashir.

Having harnessed the adventurous spirit of the Wordless Music Orchestra, fresh from Jonny Greenwood's world premiere performance of his There Will Be Blood score - Richter will now lead the ensemble through his invigorating reworking of Vivaldi's 300-year-old masterpiece - 'a beautiful recomposition' (The Independent), celebrating the classic in its full symphonic splendour.

Part of Deutsche Grammophon's Recomposed series - a strand of specially-commissioned albums revisiting classical works for contemporary listeners, Richter's Four Seasons preserves the elegant beauty of the originals, but subtly modifies them with unexpected cadences, loops, counter-melodies and atmosphere, bringing to life the birds of Spring, summer lightning and wintery storms.

Richter was fascinated by Vivaldi's 1725 composition because "The Four Seasons is an omnipresent piece of music and like no other part of our musical landscape. I hear it in the supermarket regularly, am confronted with it in adverts or hear it as muzak when on hold." The biggest challenge for the British composer was to "create a new score, an experimental hybrid, that constantly references 'Vivaldi' but also 'Richter' and that is current but simultaneously preserves the original spirit of this great work."

This long-awaited Australian debut will see one of the most distinctive voices to emerge from the indie- classical landscape guide audiences through a rare evening of shimmering electronic vistas and iconic classical cadences, a major musical moment for Melbourne audiences in Elisabeth Murdoch Hall.

EVENT DETAILS

Max Richter and the Wordless Music Orchestra: Vivaldi Recomposed

Monday 24 November 7.30pm, Elisabeth Murdoch Hall

Tickets: Premium $105 | A reserve $90 ($80 concession | B reserve $75 ($60 concession) | C reserve $65

For more info & tickets visit melbournerecital.com.au or call 03 9699 3333 during business hours.