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The Australian Chamber Orchestra celebrates two big anniversaries in 2020

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Violinist Richard Tognetti performs with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. His eyes are closed in contemplation.
Richard Tognetti celebrates 30 years as Artistic Director of the ACO in 2020.()

In 2020 the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) celebrates Richard Tognetti’s 30th year as Artistic Director.

The orchestra’s 2020 season will span nearly a millennium of music, from Hildegard von Bingen, to brand new music celebrating the violinist and director’s anniversary with the organisation. Bookending the season are two concerts celebrating another big anniversary, Beethoven’s 250th birthday. A range of soloists will join the orchestra throughout the year, including Stuart Skelton who appears in Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde.

A celebration of Richard Tognetti’s 30 years with the ACO

Tognetti took the reigns of the ACO in 1990. During his 30 years with the company he has built the orchestra’s international reputation for experimentation, collaboration and immersive, dynamic performances.

The orchestra will celebrate his ongoing contributions as arranger, composer, collaborator and champion of new works. Tognetti will perform as soloist for the Australian premiere of music by Anna Meredith that intertwines Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with new compositions for electronics and string orchestra. In the same concert, Tognetti will also premiere a work for electric violin and string orchestra composed by Samuel Adams, especially for his anniversary. Tognetti’s composition Beyond also features on the program.

Marking Beethoven’s 250th birthday

The ACO bookend their 2020 season with concerts acknowledging the enduring influence of Beethoven in the 250th anniversary year of the composer’s death. Opening the season is a concert of his first three symphonies, including the "Eroica." Closing the season is a concert that showcases Beethoven’s influence and the development of music over the past 250 years with significant music from every 50 years since his birth.

Stuart Skelton and Christianne Stotjin sing Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde

In an exclusive Australian performance in 2020, Australian tenor Stuart Skelton and Dutch mezzo-soprano Christianne Stotjin join the ACO for a performance of Mahler’s symphony for vocalists and orchestra, Das Lied von der Erde (Song of the Earth.)

British violinist Hugo Ticciati will also appear as a soloist in 2020, delving into wellbeing, mindfulness and the restorative power of music. ACO favourite collaborator, Russian pianist Polina Leschenko, will reunite with Tognetti in a performance of Mendelssohn’s Double Concerto.

Find out more about the Australian Chamber Orchestra's 2020 season on their website.

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