C8 Sibling Revelry

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May 1, 2023
7.30pm - 9.00pm
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Fitters' Workshop
Printers Way, Kingston, ACT 2604

The history of music is full of talented siblings and multi-generational musical families. Fanny Mendelssohn was as musically gifted as her brother Felix and their personal bond remained strong until the end. Her untimely death in 1848 prompted the dramatic outpouring of Felix’ string quartet op 80, his sixth and last.
The contrasting fate of the Boulanger sisters is also documented. The elder of the two, Nadia, lived well into her nineties and taught composers from Gershwin to Glass. Her younger sister Lili died at the age of 24, her creative potential largely unfulfilled.
Closer to home, the Wesley-Smith twins, Peter and Martin share a knack for words and wit. Using Lewis Carroll’s double persona as a source of inspiration, they left us countless songs and music theatre works including Boojum!, first performed at the 1984 Adelaide Festival in front of Queen Elizabeth. Brother Jack is Martin’s four-hand piano take on the old French round ‘Frère Jacques’.
Flora and Theo Carbo, two young musicians out of the Melbourne jazz scene, surprised us all at the 2022 festival. They are jointly creating a new work for ensemble for this sibling occasion.
Program
Fanny Hensel-Mendelssohn, Four Songs op 8
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, String Quartet op 80
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Nadia and Lili Boulanger, Two Songs
Martin Wesley-Smith, Brother Jack
Martin Wesley-Smith, Three Songs from Boojum!
Flora and Theo Carbo, new work (WP)
Artists
Quatuor Van Kuijk
Edward and Stephanie Neeman, piano
Susannah Lawergren, soprano
Anna Fraser, soprano
Luminescence Chamber Singers
Roland Peelman, piano
Theo Carbo, electric guitar
Flora Carbo, saxophone
Katie Yap, viola
Donald Nicolson, keyboard
ARTIST Learn more about the artist
Artist Roland Peelman AM - Festival Artistic Director
Artist Flora Carbo
Artist Luminescence Chamber Singers
Luminescence gives voice to human experiences of all kinds.
Luminescence Chamber Singers is a vocal ensemble based on Ngunnawal country [Canberra, Australia], and the umbrella organisation for the Luminescence Children’s Choir. Performing music from all times and places, Luminescence champions the unbound expressive potential of our original instrument - the human voice. Both ensembles deliver artistic and educational programs that ignite the imagination of audiences, and give voice to human experiences of all kinds. Luminescence presents an annual concert programme in Canberra and surrounding regions, and performs at a wide range of festivals, events and collaborations. Recent highlights have included performances of David Lang’s Pulitzer prize winning work, ‘little match girl passion’, appearances for Canberra International Music Festival, Four Winds Festival (Bermagui), Musica Viva, Flowers of War, and numerous performances in partnership with the National Gallery of Australia for Patricia Piccinini’s ‘Every Heart Sings’ Skywhale project.Artist Stephanie Neeman
Artist Donald Nicolson
Artist Katie Yap
Artist Quatuor Van Kuijk
"Style, energy and a sense of risk. These four young Frenchman made the music smile." The Guardian
The Quatuor Van Kuijk's international accolades boast First, Best Beethoven, and Best Haydn Prizes at the 2015 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet competition; First Prize, and an Audience Award at the Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition; as well as becoming laureates of the Aix-en-Provence Festival Academy. They were BBC New Generation Artists from 2015-17, as well as ECHO Rising Stars for the 2017-18 season.
Following such high success early in their career, the ensemble is an established presence at major international venues, performing at the Wigmore Hall, London; Philharmonie de Paris, Auditorium du Louvre, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, and Salle Gaveau, Paris; Tonhalle, Zurich; Wiener Konzerthaus and Musikverein, Vienna; Royal Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; Berliner Philharmonie; Kölner Philharmonie; Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg; Gulbenkian, Lisbon; Tivoli Concert Series, Denmark; Konserthuset Stockholm; and at festivals including the BBC Proms, Cheltenham, Heidelberg, Lockenhaus, Davos, Verbier, Aix-en-Provence, Montpellier/Radio France, Evian, Auvers-sur-Oise, Stavanger and Trondheim (Norway), Concentus Moraviae (Czech Republic), Haydn/Esterházy (Hungary), and Eilat (Israel).
Quatuor Van Kuijk is supported by Sharon Green and Marcel Skjald