The Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) and Melbourne Recital Centre are thrilled to announce internationally feted Australian conductor Nicholas Carter will lead the ANAM Orchestra tonight (Friday 24 May) in a celebration of Beethoven’s and Bruckner’s symphonic masterpieces – the first of four ANAM Orchestra concerts at Elisabeth Murdoch Hall in 2019.
One of the finest Australian conductors of his generation – recently lauded for his role leading the 2018 Adelaide Festival’s acclaimed full staging of Brett Dean’s Hamlet – Carter returns to ANAM to direct two beloved symphonies of breathtaking lyricism.
Carter deftly moves through the vast emotional range of Beethoven’s Symphony no. 4, whose four movements take us from sorrow to joy, from a slow introduction to a dazzling perpetual motion Allegra. The two-hour program sees Beethoven accompanied by Bruckner’s sublime song of spiritual ecstasy, his own Symphony no. 4 Romantic.
One of the composer’s most popular works, Symphony no. 4 Romantic alludes to medieval knights, hunting, and secret lover’s trysts, as mystery and majesty triumphantly combine.
The newly appointed Chief Conductor of the Stadttheater Klagenfurt and the Kärntner Sinfonieorchester in Austria, Carter has established a reputation as a conductor of exceptional versatility, equally at home in the concert hall and opera house. Testament to this is his appointment in 2015 as Principal Conductor of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra – the first Australian to be chosen as Principal Conductor of an Australian orchestra in over thirty years.
As well as collaborating regularly with many leading orchestras and ensembles in Australia, Carter’s recent season highlights include debuts in Europe and North America, with Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and returns to the Hong Kong Philharmonic and the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where he served a two-year engagement as Kapellmeister and Musical Assistant to Donald Runnicles.
“It is with great anticipation that ANAM welcomes back Australian conductor Nicholas Carter,” says ANAM Artistic Director Nick Deutsch. “We all had a very special connection to Nicholas during his last residency. He brings an incredible dose of energy, insight and inspiration to every rehearsal and concert.”
Nicholas Carter conducts Beethoven & Bruckner
Elizabeth Murdock Hall – Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank Boulevard, Southbank
Performance: Friday 24 May 2019 – 7.30pm
Information and Bookings: www.melbournerecital.com.au
Image: Nicholas Carter – photo by Annette Koroll