Selby & Friends returns this July with From Romance to Reckoning, a six-concert national tour bringing together three of Australia’s finest musicians.
Pianist Kathryn Selby AM is joined by Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Natalie Chee and acclaimed cellist Richard Narroway, promising an evening of chamber music that is both emotionally rich and technically exhilarating.
The Fire Dances Suite is a multi-dimensional reflection on the devastating bush fires of 2019-20. Commissioned through the support of a Fresh Start Grant, funded by ABC Classic, the suite of eight dance movements mirrors the distinct voices of eight outstanding women composers, one from each Australian state or territory.
These dance movements reflect upon Australians’ relationship with the land and the progression of a treacherous natural event: from flames leaping into the sky, embers igniting, haze settling over bustling urban centres, brilliant green growth arising from charred soil, the spirits leading out of destruction and into a kind of re-birth of nature.
Robert Schumann was a prolific composer with a gift for beautiful melody, and in his time he changed the way that music was understood. Selby & Friends performs his 3 Romances Op. 94, originally scored for oboe and piano, here in arrangement for cello and piano.
Schumann’s Violin Sonata No. 1 in A minor, Op. 105 is a moving, sometimes tumultuous melodic journey. Felix Mendelssohn’s iconic Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 66, closes this eclectic program with unmistakable joie de vivre.
“I’m very excited about this program with my friends Natalie Chee and Richard Narroway. Especially with so much beautifully melodious music by Schumann and Mendelssohn! The impact of bushfires on the land and people is captured beautifully in the Suite, and it will be a fun experience to explore this fantastic piece,” says Artistic Director and pianist, Kathryn Selby.
From Romance to Reckoning will be presented in Canberra (17 July), Bowral (18 July), Turramurra (19 July), Sydney (21 July), Melbourne (22 July) and Adelaide (26 July). For more information, visit: www.selbyandfriends.com.au for details.
Image: Natalie Chee, Kathryn Selby AM and Richard Narroway – courtesy of Selby & Friends