Virtuosi Tasmania Inc

Virtuosi Tasmania Inc
Gag Wirén/Edvard Grieg
Home Hill Winery
Ranelagh

VIRTUOSI Tasmania is in the middle of its final concerts for 2010 with remaining performances later next week at Bothwell and Longford.
The ensemble featured Lucy Carrig-Jones, Laura Thomson, Yue Hong Cha and Rohanna Brown (violinists); Jo St Leon and Rodney McDonald (violists); Ivan James (Cello); and Stephen Martin (double bass).
Dag Wirén's Serenade for Strings Op 11 is a real charmer and the only piece by this prolific Swedish composer heard with any regularity outside Scandinavia.
The string players here tackled it with verve and precision.

The final March has one of those maddeningly familiar tunes associated with Scotland via television dramas.
Edvard Grieg's Holberg Suite Op 40, with its rhythmic and melodic appeal and rich writing for strings, proved to be the ideal companion to the Wirén work.
Again these performers revealed the many felicities of Grieg's five movement tribute to the Baroque with playing both expressive and refined.
The welcome encore was a much-loved arrangement by Percy Grainger of the Irish Tune from County Derry.

Peter Donnelly, Mercury 8/11/2010

Virtuosi Tasmania Inc
Hindemith/Beethoven
Daniel Kossov,Rohana Brown (violins)
Luke Spicer (viola)
Ivan James (cello)
Home Hill Winery
Ranelagh

COMPLETING a series of concerts at St Helens, Swansea and Evandale, these four musicians performed Hindemith's String Quartet No 4, Op 22 and Beethovens String Quartet No3 in D major, Op18, No 3 at the Home Hill Winery at Ranelagh.
Led by Russian-born violinist Daniel Kossov, who has only recently joined the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, this new quartet has a promising future on the evidence of the high standard acheived with these challenging works.
The Hindemith quartet is an intriguing and attractive neo-classical work in five short movements.

It demands tight ensemble playing as well as virtuso solo work, which was impressively achieved at this performance. In particular the furious and energetic scherzo was riviting.
The Beethoven quartet, in spite of its numbering, was the composer's first work in this form.
While the influence of Mozart and Haydn dictates the structure of the piece, the content is clearly recognisable as Beethoven.
Again the playing was polished and vibrant.
The experience was enhanced by Kossov's relaxed comentary and audience interaction.

Peter Donnelly, Mercury 26/10/2010

ANNALISA KERRIGAN
Corelli Concerto Grosso Op 6 No 2
Handel Concerto Grosso Op 6 No 5, "Lascia ch'io pianga", "Rejoice Greatly"
Paisiello "Il mio ben quando verra"
Mozart Divertimento K137
Puccini "O mio babbino caro"
Purcell "When I am laid in earth", "Music for a while"
Annalisa Kerrigan sop
Virtuosi Tasmania
Virtuosi Tasmania Records 001

Corelli's delightful Concert Grosso, one of the earliest such, brings the eight-member Virtuosi Tasmania into tuneful focus for this period music CD. Acoustically, the sound confirms we are in authentic locations, but withour an audience. The violins come off well enough, but the large instruments (one cello, one double bass) sound too far removed to have much in the way of a grounding effect, so the overall impact is a touch deflated. The players could do well with a bit more elbow room. Kerrigan, her voice strong for a soprano, comes from something like middle distance. The balance between her and the other performers may be struck more by virtue of their relative strengths and how their sounds effectively have to carry.

Nevertheless, Kerrigan and the ensemble do make a good sounding team. The selection and mix of tracks works well, with room left on the disk to have added one or two extra pieces. The minimal CD notes are informative enough to still be useful. While the hum of an audience attending a full live performance may have helped complete the ensemble's presentation, the CD does what it sets out to do. It lets us appreciate how Virtuosi Tasmania sounds in typical concert style, and sense a distinct charm that makes future releases worth listening for. KP

ABC Limelight. September 2010 Reviews p59

Virtuosi Tasmania
Beethoven and Mendelssohn
Laura Thompson (violin)
Rohana Brown (violin)
William Newbery (viola)
Dale Brown (cello)
Wendy Page (horn)
Greg Stevens (horn)
Peppermint Bay
Woodbridge

THE glorious view from the performance space at Peppermint Bay is an integral part of the total experience when attending this venue.
Beethoven's rarely heard Sextet for 2 horns and string quartet in E flat major, Op 81b was the first work. Though by no means great Beethoven, it has a sense of simple enjoyment and charm. Wendy Page and Greg Stephens rose commendably to the considerable demands the composer makes on the wind players in this piece. The hunting horn figurations of the last movement "Rondo Allegro" were particularly enjoyable.

Introducing Mendlessohn's String Quartet No 2 in A minor, Op 13, violinist Laura Thompson gave an account of the extradordinaery achievements of the young man as composer, performer and scholar. This quartet was written a short time after Beethoven's death and reflects a knowledge and love of that composer's as yet unappreciated late quartets. It also has a power and depth not usually characteristic of Mendelssohn.
Lacking only the final sense of polish and refinement afforded by an established string quartet, these players gave a high quality and committed performance of this wonderful work.

Peter Donnelly Mercury 5/7/2010

Virtuosi Tasmania
Trout Quintet
Laura Thompson (violin)
Andrew Metaxas (viola)
Dale Brown (cello)
Stephen Martin(double bass)
Lynette Smith (piano)
Meadowbank Estate

FRANZ Schubert's Piano Quintet in A major D667, The Trout, deserves its status as one of the most popular of all chamber music works.
A combination of lyricism and rustic melodic charm never fails to ehgage the listener.
On this occasion it was partnered by the single completed movement from a String Trio in B flat major, D471.
Composed by the 19-year-old Schubert, it is a sparkling piece, excellently performed on this ocassion by Laura Thompson, Andrew Metaxas and Dale Brown.

In the major work, the playing was spirited and of high quality with well chosen and sustained tempi, and notable attention given to the details of Schubert's scoring.
The rippling piano sounds in the variations of the fourth movement, Theme and Variations, were delightfully acheived.
Perhaps the playing was a little too loose-limbed in the finale, but, aside from a couple of moments of untidy ensemble, the overall impression here was one of relaxed enjoyment.

Peter Donnelly Mercury 9/8/2010

Virtuosi Tasmania
Beethoven and Mendelssohn
Laura Thompson (violin)
Rohana Brown (violin)
William Newbery (viola)
Dale Brown (cello)
Wendy Page (horn)
Greg Stevens (horn)
Peppermint Bay
Woodbridge

THE glorious view from the performance space at Peppermint Bay is an integral part of the total experience when attending this venue.
Beethoven's rarely heard Sextet for 2 horns and string quartet in E flat major, Op 81b was the first work. Though by no means great Beethoven, it has a sense of simple enjoyment and charm. Wendy Page and Greg Stephens rose commendably to the considerable demands the composer makes on the wind players in this piece. The hunting horn figurations of the last movement "Rondo Allegro" were particularly enjoyable.

Introducing Mendlessohn's String Quartet No 2 in A minor, Op 13, violinist Laura Thompson gave an account of the extradordinaery achievements of the young man as composer, performer and scholar. This quartet was written a short time after Beethoven's death and reflects a knowledge and love of that composer's as yet unappreciated late quartets. It also has a power and depth not usually characteristic of Mendelssohn.
Lacking only the final sense of polish and refinement afforded by an established string quartet, these players gave a high quality and committed performance of this wonderful work.

Peter Donnelly Mercury 5/7/2010

Virtuosi Tasmania
Chris Nicholas, violin
Rohana Brown, violin
William Newbery, viola
Ivan James, cello
Home Hill Winery
Ranelagh

TWO masterpieces for string quartet comprised this program from Virtuosi Tasmania with an interesting sequence of numbers: Beethoven No 11 Op 95 and Dvorak No 12 Op 96.
Beethoven's F minor Quartet Quartetto Serioso, a wonderful intense work composed in 1810, is more furious than serious.
Compact and highly concentrated in form, Serioso retains the capacity to startle listeners today.
Certainly, it was approached with great vigor and strong ensemble by these fine players in a satisfying performance.
Dvorak's Quartet in F major, B179, is known these days as American.

With its allusions to indigenous native and African-American music, its overall style remains basically Czech with its rhythmic vitality and warm Slavonic lyricism.
One or two minor moments of rhythmic imprecision aside, these artists successfully conveyed the qualities of this superb work with a sense of joy and exuberance.
Indeed, both performances attained a very high standard in music which contains many technical and interpretive challenges.
A final performance can be heard at 3pm on Sunday at 90 Grooms Hill Road, Koonya.

Peter Donnelly Mercury 3/5/2010

CD Review
Vivaldi Concertos - Virtuosi Tasmania
Virtuosi Tasmania Records 002

This is Virtuosi Tasmania's second CD following hard on the heels of their first release, featuring soprano Annalisa Kerrigan, released in November 2009.
As with the previous CD, it was recorded in the marvellous acoustic of Hobart's Government House Ballroom. The resulting collection is a worthy representation of the high standards achieved by Virtuosi Tasmania in recent years, though, at just over 45 minutes, the playing time is a tad ungenerous for a modern CD.
Among his compositions in many forms, Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) wrote around 550 concertos, the most famous by far being "The Four Seasons, formerly known as Op 8, No 1-4 from the set of 12 works titled "The Trial between harmony and invention".

The 5 works performed here attest to the high quality of many of his other concertos and are identified using the recent RV catalogue by Peter Ryom. The flute (RV 439) and oboe (RV454) pieces are both delightful and beautifully performed by Lloyd Hudson and Dinah Woods respectively. The Concertos for Two Violins (RV 522) and Three Violins (RV551) are perhaps more musically inventive and are excellently realised by sisters Susanna Lazaroff, Alison Lazaroff-Somssich and Rosalin Lazaroff.
While period instruments and style are the norm in recordings of this repertoire these days, these fresh and intelligent performances take a middle course stylistically and should give great pleasure. Star Rating 4/5.

Peter Donnelly

Coal Valley Chamber Music Festival 2O10 Romantic Strings: Elinor Levy, Rohana Brown, Anthea Hetherington, Laura Thomson (violins); Rodney McDonald, Anna Larsen (violas); Dale Brown (cello); Stephen Martin (double bass) Meadowbank Estate

THIS concert concluded Virtuosi Tasmania's enterprising second Coal Valley Chamber Music Festival.
The four concerts, at three delightful venues, amply demonstrated the wide-ranging repertoire choices available to Virtuosi through its pool of talented musicians.
For this performance, a string ensemble presented contrasted works by Neilsen, Elgar and Tchaikovsky.Neilsen's Little Suite for Strings, an early work from 1888, was a delightful opener, followed

by the short and intensely emotional Elegy for Strings Op 58 by Elgar.
Tchaikovsky's superbly crafted and melodious Serenade for Strings in C, Op 48 was written as a homage to his idol Mozart.
The players produced fine ensemble throughout, with some especially distinguished work from Dale Brown on cello.
The Elegie movement was beautifully poised, the performers concluding with a joyous burst of energy in the Finale.

Peter Donnelly, Mercury 10/02/10

Jazz sensation

WE have just witnessed the Virtuosi Tasmania 2010 Coal River Chamber Music Festival. What a magnificent event.
My wife and I decided to return to our early jazz days and attend the Tribute to Brubeck held in The Barm, Belmont Lodge, Ppoley Wines.
A capacity audience was rapt to hear what could only be described as true jazz performed by skilled lovers of music.
If the master Dave and innovator Paul could have been there to listen to their renditions of Take Five, Three to get Ready and many others, they would have"applaude0 as long as the entranced audience did.

Congratulations to Stephen Martin on bass and Fred Bradshaw (alias Paul Desmond) for their on-the-ball commentary and music.
They were ably helped by Daniel Sulzberger on piano and Eric John-stone on drums.
The hosting of this music by John Pooley provided an excellent venue and his after-concert light fare was a setting where old friends lingered and took in the Coal River scenery.
As an ancient broadcaster of the early Brubeck era, I could only describe the experience as a big tick of approval for Virtuosi Tasmania and John Pooley.

Ken Buntain Lindisfarne
Mercury Letters 15/02/10

Coal Valley Chamber Music Festival Trigon Trio: Barbara Jane Gilby, violin; Janet Rutherford, viola; Brett Rutherford, cello St Luke's Church, Richmond

ALL the evidence of fine ensemble playing was present in Trigon Trio's concert, opening with Allegro, the only movement of Schubert's Trio No. 1 in Bflat major D 471 (Unfinished). In classical sonata form, its faithful execution revealed much of Schubert's warmth and style.
Francaix's short String Trio contains a profusion of emotions from edginess to levity and humour. It was crisply delivered, with Barbara Jane Gilby making the most of a bewitching violin part in the Andante. In contrast Leo Werner's String Trio in G minor Op 6(1908) was a much more serious piece.

The relatively unknown Hungarian composer came to Trigon's attention via the internet.
Composed when Weiner was just 23, the trio is suggestive of Elgar in the Allegro con brio, but belongs with the late Romantic period.
The group proved their capacity to deliver a thoughtful interpretation, especially in Andantino, whose theme and variations include eloquent parts for all players.
The church supplied amazing acoustics.

Elizabeth Ruthven Mercury

Coal Valley Chamber Music Festival
Jane Edwards, soprano; David Nuttall, oboe; Elinor Levy, Rohana Brown, Anthea Hetherington, Laura Thomson, violins; Rodney McDonald, viola; Dale Brown, cello; Stephen Martin, double bass
Meadowbank Estate

ACCOMPLISHED individuals from the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra have given the first of four concerts in the Coal Valley Chamber Music Festival.
Vivaldi's Concerto for Oboe and Strings in F Major RV455 was sensitively played with careful attention to dynamics.
Apart from a relaxed tempo in the first movement, David Nuttall's display was virtuosic, particularly in the third movement, Allegro.
Corelli's Concerto Gros-so Op 6 No.6 in F major began with a delicious, soothing Adagio. The following energetic Allegro placed demands on cohesiveness, until effective interplay and consistent tempo ensured remaining movements were joyful.

Bach's Cantata BWV 199 Mean Herze schwimmt im Blut was the standout item. Jane Edwards gave a thrilling interpretation of the text, dramatically expressing elements of an emotional journey without compromising pitch or tone.
In a consistently beautiful performance, high points were Aria II Stumme Seufzer, where Nuttall supplied well sustained oboe obligato; and Chorale, with matching viola obligato.
The audience showed real appreciation of this fine start to Virtuosi Tasmania's musical year.

Elizabeth Ruthven Mercury

CD Review
Virtuosi Tasmania in Concert with Annalisa Kerrigan
Virtuosi Tasmania Records

IT is 20 years since the Tasmanian Symphony Chamber Players released their award-winning CD of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons.
Renamed Virtuosi Tasmania, these musicians, drawn mainly from the TSO, have established a considerable reputation in recent times for their imaginative and high-quality performances at various venues around the state.
This recording was made in the glowing acoustic of the Ballroom of Government House, Hobart, in August last year.
The opening, Corelli's Concerto Grosso Op 6 No. 24 brings fresh,

alert playing that, along with Mozart's Divertimento K 1374, is the highlight of the disc. The timbre of Annalisa Kerrigan's voice wil not appeal to everyone. Her clear but cool delivery applied intelligently to a selection of popular arias by Purcell, Handel, Paisiello and Mozart is especially effective in a beautiful rendition of Purcell's Music for a While. The inclusion of Puccini's O mio babbino caro seems curiously out of place, given the other repertoire choices. Overall an enjoyable collection.

Peter Donnelly Mercury Magazine 12/12/09 page 7