Hunters Hill Music returns in 2024 with a four-program series in the beautiful acoustic of the Hunters Hill Town Hall, on Sydney’s lower north shore.
“I believe that community-run Series, such as Hunters Hill Music, are the future of music presentation in this country,” says HHM Director Lerida Delbridge. “As we hear of social anxiety and loneliness increasing, I feel that community organisations such as [ours] can create a sense of belonging and a tremendous sense of engagement within the community. Music is inclusive and unifying, without prejudice.”
The Hunters Hill Music Series opens on 24 March with the award-winning Tinalley String Quartet (of which Delbridge is a founding member) in collaboration with actor John Bell.
In Beethoven’s Letters, Bell and Tinalley create a musical and emotional window into the complex disposition of one of the most famous and influential composers of all time. Among the letters and memoirs aired in the performance are Beethoven’s now famous ‘immortal beloved’ correspondence and his Heiligenstadt Testament, addressed to his brothers.
Tinalley, “one of Australia’s finest ensembles” according to Limelight, will illuminate Bell’s readings with movements from Beethoven’s String Quartets Opus 18, 74, 131, 132 and 135.
On 14 July, the Town Hall welcomes the Goldner String Quartet, an ensemble on its farewell tour after three decades of exceptional music-making. Making their Hunters Hill Music debut, the quartet will perform a movement of Rachmaninov’s First Quartet and two landmarks works for string quartet: Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8, and the second quartet of Beethoven’s Op. 59 Razumovsky set, a work of extraordinary depth and beauty whose second movement is inspired by the ‘music of the spheres’.
Goldner String Quartet. Photo supplied
The third program of the Series, Water Spirit (22 September), features Australian oboist Diana Doherty, soloist and Principal Oboe with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, performing Nigel Westlake’s luminous chamber concerto Spirit of the Wild.
In a program inspired by nature, the Westlake work (inspired by the wilds of Tasmania and a meeting with environmentalist Bob Brown) will be bookended by Finnish composer/pianist Olli Mustonen’s Toccata, and Schubert’s beloved Trout Quintet – arguably one of the sunniest pieces of chamber music ever written.
Doherty will be joined by a stellar line-up of musicians including violinists Alexandra Osborne (SSO) and Thibaud Pavlovic-Hobba (ACO); violist and composer Justin Williams (TSQ/SSO); cellist Simon Cobcroft (SSO); bassist David Campbell (SSO) and pianist Benjamin Kopp.
Andrew Goodwin. Photo supplied
The 2024 Season concludes on 15 December with a program inspired by song. Tenor Andrew Goodwin, together with musicians Ike See (ACO), Delbridge and Justin Williams (SSO/Tinalley String Quartet), Eliza Sdraulig (Chroma Quartet) and guitarist Vladimir Gorbach (Australian Guitar Quartet), will present a collection of works by composers such as Dowland, Purcell, Handel, Britten, Warlock, Ades and Korngold. Expect a program of discovery, reimagining, reflection and joyfulness … “with perhaps a little audience participation,” says Delbridge.
The 2024 Series is Delbridge’s first as Director of Hunters Hill Music, after taking over the reins from opera great Geoffrey Chard. She is “tremendously excited” to present it.
“The quality of music making will be exceptional and the programs are so varied and interesting, I think there is something for everybody.”
For more information on the Hunters Hill Music Series in 2024, visit this link.
Brandy Clark and Tommy Prine Victoria Stevens, Emma Delevante/Courtesy of the artists hide caption toggle caption Victoria Stevens, Emma Delevante/Courtesy of the artists Brandy Clark and Tommy Prine Victoria Stevens, Emma Delevante/Courtesy of the artists Brandy Clark "Buried" "Dear Insecurity" "She Smoked In The House" Tommy Prine "Boyhood" "Mirror and a Kitchen Sink" Today on World Cafe, we're bringing you the music of AMERICANAFEST 2023. The music festival in Nashville featured more than 200 artists, and we're excited to share […]
