Presented by the European Union Delegation to Australia
Always ready to lend a hand, Beethoven’s friends sought to bring him new audiences by transcribing his pieces. In Hummel’s case, he should not have bothered. But the result became a delightfully frolicking ride into the Austrian fields led by Skye McIntosh’s happy band of the Australian Haydn Ensemble. A final Polish salute precedes the frivolity of Saint-Saëns’ ever-popular animal fantasy, when a parade of Festival artists join Jonathan Biggins for a zany finish.
Program
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony no. 6, Pastoral, arr. Hummel
–Interval–
Witold Lutoslawski: Paganini Variations
Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals
Artists
Australian Haydn Ensemble
Sally Walker, flute
Naoto Segawa, percussion
Ben Ward, double bass
New Zealand String Quartet
Edward and Stephanie Neeman, piano
With Jonathan Biggins, actor