music in the valley
Arts in the Valley is delighted to present a weekend of concerts on 2-3 April, to coincide with the closing weekend of Sculpture in the Valley’s 2022 exhibition. The two Hausmusik concerts will take place in a new venue not far from the Sculpture in the Valley venue in Bellawongarah.
SAT 2 APRIL 11AM
hausmusik concert
CONCIERTOS DESTILADOS
Andrew Blanch (guitar) & Daniel Rojas (piano)
MORE INFO
SAT 2 APRIL 5PM
kangaroo valley hall concert
Madeleine Easton (violin), Neal Peres da Costa (harpsichord) and Daniel Yeadon (cello)
SUN 3 APRIL 11AM
hausmusik concert
Madeleine Easton (violin), Neal Peres da Costa (harpsichord) and Daniel Yeadon (cello)
hausmusik concert
SAT 2 APRIL 11AM CONCIERTOS DESTILADOS
Leary Farm, 1071 Kangaroo Valley Rd, Bellawongarah
We present guitarist Andrew Blanch and pianist Daniel Rojas in Conciertos Destilados.
Conciertos Destilados (Distilled Concertos) is a celebration of the guitar and Latin America and Australian music-making. Headlining the program is Daniel Rojas’s delightful new Guitar Concerto No.1, along with Joaquin Rodrigo's classic Concierto de Aranjuez, both distilled into their duo versions for guitar and piano, the instrument closest to an orchestra in itself. With Rojas bringing his composer's ear and charismatic flair to Blanch's captivating skill at the guitar, the duo offer an exciting new take on these iconic works - from one of the best-loved concertos of all time, to the brand new.
Andrew Blanch
Amongst the exciting new generation of classical musicians, guitarist Andrew Blanch stands out. Armed with formidable talent, passion, and conviction, Andrew has carved out his own path to much acclaim. His independently-released album ‘Spanish Guitar Music’ (2015) and accompanying self-managed tour was an auspicious beginning for an active and multi-faceted musical career.
Andrew is an acclaimed soloist of traditional and contemporary repertoire, a key collaborator in eclectic ensembles, small and large, an active commissioner of new works, and an arranger. He is noted both for his ability to connect with the general public and for his appeal to critics. He has received a multitude of competition prizes and critical accolades.
Upcoming highlights for the 2020-2021 seasons include: collaborations with leading new music groups Ensemble Offspring and Topology, the commissioning of new works by Australian composers Daniel Rojas, Felicity Wilcox, Jessica Wells and Robert Davidson, album releases with long-term collaborators The José Carbó Trio and in his duo with Ariel Nurhadi, frequent touring of Australia and abroad including his first tour of South America, and the launch of new collaborations with American harpist Emily Granger and as a member of the New Zealand Guitar Quartet.
Andrew plays a 2014 Greg Smallman and Sons guitar, is based in Sydney, Australia, and is managed by Tier 1 Arts.
Daniel Rojas
Daniel Rojas is a South American born Australian concert pianist and highly acclaimed composer, specialising in the rich and vibrant Latin American musical aesthetic. He performs classical works by Spanish and South American composers alongside music from indigenous, folk and popular traditions, as well as his own compositions and exhilarating off-the-cuff improvisations. Rojas’ well-known warmth and entertaining manner, combined with his pianistic prowess and compositional skills create a truly unique and memorable concert experience for his audiences.
Proclaimed as “a master of his instrument” (The AU Review) Rojas has performed with numerous classical and world music ensembles (such as Jacana, Tigramuna and the Great Bowing Company) in Australia, Asia, and South America. 2013 engagements include The Metropolitan Orchestra’s world premiere of Rojas’ work for marimba and orchestra (Claire Edwardes as soloist); as soloist for his Piano Concerto no.1 with the Sydney University Symphony Orchestra, and various other solo and duo performances around Australia.
He has also composed and conducted for film, and is a passionate music educator, working with communities, schools and festivals. Invited for residencies at a number of institutions around Australia including the Queensland Music Festival, Rojas is currently Associate Lecturer in Music at Sydney University.
Rojas was awarded his PhD in composition from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2012 and has won several prizes for his compositions including the Fellowship of Australian Composers Award. Published by Reed Music Australia and the Australian Music Centre, in 2012 Rojas released his well-received solo album, Latin Piano Expressions.
kangaroo valley hall concert
SAT 2 APRIL 5PM KANGAROO VALLEY HALL
Moss Vale Rd, Kangaroo Valley NSW 2577
We present Madeleine Easton (violin), Neal Peres da Costa (harpsichord) and Daniel Yeadon (cello) in a concert of Johann Sebastian Bach and French baroque composers.
PROGRAM
Jacques Morel Chaconne for violin, gamba and harpsichord
Johann Sebastian Bach Sonata in G minor for gamba and harpsichord
Jean-Marie Leclair Trio Sonata for violin, gamba and harpsichord
- Interval-
Johann Sebastian Bach Preludes and Fugues for harpsichord
Johann Sebastian Bach Sonata for violin, gamba and harpsichord
(program subject to change)
hausmusik concert
SUN 3 APRIL 11AM
Leary Farm, 1071 Kangaroo Valley Rd, Bellawongarah
We present Madeleine Easton (violin), Neal Peres da Costa (harpsichord) and Daniel Yeadon (cello) in a concert of Italian baroque.
PROGRAM
Arcangelo Corelli Sonata for violin and continuo
Dieterich Buxtehude Sonata for violin, gamba and harpsichord
Antonio Vivaldi Sonata for cello and harpsichord
Johann Sebastian Bach Sonata for violin, gamba and harpsichord
(program subject to change)
Daniel Yeadon
Daniel Yeadon has a love of a wide range of musical genres and is an exceptionally versatile cellist and viola da gamba player, performing repertoire from the Renaissance through to Contemporary. Daniel is a passionate chamber musician, playing regularly with Bach Akademie Australia, Ironwood, Australian Haydn Ensemble, Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra, and Australian Chamber Orchestra.
Originally from the UK, Daniel read physics at Oxford University and then completed his postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Music in London. For many years Daniel was a member of the exuberant period instrument ensemble Florilegium, Fitzwilliam String Quartet and Concordia Viol Consort. Daniel continues to be guest principal cellist with many of the period instrument ensembles based in London, including the English Baroque Soloists and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
Daniel has made many award-winning recordings, including: Haydn’s cello concerto in C major with the Australian Haydn Ensemble; an ARIA winning disc of sonatas by J.S. Bach with Richard Tognetti and Neal Peres Da Costa; J.S. Bach sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord with Neal Peres Da Costa; J.S. Bach cantatas and Brandenburg concertos with John Eliot Gardiner and English Baroque Soloists, in addition to many critically acclaimed recordings with Ironwood, Florilegium and the Fitzwilliam Quartet.
Daniel is in much demand as a teacher. Associated with the Sydney Conservatorium of Music since 2005, and currently a lecturer there, his research interests are musical group learning experiences and historical performance practices.
Madeleine Easton
Australian violinist Madeleine Easton is internationally recognised for her versatility and combining period and modern playing, which has led her to work with multiple ensembles worldwide. She performs internationally, as soloist, concertmaster and director of some of the world’s most respected ensembles and orchestras.
Madeleine studied with Alice Waten and Chris Kimber at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music where she graduated with first class honours. She studied baroque violin with Lucinda Moon. She was awarded scholarships and won the Sydney Conservatorium Concerto Prize, and was a finalist in both the 1999 Richard Goldner Concerto Competition and the 1998 Gisbourne International Music Competition in New Zealand. In 2000 she received a full scholarship to attend the Meadowmount Summer School in New York State winning the chamber music prize, and a year later won a place for postgraduate study at the Royal College of Music with Dr Felix Andrievsky, graduating with distinction, winning the String Prize for most outstanding performer.
Madeleine is forging a career as a director and concertmaster. She has performed as both guest and permanent concertmaster with leading orchestras worldwide. Engagements include the Orquesta Sinfonica de Madrid, the Gulbenkian Foundation Orchestra of Lisbon, The English Baroque Soloists, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, The Kings Consort, The Gabrieli Consort, Musicians of the Globe, The Independent Opera Company, London Orchestra da Camera, Orchestra Nova, the Guildford Philharmonic, Bath Philharmonia, Southern Sinfonia, Florilegium, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Northern Ballet Orchestra of England. Madeleine also performs with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the City of Birmingham Symphony, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Academy of Ancient Music, and the Orchestra Révolutionaire et Romantique.
Madeleine’s ability to combine period and modern styles of violin playing has led her to form a special relationship with the Royal Academy of Music in London. She has directed the Bach Cantata Series since its inception in 2009, the Baroque Orchestra, the first year String Orchestra and the Modern Instrument Period Orchestra. She has taught period style on modern instruments for the World Orchestra at the Schleswig Holstein Festival in Germany, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, the Royal Northern College of Music and Monash University.
Madeleine has performed on many award-winning recordings including the Bach Cantata series with the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists, the recently released Bach B minor Mass recording with the same ensemble, Haydn's 'Creation', Mendelssohn's Elijah and Mozart's C Minor Mass with the Gabrieli Consort. She has released the complete piano trios of Alexis de Castillon with her piano trio 'Trio Castillon', on Peyrole Records. She has also recorded the Antoine Reicha Bassoon Quintet and variations with the all Australian ensemble, 'Island' on the ARS label.
Madeleine plays on a 1682 Giovanni Grancino violin and a 1704 Jo. Bapt. Rogeri baroque violin.
Neal Peres Da Costa
Neal Peres Da Costa is Professor of Historical Performance and Associate Dean of Research at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music (SCM), University of Sydney. A performing scholar and world-recognised authority on 19th-century piano performing practice he is a graduate of the University of Sydney, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the City University (London) and the University of Leeds (UK). Neal’s monograph Off the Record: Performing Practices in Romantic Piano Playing (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012) has received high praise around the globe. He has co-edited (with Clive Brown and Kate Bennett-Wadsworth the 9-volume set of Urtext/performing editions of Brahms’ Sonatas for solo instrument and piano (Bärenreiter-Verlag 2015/16) and has co-authored (with Clive Brown) the online Performance Practice Commentary for the new edition of Beethoven’s Sonatas for Piano and Violin (Bärenreiter-Verlag, 2020). In 2017, Neal received prestigious Australian Research Council (ARC) funding for a three-year Discovery Project for performance research in 19th-century piano playing. And he has just received another ARC DP (2021) leading a team of researchers at SCM and Sydney Living Museums entitled “Hearing the Music of Early NSW 1788-1860” which will examine Australian Indigenous and settler music making in the period and produce recordings that will be embedded in Austral Harmony.
Neal regularly appears with Ironwood, Australian Haydn Ensemble, Bach Akademie Australia, and the Song Company. Winner of the 2008 Fine Arts ARIA for Bach’s Sonatas for Violin and Obbligato Keyboard (ABC Classics, 2007) with Richard Tognetti and Daniel Yeadon, Neal’s discography also includes: Bach’s Complete Sonatas for Viola da Gamba and Harpsichord with Daniel Yeadon (ABC Classics, 2009), The Baroque Trombone with Christian Lindberg and the ACO (BIS, 2009); The Galant Bassoon with Matthew Wilke and Kees Boersma (Melba, 2009); Baroque Duets (Vexations 840, 2011) with Fiona Campbell, David Walker and Ironwood; Music for a While with Ironwood and Miriam Allan (2012); 3 with Genevieve Lacey and Daniel Yeadon (ABC Classics, 2012); Stolen Beauties with Anneke Scott and Ironwood (ABC Classics, 2015); Brahms: Tones of Romantic Extravagance (ABC Classics, 2016) which has been awarded “Recommended CD” by The Strad (UK); Beethoven Piano Concertos 1 and 3 (AHE, 2017; licensed by ABC Classics) and most recently Pastoral Fables with Alexandre Oguey – cor anglais (ABC Classics, 2018) and Romantic Dreams including Piano Quintets by Louise Farrenc and Camille Saint-Säens (ABC Classics, 2020). Other experimental recordings can be accessed at the SCM’s Reinvigorating Nineteenth-Century Performance platform. He has also recorded extensively on the Channel Classics label with Florilegium, the British ensemble which he co-founded in 1991 and of which he was a member for 10 years.