Media Release: May 2018
Selby & Friends presents the 19th-century Romanticism of Schubert, Brahms and Mendelssohn in A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Romantics
Andrew Haveron – Violin | Umberto Clerici – Cello | Kathryn Selby – Piano
▪ Felix Mendelssohn Violin Sonata in F major (1838)
▪ Johannes Brahms Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, Op. 99
▪ Franz Schubert Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat major for piano, violin, and violoncello, D. 929
This special winter program by Selby & Friends is a tour through Romantic-period chamber music by Schubert, Brahms and Mendelssohn. Artistic Director and pianist Kathryn Selby AM welcome illustrious guest artists Andrew Haveron, Concertmaster of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and Umberto Clerici, SSO Co-Principal Cellist.
Bursting with beautifully sweeping melodic passages, a hallmark of 19th-century Romanticism, the cornerstone of the program is Franz Schubert’s dramatic Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat major D. 929, a pinnacle of the chamber music repertoire composed by a poverty-stricken, terminally ill young man near the end of his life.
Both Haveron and Clerici are showcased with Selby in solo sonatas on this concert program with the Mendelssohn violin sonata and the Brahms cello sonata. Mendelssohn didn’t live to see the publication of his Violin Sonata in F major (1838), which was revived, thanks to the great violin virtuoso Yehudi Menuhin, only in 1953. The fiery and passionate Brahms Cello Sonata No. 2 effectively employs the instrument’s higher range and myriad technical abilities.
Andrew Haveron, one of the most sought-after violinists of his generation, is the highest British prize-winner at the Paganini competition in the last fifty years. He has performed concertos with many of the UK’s finest orchestras and as Concertmaster of the BBC Symphony Orchestra before joining the SSO as its current Concertmaster. He was also First Violinist of the renowned Brodsky Quartet
Turin-born cellist Umberto Clerici has garnered numerous accolades, including a Laureate title at the 2011 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. He has performed with orchestras around the world, at Weill Recital Hall at New York’s Carnegie Hall, the Vienna Musikverein and the Salzburg Festival. Prior to taking up his Principal Cello position with the SSO, Umberto Clerici was Principal Cello at the Teatro Regio in Turin
Kathryn Selby AM has won multiple international and Australian awards and is renowned as Australia’s pre-eminent chamber music pianist. She is the founder and Artistic Director of Selby & Friends, now in its 12th season, presenting chamber music to enthusiastic audiences across Australia. A hallmark of Selby & Friends concerts is the musicians’ informal talk from the stage about the concert program, including their own stories about their experience with music, historical and cultural contexts of the repertoire
Of her illustrious guest artists, Kathryn Selby says: “I love working with Andrew and Umberto and together we have chosen a beautiful program of Romantic masterworks both fascinating and overwhelming. I believe it will be another inspiring tour with great colleagues and gorgeous music.
Tickets are on sale now via the Selby & Friends website or by calling 1300 511 099
A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Romantic tours the following dates and venues:
Saturday, June 23 – 5:00pm, Bowral Memorial Hall, Southern Highlands
Sunday, June 24 – 2:15pm, Turramurra Uniting Church, Turramurra
Monday, June 25 – 7:30pm, Fairfax Theatre, NGA, Canberra
Wednesday, June 27 – 7:30pm, Tatoulis Auditorium, Methodist Ladies’ College, Kew, Melbourne
Thursday, June 28 – 7:00pm, City Recital Hall, Sydney
Sunday, July 1 – 2:30pm, Elder Hall, University of Adelaide, Adelaide
** Hi-res images available