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Canberra Today 14°/16° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Trumpeter returns to Canberra to sparkle

SYDNEY Symphony’s principal trumpet, David Elton, returns to town to perform Richard Mills’ exciting trumpet concerto this week at Llewellyn Hall as part of Canberra Symphony Orchestra’s Llewellyn Series.

Trumpeter David Elton
Trumpeter David Elton

But the excitement doesn’t stop there, as the orchestra, under the baton of Nicholas Milton, performs music from Stravinsky’s ballet, “Firebird”, and Tchaikovsky’s optimistic 5th Symphony.

Milton displays his uncanny knack for programming in his selections of admired and loved Russian works alongside the colourful early Mills work, all allowing the “immense impact of a full symphonic orchestra at its most glorious.”

Conductor Nicholas Milton
Conductor Nicholas Milton

The two Russian works are very familiar to audiences. “Firebird” was composed by Stravinsky for ballet (some of the Ballets Russes costumes are in the NGA) and tells the story of Prince Ivan who defeats the evil sorcerer, Koshchei, frees the villagers, and marries the princess, all with the help of the Firebird.

Tchaikovsky’s Fifth is said by the CSO to plummet the depths of Tchaikovsky’s sorrows, but “ultimately triumphs in the extraordinary power and optimism of the human spirit.”

Elton naturally enthuses about the excitement of his part in the program, saying, “I’m thrilled to be playing Richard Mill’s Trumpet concerto…Audiences can expect sparkling colour and big sounds. The first movement is fast and furious and the second movement is beautiful and lyrical and it showcases the character of the trumpet.”

Describing Mills as one of Australia’s greatest composers he added, “The concerto is a challenging piece for trumpet. It requires the trumpet to play very intensely up high, and then suddenly drop to play very soft and lyrically.”

Llewellyn Series 14.3; “Firebird,” 7.30pm (Pre-concert talk from 6.45pm) August 13 and 14, at Llewellyn Hall, tickets at the door or bookings to cso.org.au.

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Helen Musa

Helen Musa

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