From Darkness to Light: Concert Program

Welcome to the second concert of our 2024 Southbank Series It is a joy to be sitting in the hall with you this evening as the musicians of Orchestra Victoria perform on the Hanson Dyer Hall stage.

It is a great pleasure to welcome Jonathan Lo to the stage this evening. Orchestra Victoria gets to work with Jonathan regularly as part of his duties at The Australian Ballet, but it is exciting to bring him in to work with our musicians on the concert hall stage.

Tonight’s program From Darkness to Light has been curated to generate an immersive emotional experience, and I hope that you leave the hall feeling uplifted and joyful.

Thank you to Creative Australia, Creative Victoria and the University of Melbourne whose support makes concerts like this possible.

Jacinta Ewers
General Manager

I'm delighted to welcome you all to tonight's concert, the second in our Southbank Series for 2024. Tonight's program explores the journey from 'Darkness to Light'; a timeless concept that shows the power of music to mirror the human experiences of struggle and conflict as it transforms into resolution and enlightenment, leaving the audience celebrating the triumph of hope over adversity.

Tonight's concert not only celebrates the individual genius of Purcell, Elgar, and Beethoven but also a unique chance to watch our wonderful Music Director of The Australian Ballet, Maestro Jonathan Lo, work with the orchestra on the mainstage. We hope that you find much inspiration from this beautiful partnership.

Finally, please mark your diaries with our final Southbank Series concert for 2024; 'Dedications' on Saturday 23rd November. We do hope can join us for this memorable concert of Schnittke and Shostakovich at Hansen Dyer Hall.

Jessica Gethin
Artistic Advisor

Our lives are made up of the journeys we take, be it the literal journeys we take everyday to and from work, or the metaphorical journeys we take from adolescence to adulthood. Purcell’s music this evening serves as a momento mori, reminding us that though all journeys come to an end, we are survived by the beauty and the memories we leave behind. Indeed, very few composers find as much jubilation in nostalgia as Elgar. Even in his brief and brilliant Introduction & Allegro we are shown snapshots of the photo album of his life: the ‘Welsh tune’ which Elgar heard wafting through the valley, the sound of the bicycle chains that was ever present on his journeys, and the Aeolian harp on his windowsill that provided so many inspirations for him. Of course, the whole idea of the composer as the artist was practically created around Beethoven, and in his 7^th Symphony we meet a man who was feverish in health, and feverishly in love, for the 1810s were marked by years of poor health and his famous obsessive letter addressed to his ‘Immortal Beloved’. Yet inspiration seemed to be at a fever pitch for him too, for the notes seem to fly off the page in this exhilarating work.

A live performance should be a journey in itself. One where we join together as a community of audience, musicians and composers to share in the beauty and the emotions we discover through our course through the music. It is a pleasure to have you on this journey with us, and I hope your life will be enriched and made memorable by your experience tonight.

Jonathan Lo
Conductor
Music Director & Chief Conductor of The Australian Ballet