Win Tix to ACO's Beethoven and the 21st Century - Newcastle/Email/Closes Today

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http://www.portstephensexaminer.com.au/story/3671964/aco-brings-beethoven/?cs=2330

Win tickets to see ACO's Beethoven and the 21st Century

FINNISH violinist Pekka Kuusisto will take up his position with the Australian Chamber Orchestra by leading the collective in the season-opening program next month.

Beethoven and the 21st Century will tour Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Newcastle and Sydney between February 4 and 19.

Kuusisto, appointed ACO’s collective artistic director, will lead the program that interweaves contemporary works by living composers along with pieces by Tippett, fellow countryman Sibelius and Beethoven.

ACO’s artistic director, Richard Tognetti, said there could be no better choice than Kuusisto for the role.

“Pekka has a calling to turn things on their head,” Tognetti said.

“A musical insight that is as disturbing as it is compelling.

“He's a musician for the new world and, therefore, his appointment to the newly branded ACO Collective couldn't be bettered.”

Kuusisto said ACO’s 2016 season is themed around Beethoven’s late string quartets.

“After much discussion, Opus. 95 was chosen as the closing work of the concert,” he said.


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 “I was then given the extremely delicate task of exploring repertoire which would both complement and introduce this highly experimental work.

“Op.95 has a particularly explosive opening statement, so we needed something very intimate and gentle to precede it, in order not to steal Beethoven's thunder.

“Rakastava by Sibelius is the perfect thing, with a feel of very distinct lighting. Everything in Rakastava feels and smells like nature at night, so we needed another kind of light before it.

“Cue Tenebre by Bryce Dessner. Originally written as a gift for the lighting designer of the Kronos Quartet, its shadows are very architectural.”

The ACO will tour Beethoven and the 21st Century  to Newcastle City Hall on February 4. Tickets, available from Ticketek, start at $46.

The Examiner has one double pass to give away to the Newcastle show, which starts at 7.30pm. To win, send your name and contact details in an email titled “ACO” to ewatts@fairfaxmedia.com.au. The winner will be notified by 5pm on Friday, January 29.