KUPKA’S PIANO

Things are becoming new FRI 29 APRIL8.00pmSLQ Auditorium 1, State Library of Queensland

Phillipe Hurel Tombeau in Memoriam Gerard Grisey (1999)

Cornelius Cardew Treatise (1963-67)

Samuel Smith Things Are Becoming New (2014)

Brett Dean Old Kings in Exile (2010)

QSO AND RAFAEL KARLEN

While we forgetFRI 29 APRIL9.30pmSLQ Auditorium 1, State Library of Queensland

Rafael Karlen If Not Now, When? While We Forget World Premiere Fade Slowly Permissions Bounces Nicely The Sweetness of Things Half-Remembered

KUPKA’S PIANOTHINGS ARE BECOMING NEW

MUSICIANS LISTFlute Jodie Rottle Clarinet Macarthur Clough Violin Brendan Joyce Cello Katherine Philp Percussion Angus Wilson Piano Alex Raineri

QSO AND RAFAEL KARLEN WHILE WE FORGET

MUSICIANS LIST Composer, saxophone Rafael Karlen Piano Steve Newcomb

Violin 1 Rebecca Seymour = Violin 2 Gail Aitken ~ Viola Graham Simpson ^ Cello Matthew Kinmont ^ Double Bass Anne Buchanan ^ Flute Patrick Nolan ^ Oboe Sarah Meagher >> Clarinet Brian Catchlove + Bassoon Nicole Tait ~ French Horn Malcolm Stewart ~ Trumpet Richard Madden = Trombone Dale Truscott >> Percussion Josh DeMarchi >>

~ Section Principal = Acting Section Principal >> Associate Principal + Acting Associate Principal * Principal ^ Acting Principal

#QSOCurrent Queensland Symphony Orchestra @QSOrchestra @QSOrchestra

#QSOCurrent

THINGS ARE BECOMING NEW

KUPKA’S PIANO The Brisbane contemporary music ensemble Kupka’s Piano explore a kaleidoscope of soundscapes, colours and textures in this concert that concludes with Brett Dean’s evocative and mystical sextet Old Kings in Exile (2010). This concert also features a scintillating duo for piano and percussion by French composer Phillipe Hurel, the sextet Things Are Become New (2014) by young Melbourne composer Samuel Smith and Cornelius Cardew’s Treatise (1963-67).

WHILE WE FORGET

QSO & RAFAEL KARLENWhile We Forget is a new work exploring memory and forgetting for Chamber Orchestra, jazz pianist and saxophonist by Rafael Karlen. It was commissioned for the 2016 QSOCurrent series.

For some time now I have been interested in how and what we choose to remember. What do we select to be remembered and why? What do we treasure and hold on to when things fade?

When searching through memories, I find that one memory can trigger another in very surprising ways, leading us to interesting and unexpected places and often modifying our original memories along the way.

These concepts were on my mind when I was composing ‘While We Forget’ which explores this linear aspect of memory as it weaves through contrasting episodes, creating quasi-familiar scenes sit progresses. The title also refers to the way in which events can be remembered very differently by different people and how it is the prevailing memory will get recorded.

The remainder of the program will feature new arrangements of my original compositions. These compositions were originally composed for small jazz groups, big bands or string quartet but have been rewritten for this concert. I like revisiting and adapting earlier works as it allows me to get inside them and bring out and develop out different aspects of the material. A chamber orchestra offers different possibilities than a jazz big band and can express emotion in a very different way.

Composer Rafael Karlen

BIOGRAPHIES

KUPKA’S PIANO Taking its name from Bohemian painter František Kupka’s iconic 1909 painting The Piano Keys, the Brisbane-based contemporary music ensemble, Kupka’s Piano aims to entice audiences into hearing new sounds, new structures, new musical ideas. This ensemble fills a much-needed place in Brisbane’s music scene, profiling the best and latest from European, Australian and international modern art music. The Ensemble is currently in residence at the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts and is supported by the Australia Council for the Arts.

kupkaspiano.com

RAFAEL KARLENRafael Karlen is receiving attention as a rising talent on the Australian music scene. He is active as a performer, composer and arranger in a variety of styles and is known for his rich harmonies and lyrical writing and improvising. Whether composing for string quartet, a big band or small and intimate jazz ensemble he seamlessly draws together elements from jazz and Western art music through skillful composition and tasteful improvisation. In 2015, Rafael was awarded a prestigious Winston Churchill Fellowship to travel to USA, England, Denmark, Norway, Germany and Holland to visit and meet with many of the world’s leading jazz composers/arrangers, performers and ensembles.

rafaelkarlen.com

STEVE NEWCOMBSteve Newcomb is an Australian pianist, composer and arranger who in 2013 completed doctoral study at the Manhattan School of Music in composition, with Jim McNeely (Vanguard Jazz Orchestra). He is in demand for commission work as a composer, and has written for a wide array of musical artists from Ben Folds, Ben Lee and The Panics in the pop world, to the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Sydney Symphony and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras in the classical world. He has collaborated with Australian vocalist Katie Noonan on many projects, including the ARIA (Australian Grammy) award winning album First Seed Ripening, and the song cycle plus Circus project titled LOVE SONG CIRCUS, which premiered at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in 2012.

stevenewcomb.com.au

QUEENSLAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAAs an arts leader and great Australian orchestra the QSO plays a pivotal role in Queensland’s arts landscape – educating; mentoring aspiring performers; touring regional centres; broadcasting and performing with state, national and international ballet and opera companies. Each year the QSO attracts the world’s best conductors and soloists as part of its acclaimed concert season, in addition to presenting unique blockbuster events. QSO is passionate about commissioning innovative new programs.

qso.com.au