Winter Reflections

Programme

Johann Sebastian BACH Excerpts from 6 Cello Suites (Arranged for Viola), BWV 1007-10012

Frédéric CHOPIN Waltz in E flat Major (Grand Valse brillante), Op. 18

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major (Kreutzer Sonata), Op. 47

I. Adagio sostenuto - Presto
II. Andante con variazioni
III. Presto

Antonín DVOŘÁK Songs My Mother Taught Me

William KROLL Banjo and Fiddle

Artists

Paul Wright | Violin

Born in Adelaide, Paul Wright began studying violin with Lyndall Hendrickson at the age of eight and, three years later, gained a place at the Yehudi Menuhin School in England. He later studied at the Guildhall School in London before continuing at the Juilliard School in New York under the renowned pedagogue Ivan Galamian.

Throughout his career, Paul has appeared as a director, soloist and concertmaster with many of Australia’s leading orchestras and ensembles, including the Australian String Quartet, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble of the Classic Era, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and West Australian Symphony Orchestra.
Paul has also enjoyed a distinguished career as an educator and chamber music coach, teaching at the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne. He served as Head of Strings at Conservatorium of Music at UWA for 25 years and was Head of Strings at WAAPA from 2019 to 2022.

Raymond Yong Piano

Born in Malaysia, Raymond Yong emigrated to Australia at the age of two and later studied piano and conducting at the University of Melbourne under Stephen McIntyre and John Hopkins. A German government scholarship then took him to Hannover, where he undertook advanced piano studies with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling at the University of Music and Theater in Hannover.

Throughout his career, Raymond has performed extensively in Australia and internationally appearing with many of the country’s leading instrumentalists, singers and ensembles. He has been a guest concerto soloist with the Auckland Philharmonia, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and West Australian Symphony Orchestra, and has appeared at festivals for Musica Viva Australia and the Melbourne International Arts Festival (now RISING).

About the Music

Johann Sebastian BACH Excerpts from 6 Cello Suites (Arranged for Viola), BWV 1007-10012

Bach’s six Suites for Solo Cello stand among the most revered works in the solo string repertoire. Written during Bach’s years at Köthen, probably between 1717 and 1723, the suites transcend the practical function of dance music and become profound explorations of harmony, structure and instrumental colour. Although composed for cello, they have long found a natural home on the viola, whose warm middle register and vocal quality bring a distinctive intimacy to the music.

Each suite follows a broadly similar sequence of Baroque dance movements, usually beginning with a Prelude and continuing through Allemande, Courante, Sarabande and Gigue, with additional paired dances inserted before the finale. Yet Bach transforms these stylised dances into deeply expressive musical worlds. Through implied counterpoint and remarkably economical writing, he creates the illusion of several voices unfolding simultaneously from a single melodic line.
More than three centuries after their composition, the suites remain both technically demanding and spiritually expansive. Their enduring appeal lies in the extraordinary way Bach combines intellectual precision with emotional directness, creating music that feels at once deeply personal and universally timeless.

Frédéric CHOPIN Waltz in E flat Major (Grand Valse brillante), Op. 18

The work opens with a brilliant flourish before launching into its elegant principal theme, full of sparkling passagework and buoyant rhythmic energy. Throughout the piece, contrasting episodes alternate between dazzling virtuosity and moments of lyrical charm, revealing Chopin’s gift for combining technical brilliance with expressive nuance. Beneath the glittering surface lies an unmistakable refinement of harmony and melodic shaping that elevates the piece well beyond salon entertainment.

Chopin himself was known for the delicacy and flexibility of his playing rather than sheer power, and the Grand Valse brillante reflects this aesthetic. Its brilliance is never merely athletic. Instead, the work depends on elegance, wit and rhythmic poise, particularly in the subtle sway of the waltz pulse that gives the music its distinctive character.
The piece also captures the cosmopolitan atmosphere of nineteenth-century Paris, where aristocratic salons provided the setting for much of Chopin’s career. Yet despite its outward glamour, the music retains the unmistakable intimacy and individuality that define Chopin’s style. Even in its most exuberant moments, there is an underlying sense of sophistication and emotional sensitivity that continues to captivate audiences today.

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major (Kreutzer Sonata), Op. 47

I. Adagio sostenuto - Presto
II. Andante con variazioni
III. Presto

Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata is one of the towering achievements of the violin repertoire, remarkable for both its scale and its dramatic intensity. Completed in 1803 during a period of extraordinary creative expansion, the work shattered contemporary expectations of the violin sonata, transforming it from an elegant chamber piece into a work of almost symphonic power.

Originally dedicated to the violinist George Bridgetower, who gave the premiere alongside Beethoven himself at the piano, the sonata was later rededicated to the French violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer, though Kreutzer reportedly never performed it, considering the work too extravagant and difficult.
The sonata opens with a strikingly dramatic introduction before erupting into a fiery Presto of immense energy and technical demand. Beethoven treats the violin and piano as equal partners, engaging them in a relentless dialogue. The second movement provides contrast through a richly varied set of variations on a serene theme, moving through moments of lyricism, brilliance and profound introspection. The final movement bursts forth with exuberant momentum, drawing on the rhythmic vitality of the tarantella and driving the work to a thrilling conclusion.
The Kreutzer Sonata occupies a pivotal place in Beethoven’s output, standing at the threshold of his heroic middle period. Its emotional extremes, structural boldness and virtuosic writing expanded the possibilities of chamber music and influenced generations of composers. More than two centuries later, the sonata remains a powerful testament to Beethoven’s revolutionary spirit and his ability to fuse drama, intellect and raw emotional force into a single compelling musical statement.

William KROLL Banjo and Fiddle

Banjo and Fiddle is a sparkling virtuoso showpiece that has delighted audiences since its composition in the mid-twentieth century. An accomplished American violinist, teacher and composer, Kroll was particularly known for writing short character pieces that combined technical brilliance with charm and accessibility.

In Banjo and Fiddle, Kroll draws inspiration from American folk and bluegrass traditions, playfully imitating the sounds and gestures of vernacular music within a classical concert setting. Syncopated rhythms, rapid string crossings and energetic dance-like figures evoke the lively spirit of fiddling traditions, while the accompaniment suggests the rhythmic drive of a banjo.
The work demands considerable agility and precision from the performer, particularly in its quick changes of articulation and dazzling passagework. Yet despite its virtuosity, the piece never loses its sense of humour and exuberance.

Antonín DVOŘÁK Songs My Mother Taught Me

Songs My Mother Taught Me is the best-known of the seven songs that form Dvořák’s Gypsy Songs, Op. 55, composed in 1880 to texts by the Czech poet Adolf Heyduk. Although written in Czech, the song quickly achieved international popularity through translations into many languages and through arrangements for a wide variety of instruments.

The song reflects Dvořák’s lifelong gift for melody and his deep connection to Czech folk traditions. Its simple, flowing tune carries an unmistakable sense of nostalgia, expressing the idea that songs learned in childhood remain intertwined with memory, identity and emotion throughout life.
Dvořák’s writing is notable for its economy and sincerity. Rather than relying on dramatic gestures, he creates emotional depth through subtle harmonic colouring and expressive melodic contour. The accompaniment gently supports the vocal line, allowing the melody to sing with unaffected warmth and intimacy.

Upcoming Concerts

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