Sunday 17 November, 3:00pm
Sculthorpe: Kakadu
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Conductor: Paul Terracini
Soloist: Simon Tedeschi
: Piano
On 17 November 2024, at the Concourse, Chatswood, the Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra will be performing Rimsky Korsakov’s Scheherazade, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and Sculthorpe’s Kakadu. Conducted by KPO’s Artistic Director, Paul Terracini, the concert features star soloist Simon Tedeschi at the piano. This performance of three popular masterpieces is not to be missed.
Peter Sculthorpe’s Kakadu, one his most well-known works, was composed in 1988. It draws inspiration from the Kakadu National Park, and the composer’s lifelong interest in Aboriginal music.
Rhapsody in Blue was written by George Gershwin in 1924. This landmark work, which combines classical and jazz influences, was commissioned by bandleader, Paul Whiteman. In the first performance at Aeolian Hall, New York, Gershwin was the soloist. At the piano in this performance is one of Australia’s favourite Gershwin interpreters, Simon Tedeschi.
The symphonic suite, Scheherazade, was composed by Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov in 1888 and finds its inspiration in the paintings, ‘One Thousand and One Nights’, by Leon Bakst. Concerning his intentions, Rimsky Korsakov wrote: ”All I desire is for the hearer, if they like the piece, should carry away the impression that is beyond a doubt an oriental narrative of numerous fairy tale wonders of Arabian nights”.
The work, in four movements, is a prime example of late 19th century romanticism in music. Characterised by soaring melodies, rich harmonies, and brilliant orchestration, it amply fulfils the hopes of the composer.
This concert featuring three iconic works from the orchestral repertoire is not to be missed.
Paul Terracini
Dr Paul Terracini was born in Sydney and has enjoyed a career in Australia and internationally as an instrumentalist, composer, arranger, and conductor. He has held permanent positions as Principal Trumpet in the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra; Lecturer in Trumpet, Brass Ensemble and Big Band at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music; and Solo Trumpet in the Danish Chamber Players, Denmark.
As an instrumentalist, he performed as soloist in Australia, Europe, USA, and Asia. Within Australia, his solo performances included concertos with the Melbourne, Queensland, West Australian, and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras.
Paul Terracini has appeared as an opera conductor at the German Rossini Festival in Bad Wilbad, for the Danish Bel Canto Society in Copenhagen, and the Storstroms Symphony Orchestra, also in Denmark. Since assuming the role of artistic director of the Penrith Symphony Orchestra in 2010, he has, apart from programming and conducting the symphonic repertoire, pioneered the performance of chamber opera in western Sydney. For many years he has been invited as a guest conductor/composer to music schools and universities in Europe, USA, China, and Australia. He appears regularly as conductor for the Conservatorium High School, in Sydney. As a choral conductor, he has recorded for ABC Classics with Ars Nova Copenhagen, and the Sydney based choir, Cantillation.
As a composer and arranger, his music has been heard throughout the world in a variety of genres, performed by, amongst others, the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Brass, the Danish Chamber Players, the Australian Brass Quintet, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra Brass, and at festivals and conferences on every continent. His music for the two part ABC television series, Hymns of the Forefathers, in which he developed many of the traditional English hymns into symphonic poems, received international acclaim and was released on CD and DVD by ABC Classics. His title music for the television series, Classical Destinations, which was produced for three seasons, was featured on the ‘Number 1 Classical Album of the Year,’ released by Decca.
His CD, Paul Terracini: Music for Brass, was released on the Tall Poppies label in May 2015. On this recording, he conducted his own music with Sydney Brass, featuring members of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
Paul Terracini also holds a PhD from the University of Sydney, having earlier completed a Bachelor of Theology and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours). His book, John Stoward Moyes and the Social Gospel, was published in 2015.
Simon Tedeschi
Simon Tedeschi is one of Australia’s most renowned classical pianists, recipient of prizes such as Symphony Australia’s Young Performer of the Year Award, the Legacy Award from the Creativity Foundation (USA), first prize in the Keyboard division of the Royal Overseas League Competition (UK), and a Centenary of Federation Medal. He has performed in major concert halls and for festivals throughout Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia, and for world leaders including former US President George W. Bush and the Dalai Lama.
As a writer, he has written for a number of publications, including Seizure Magazine, Art Edit Magazine, SBS Feast Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald and many others. In 2023, Simon’s first book, Fugitive, was released by Upswell and subsequently shortlisted for both the Judith Wright Calanthe Award for Poetry and the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards. In May of 2022, Tedeschi was awarded the Calibre Prize (Australian Book Review) for his essay ‘This woman my grandmother’.
Acclaimed by respected critics and peers as “True greatness” (Sydney Morning Herald), Simon Tedeschi performed his first Mozart piano concerto in the Sydney Opera House at age nine. Based in the USA for several years courtesy of the American Australian Association and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust, in 2009 Tedeschi performed in Carnegie Hall, won the ‘New York Young Jewish Pianist Award’ and performed as soloist with the Colorado, Fort Worth and Illinois Symphony Orchestras (USA).
Tedeschi performs as soloist with all the major Australian orchestras as well as Christchurch Symphony Orchestra (New Zealand), and with classical chamber and jazz collaborators in leading festivals, venues and concert series including the Abu Dhabi International Arts Festival, Shanghai Arts Festival, Sydney, Brisbane and Fremantle Festivals, for Sydney Opera House’ Utzon Music Series, Musica Viva, UKARIA Cultural Centre (Adelaide) and Perth Theatre Trust.
A seasoned collaborator and chamber musician, Tedeschi also performs with SSO Concertmaster Andrew Haveron, flautist Sally Walker and with jazz pianist Kevin Hunt.
Tedeschi also holds a Masters in Arts (Writing and Literature) degree from Deakin University.