Sunday 22 November, 2:30pm
Bach - Brandenburg Concerto No 5
Reinecke - Flute Concerto
Mozart - Symphony No 38 'Prague' K 504
Brahms - Variations on a theme of Haydn
Conductor: Luke Spicer
Soloist: Amily He
The KPO presents a generously varied program of great works from the German tradition. Where better to begin than with Bach? His Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 is renowned today for its virtuosic solo harpsichord part. Adapted from an earlier work, this concerto was amongst a folio of six that Bach dedicated to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg in 1721.
Mozart conducted the premiere of his Symphony No. 38 in Prague in 1787, just two days after he had directed a performance of his very popular opera The Marriage of Figaro. With its transparent textures, theatrical contrasts and stream of engaging melodies, the symphony is widely held to be imbued with the spirit of that opera.
Carl Reinecke may be considered a musical conservative, but flautists are grateful not only for his sonata, Undine, but also for his beautifully crafted Flute Concerto, from a time at the turn of the 20th century when few such works were composed. In its three movements it explores three very different characters: a sunny and pastoral first movement, a note of tragedy in the second, then bold heroism in the third. Our brilliant young soloist is Amily He, winner of the 2025 NSW Secondary Schools Concerto Competition.
To complete the program, we perform Brahms’s majestic and richly contrapuntal Variations on a Theme of Haydn. Composed in 1873, this work began a phase of new confidence in orchestral writing for Brahms and was followed by a series of substantial works for orchestra.
Luke Spicer
An acclaimed Violist and chamber musician, Luke Spicer is now establishing himself as one of Australia’s foremost young conductors. Graduating with a Masters of Conducting from the Sydney Conservatorium, he has furthered his studies in Freiburg, and Manchester; and attended the Fondazione Musicale Chigiana, Siena, working under Maestro Gianluigi Gelmetti. Luke became a participant in the Symphony Services International Conductor Development Program during 2016 working with Johannes Fritzsch, Giordano Bellincampi, and Marco Letonja.
Luke has been a regular conductor and music director with Opera Australia and has appeared as guest conductor of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Canberra Symphony Orchestra. He has also been guest Assistant Conductor at The Bruckner Orchestra Linz, Göttingen Symphonie Orchester, the Saarländisches Staatstheater of Saarbrücken, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, working under Simone Young and Vladimir Ashkenazy. Luke has worked extensively with the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra and Sydney University Symphony Orchestra, as well as conducting the inaugural gala concert of Coast Opera Australia, featuring Jose Carbo and Sally-Anne Russell.
In 2022 Luke conducted Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia for Opera Australia’s National Tour, and Händel’s Alcina for National Opera – Canberra. During 2023 he was a recipient of the George and Nerissa Johnson Memorial Scholarship which allowed him to pursue professional development opportunities in Germany, Italy and Bulgaria.
In 2014 Luke was appointed Principal Conductor of the Sydney University Symphony Orchestra, in 2016 he became Music Director of Blush Opera in Sydney and was the Associate Conductor of the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra for several years. Luke made his operatic debut in 2015 with an innovative production of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, directed by Shannon Murphy and featuring Silvia Colloca, Stacey Alleaume, and Catherine Bouchier in the principal roles, as part of the Spectrum Now Festival within the art gallery of NSW, and in 2016 conducted a powerful sell-out production of Puccini’s Il Tabarro, directed by Constantine Costi.