From Jon Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on a Prayer to Leonard Cohen’s iconic Hallelujah to Danny Boy, Gabriel’s Oboe, from The Mission and Ravel’s sultry love letter to all things Spanish in Habanera… when Artistic Director of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music (AFCM) Jack Liebeck asked invited musicians to perform their guilty pleasure, they jumped at the chance – here’s what they chose!
It is Jack Liebeck’s first AFCM as Artistic Director and he’s opening the famed 10 day musical event in Townsville, Queensland with three powerful world premieres over the first three days, part of a stunning line-up of over 130 works in total, to be staged from 29 July to 7 August.
He’s also introduced a number of new initiatives – Guilty Pleasures being one. Liebeck invited musicians to select a favourite piece of music they like to perform – classical or otherwise – and has programmed these performances across the 10 days.
Australian mezzo-soprano Lotte Betts-Dean, who is flying back home to Australia from Europe for the AFCM, is collaborating with pianist Kristian Chong to perform their guilty pleasure – The Inchworm, composed by Frank Loesser and originally performed by Danny Kaye in the 1952 film Hans Christian Andersen. They perform as part of The James Cook University Opening Night concert, New Beginnings.
On Saturday 30 July fans can see one of the world’s greatest harpists in Alice Giles AM perform her guilty pleasure – Debussy’s Prelude for Piano, from Book 1, [The Girl with the Flaxen Hair] in Concert Conversations 1 at 10am.
The Sunday Morning Concert features two guilty pleasures by four musicians. Violinist Elizabeth Layton and pianist Kristian Chong will perform Chopin’s Nocturne in C sharp minor Op.27 No.1 before QSO flautist Alison Mitchell and harpist Alice Giles come together for Fauré’s famed piece, Morceau de Concours.
Monday’s Concert Conversations 2 is packed with guilty pleasures! Australian composer and AFCM Composer in Residence Paul Dean indulges with Acker Bilk’s Stranger on the Shore, the 1961 hit that spent 55 weeks in the charts (kept from the top spot only by Cliff Richard’s The Young Ones)! He performs this on clarinet; while his wife Trish Dean performs her guilty pleasure, Leonard Cohen’s iconic piece Hallelujah on cello.
In that same concert, QSO double bassist Phoebe Russell and Australian pianist Daniel de Borah will take audiences to sultry Spain with their guilty pleasure – Ravel’s Habanera; before the concert ends with de Borah’s solo rendition of Percy Grainger’s Irish Tune from Country Derry, often referred to as Danny Boy and one of the most beloved folk song arrangements in the world.
The folk theme continues on Wednesday when Australian born, US-based violinist Brigid Coleridge performs The Cat’s Scratch at the 10am Concert Conversations 3. In the same concert, bassoonist David Mitchell and Daniel de Borah will perform Love Serenade by leading Australian composer, Matthew Hindson.
Ravel features again when QSO Concertmaster and violinist Natsuko Yoshimoto and Alice Giles perform the processional dance piece Pavane pour une infante dèfunte on Thursday at Concert Conversations 4.
Also, on Thursday accordion specialist James Crabb will bring the rock, performing Jon Bon Jovi’s mega anthem, Livin’ on a Prayer, and the next day Australian double bassist Kirsty McCahon will perform her own composition, Flying with Francesca.
When internationally acclaimed cellist Jamal Aliyev teams up with Daniel de Borah (who is having a festival of guilty pleasures!) on piano on Friday August 5, for Deonid Malashkin’s When I Met You it will be a moment in time.
Later that evening, for the Silver Screen concert, Daniel shares the stage with Simon Oswell on viola for Ennio Morricone’s Gabriel’s Oboe, from the 1986 film The Mission which starred Robert de Niro, Jeremy Irons and Liam Neeson. Staying with unforgettable movie scores, Peter Luff on french horn will then join with the Goldner String Quartet to perform John Barry’s beautiful Out of Africa: Theme.
The next day at Concert Conversations 6, it’s back to Bach – and Kristian Chong’s solo guilty pleasure, the Sonata for unaccompanied Violin in A minor, BWV 1003 before Emmanuel Cassimatis on oboe performs Benjamin Britten’s Six Metamorphoses after Ovid for Solo Oboe, Op. 49.
In what will be a showstopping moment, Elina Faskhi on cello and James Crabb on accordion will then perform Argentine tango composer Astor Piazzolla’s famous Oblivion.
hat evening at the Closing Night Fond Farewells concert, Timothy Constable on percussion will perform Robert Constable’s Pop Song, before the Goldner Strong Quartet bring the inaugural Guilty Pleasures series to a showstopping close with Graham Hair’s Gershwin Paraphrase No.4.
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