An evening with Jacinta Parsons and Orchestra Victoria

The vivacious and thoughtful Jacinta Parsons (host of Friday Revue and Saturday Mornings on ABC Radio Melbourne) will guide you through the music and introduce you to the people and stories behind the music you hear.

Orchestra Victoria are proud to be taking centre stage in Gippsland to help you experience the full spectrum of musical expression. Hear the power of fate knocking on the door, the sounds of the vibrant dances of Mexico, give way to the most vulnerable quietude of true self-reflection and the deep nostalgic echoes of the British countryside.

The ominous first three notes of Verdi’s overture to his opera The Force of Destiny almost literally pushes you back in your seat. Heralding the feeling of destabilising inevitability, Verdi takes you through a whirlwind of different characters in such a restless fashion that he barely has time to finish each theme before introducing the next.

Release by Australian composer Ella Macens represents the perfect antidote to Verdi’s impending dark fate. In writing this work, Ella invites us to reconnect with ourselves and find that sense of relaxation amidst the chaos. In her own words, “Release is about letting go”.

Arturo Marquez had a completely different kind of connection on his mind when he wrote his Danzon No. 2, which quickly became one of the most popular pieces of Mexican orchestral music of all time. Highlighting the connection of celebration, this fiery dance starts out with a sultry clarinet solo. As the music becomes faster and more vivacious, the melody is passed around and conjures up images of smoky nightclubs, Old Hollywood movies, busy metropolitan streets and – of course – the most incredible dancing.

Bring the program to a poignant close, English composer Ralph Vaughn Williams’ Symphony No. 5 was written during the tumultuous period between WWI and WWII. The music yearns with an aching nostalgia – beginning with a call from the distance, we traverse through a world of inner feeling across 4 monumental movements that eventually fades back into the distance from which it came.

Conducted by the dynamic Carlo Antonioli, don’t miss an unforgettable evening of music making featuring your Orchestra Victoria.

This program was developed in a studio managed by the City of Melbourne’s Meat Market tenancy program.