The Friends of Eusebius and Florestan
March 2013
“As an early music ensemble it’s part of our brief to shake things up a little, so we thought why not take on the conventional marketing wisdom and choose a long improbable name!” grins founder and clarinettist Craig Hill.
His new ensemble, The Friends of Eusebius and Florestan, will be giving its debut concert at the Melbourne Recital Centre in April, with a program devoted to the music of Brahms and Schumann. It transpires that the name alludes to the two opposing alter egos of Robert Schumann, Eusebius – the dreamer, and Florestan – the passionate romantic.
“But we also really liked the idea of inviting others to join the circle of people who want to make music this way, using old instruments and gut strings, experimenting with forgotten aspects of romantic performing style like sliding between notes, playing with less vibrato and using tempo fluctuation.”
At 45, Hill practically qualifies as a veteran of the early instrument movement in Australia. In November last year he celebrated 20 years with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra with performances of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, receiving rave reviews in Australia and in the international press. But what prompted the creation of this new group?
“I was attending a very fine concert at the Melbourne Recital Centre,” explains Hill, “and they were playing Brahms, but you could feel the players struggling with the balance between the instruments; the texture was unclear, and so the sense of a lyrical discourse between the players was difficult to find. And I thought: we have to do this differently.”
For this first foray into the elevated atmosphere of nineteenth century romanticism Hill recruited Dan Curro, a Brisbane based cellist who had studied at ANAM and now performs with his contemporary vocal group PLUB as well as making excursions into Latin, contemporary, hip hop and baroque styles. From there a willing cohort fell into line: Monica Curro and Sarah Curro from the Melbourne Symphony on violins together with principal violist of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Christopher Moore.
With a sense of urgency they a have adopted Schumann’s own motto of 1835: “Prepare and hasten for the advent of a new, poetic future.”
The Friends of Eusebius and Florestan play Schumann & Brahms at Elisabeth Murdoch Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre, on April 4 at 7:30 pm. Box office (03) 9699 3333
melbournerecital.com.au
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