The National Capital Orchestra will perform an exhilarating classical program at The Q on Sunday.
THE passion and romance of Brahms' fourth symphony will fill The Q on Sunday afternoon as the National Capital Orchestra returns to Queanbeyan for a program of three evocative classical pieces.
The much-loved symphony will be followed by another popular favourite in Rossini's William Tell Overture, and then a more unusual Vivaldi concerto for trumpets.
Conductor Philip Hartstein said the Brahms' symphony was a particularly beautiful piece, composed by one of the great classical masters.
"The thing about Brahms was that his music was incredibly rich, with wonderful rhythms and wonderful themes and counter themes, and there's a lot going on all the time," Mr Hartstein said.
"He was an incredible perfectionist. He wrote lots and lots of music, but he only published four symphonies, because he didn't think the others were up to his standard."
Brahms' love of destabilising rhythmic pirouettes and off-beat syncopation often made for some curious conducting gestures, Mr Hartstein said.
"You'll feel as though you've got the rhythmic sense worked out, and then he puts it slightly off kilter and the beat seems to come at a part of the bar that you're not expecting. It's a very interesting sort of cross-rhythmic that was a new thing at the time. No one had really got into that before Brahms.
"It can be a challenge to conduct- you've got to be making all kinds of gestures. You've got to continue doing the beat, but you've somehow got to communicate the off-beat part at the same time. It can be quite interesting," Mr Hartstein laughed.
Also in the program is a more unusual classical work: a piccolo trumpet concerto by Vivaldi, performed by orchestra soloists Zach Raffan and Greg Stenning.
Mr Hartstein said the high, fast trills of the small piccolo trumpets made for a brilliant sonic effect.
"Most of Vivaldi's concertos were for violin or string instruments, who can very rapidly play lots of fast notes, so it's interesting that he'd give a similar thing to trumpets.
"He must have had a couple of amazing trumpeters in mind when he wrote it and luckily, we've got a couple of amazing trumpeters too.
"What's interesting about that, with the two of them in this higher register you get this interesting acoustic effect, like echo going through the room. It's a very cool thing," he said.
The concert will be the second last Queanbeyan performance from the Orchestra this year, and Mr Hartstein said they were thrilled to back in what he named the best venue in the region.
"The great thing about The Q is that it's a nice crisp sound. If you sit anywhere in The Q, you can hear everything very clearly. The Q's the best hall around basically, that's why we play there," he said.
n The National Capital Orchestra will perform at The Q this Sunday, starting at 2pm. Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 concession, $10 children (16 and under), and $10 for full-time students. Purchase tickets online at www.theq.net.au or by phoning the box office on 6285 6290.