It’s a beautiful sunny morning in Copenhagen when I sit down online to interview ANAM’s upcoming guest artist, Auckland Philharmonia’s Music Director Giordano Bellincampi. The Italian-Danish conductor, who is also Associate Professor of Conducting at the Royal Danish Academy, will shortly return down under for various orchestral engagements across Australia and New Zealand, commencing this Saturday (24 October) with ANAM’s Concerto Competition Final with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.
In his first-ever performance in Melbourne, Maestro Bellincampi will lead the ANAM Orchestra in a week of rehearsals culminating in a performance at the St Kilda Town Hall, on Friday 13 November. This concert traces the lineage and traditions of Viennese melody and song across the 19th and early 20th Centuries, arguably Vienna’s ‘golden age’.
Developing this program in collaboration with ANAM’s Artistic Director, Paavali Jumppanen, Giordano was delighted that Paavali suggested a deep-dive into the music of Vienna, with Schubert’s Great Symphony as its centrepiece. “The Schubert is never performed enough!” laments Giordano. “And I loved the idea of being immersed in the music of a specific region and style – that of Vienna,” he continues. “There are several major centres in Europe that are at the core of the orchestral music tradition – to name a few: Vienna, Munich, Salzburg, Paris, Milan, Naples, London – and we often combine a diverse selection of these to form a concert program. For this performance at ANAM, it will be enlightening to spend a full week exploring the linage of Viennese melodic and symphonic writing with the young musicians at ANAM.”
To round out the program, Giordano chose Webern’s orchestral arrangement of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Ricercar, and selections of well-known classics from Strauss brothers, Johann (the second) and Josef, both arguably Vienna’s most famous musical exports. “Their music sounds easy, but it is deceptively tricky!”
Giordano is no stranger to working with young musicians. At the Danish Royal Academy, he leads conducting classes for their post-graduate students, and regularly conducts the Academy’s orchestra. Over the years, he has been involved in youth orchestra programs throughout Europe, particularly in Scandinavia and Germany, and even in Australia at AYO’s National Music Camp in 2022 and 2023. “Working with young musicians is something I enjoy a lot,” explains Giordano. “I’m always keen, as a more seasoned musician, to assist younger musicians in their careers.” Closer to home, ANAM has partnered with the Auckland Philharmonia since 2022, with ANAM musicians performing side-by-side in the orchestra in Auckland almost every year in a program conducted by Giordano himself.
“I try to use the same approach with both youth orchestras and professional, seasoned orchestras,” explains Giordano. “Despite our age, we are all kids at heart that just want to play music!”
“I am always searching for the inner child in every professional musician, as well as for the mature, musical sensitivity in every young person.”
The ANAM Orchestra will be led with capable hands as they explore the works of these Viennese composers together, and for many of ANAM’s musicians, this may be the first time they have performed some of these works. Schubert’s chamber works are cornerstones of the repertoire, and his lieder are a must for our pianists if they spend any time collaborating with vocalists. But Schubert’s symphonies are rarely performed by Australian orchestras.
“Schubert is one of the warmest, and most expressive of composers we’ve ever had,” remarks Giordano. He draws comparisons between Schubert and Mahler; the latter’s symphonies being staple repertoire for youth orchestras. “Although they are from different times, you can draw parallels between their approach to song and singing melodic lines.” The Schubert Great Symphony is hefty in its architecture, and is one of the longest symphonies of the canon. “But unlike Mahler, there’s absolutely nowhere to hide, and needs to sound really good to pull it off,” stresses Giordano. “If I compare a Mahler symphony to a rich feast – with many dishes and sumptuous gravy – Schubert’s all about the quality of the produce, prepared simply and elegantly, allowing it to shine in its full glory.”
And indeed, ANAM’s musicians will all get to shine during the Symphony as well as throughout this journey into the world of Vienna next month. Maestro Bellincampi’s youthful enthusiasm and nurturing guidance will ensure that the ANAM Orchestra will bring Vienna’s rich musical traditions to delight an audience on the other side of the globe.
Words by Laura Panther, Alumni Manager
ANAM ORCHESTRA: THE GREAT SCHUBERT NINE
Friday 13 November, 7pm
St Kilda Town Hall, 99a Carlisle St, St Kilda VIC
Tickets from $30
Johann Sebastian BACH arr. WEBERN ‘Fugue (Second Ricercar)’ from The Musical Offering, BWV 1079
Josef STRAUSS Sphärenklänge, op. 235
Josef STRAUSS and Johann STRAUSS II Pizzicato-Polka
Johann STRAUSS II Éljen a Magyár, op. 332
Johann STRAUSS II Overture from Die Fledermaus
Franz SCHUBERT Symphony No. 9 in C Major, D. 944, "The Great"
Giordano Bellncampi conductor
ANAM Orchestra
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