Fremantle Chamber Orchestra and Ellie Malonzo (13), conducted by Paul Wright.
Dvorak's Romance has always been a piece that has had a profound emotional effect on me. The lush romanticism and careful orchestration of the work makes it so afflicting and sensitive, and I see it as a shining pearl of violin repertoire. On my journey with this piece, I have tried to look past the beauty on the surface to craft an interpretation that moves the audience in the same way that the piece moves me. I believe that musicians, performers, are the messengers of composers. It is up to us to guide the audience on a journey that has been planned by a composer, and also up to us to make meaning for the audience out of something that we have learnt to understand as easily as spoken word. If my performances can make even one person feel the same way I feel when I'm performing, then I've done my job for that performance. As you listen to this, I hope my playing takes you on a journey into the world of Dvorak and his sublime Romance.
Fremantle Chamber Orchestra, Paul Wright and Ellie Malonzo.
Composed in 2023.
This work was composed by 13 year old Ellie Malonzo in 2023. This is a live recording from the world premiere on 11th of June 2023 at the PHC Synagogue, Perth WA.
Ysaÿe was writing his six sonatas for solo violin when he stumbled upon a roadblock at the second sonata. He couldn't seem to get Bach's E Major Prelude (also for solo violin) out of his head, and it threatened to completely derail his project. Instead of letting his obsession with the Bach stop his composing, he chose to incorporate the it into the first movement of the sonata by directly quoting Bach on a number of occasions, most notably at the very beginning, where he interrupts a quote from the opening of the Prelude with an angular, angry figure. The whole movement imitates the figuration of Bach, and Ysaÿe also introduces the Dies Irae theme, which is an ancient theme used to symbolize death and impending doom.
This performance was an encore to Dvorak's Romance (with the Fremantle Chamber Orchestra conducted by Paul Wright) on the 11th of June at Perth's PHC Synagogue.
Recorded by Nic Babic
Malonzo, Concerto No. 3 in A Major. Ellie Malonzo, John Keene, Fremantle Chamber Orchestra. Redemptorists Monastery, North Perth, Western Australia on the 16th of October, 2022.
Bach, Partita No. 3 in E Major. Preludio, Movement One. St. Andrews Church, Subiaco, Western Australia on the 12th of June, 2022.
Kreisler, Schon Rosmarin. University of Western Australia Callaway Auditorium, Crawley, Western Australia on the 8th of May, 2022.
De Falla, Spanish Dance. The Rise, Maylands, Western Australia on the 4th of September, 2021.
Dvorak, Romance in F Minor. University of Western Australia Callaway Auditorium, Crawley, Western Australia on the 28th of November, 2021.
Lysenko, Romance. Fremantle Town Hall, Fremantle, Western Australia, on the 20th of November, 2022.
Bach, Partita No. 3 in E Major. Preludio, Movement One. Fremantle Town Hall, Fremantle, Western Australia on the 20th of November, 2022.
Sinding, Suite in A Minor. University of Western Australia Callaway Auditorium, Crawley, Western Australia on the 9th of December, 2022.