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In 2019, I celebrated ten years of making music with my Helge Grawert violin through Geburtstag, a project that saw the creation of four new Australian works for violin that extend contemporary violin performance practice. Handcrafted by master violinmaker Helge Grawert in 2009, my instrument has been my constant companion through countless rehearsals, performances and recordings. It has travelled with me across the world - from iconic Australian venues like The Tivoli and the Sydney Opera House to the Bang On A Can Summer Music Festival in the USA and the little piazza in Monte Castello di Vibio, Italy. |
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Geburtstag celebrated this unique instrument’s tenth birthday by building on the rich history of violin music and pushing the boundaries of contemporary violin performance, both as a solo acoustic instrument and in combination with technology. Over several months, I worked collaboratively with four Australian composers to create the following works:
Chris Perren : Escapement for violin and mechanical metronome Connor D'Netto : actually untitled (Sonata No. 2) for solo violin Kezia Yap : conversation in the mountain for violin and electronics MJ O'Neill : Heroes (Movements I & II) for looping violin and tape The four works were premiered on Sunday 27 October, 2019 at Dots+Loops Presents: Flora Wong and Kieran Welch. |
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The works were recorded by Chris Perren and students at the University of Queensland School of Music in 2021, thanks to the support of the University of Queensland, mixed by Chris Perren, and mastered by Lawrence English at Negative Space.
Geburtstag was released as a digital EP through Corella Recordings on Friday 10 June, 2022, with artwork created by George Levi. Listen and purchase on Bandcamp here, or find it on your preferred streaming service here. I had a chat about the release with Cieon of Rusted Satellites on 4ZZZ (Brisbane/Meanjin's local community radio station) - you can listen back to the broadcast here. |
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With the assistance of Greg Harm of Tangible Media, we also filmed a performance video of Chris Perren's work "Escapement" for violin and metronome, featuring Jodie Rottle on metronome.
The video was premiered on CutCommon on Friday 2 June, 2022 along with an interview about the release - read here. The video was also featured by The Strad online here. |
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This project was supported by:
Ilja Grawert - Violinmaker
Leatherwood Bespoke Rosin
Simply For Strings
Creative Partnerships Australia through the Australian Cultural Fund.
Ilja Grawert - Violinmaker
Leatherwood Bespoke Rosin
Simply For Strings
Creative Partnerships Australia through the Australian Cultural Fund.