Mavericks

Please see the orange banner on the homepage for details of the concerts that have been cancelled in this Mavericks tour due to COVID restrictions and border closures.

This program presents the work of three fascinating composers whose impact was both profound and long-lasting. Whilst they experienced the world at very much the same point in time, their view of the piano trio genre was vastly different.

Discouraged by comments made about ‘women in music’ in an American newspaper by Dvořák, Amy Beach wrote a strong rebuttal and when four years later in 1896, her own work was premiered by the Boston Symphony, she became known as the dean of American women composers and a national symbol of women’s creative power.

Englishwoman Dame Ethel Smyth, somewhat marginalized for being a “woman” composer, was nonetheless a powerful force, encouraged by both Dvořák and Brahms and known to Clara Schumann. She was also a vigorous member of the suffragette movement.

Often regarded as one of France’s greatest composers, Ravel also went against the establishment and chose his own path in composition, fusing modern elements with the baroque, classicism and jazz. Bringing together three of Australia’s powerhouse artists, this program represents a perfect synergy.