Murphy to conduct QSO in double bill

Dutch-based Australian conductor Simon Murphy (Sydney, 1973) will make his début with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) in Brisbane, Australia this May with a special double bill. Entitled Roman Holiday and New Generation, Murphy's hand-crafted programmes feature selections from two iconic 18th century orchestral masterpieces – Corelli's Concerti Grossi and Handel's The Water Music – alongside pioneering, early classical symphonies by J. Stamitz, C.F. Abel, J.C. Bach, C.P.E. Bach and J.F. Reichardt.

Murphy is the chief-conductor of The Hague's Baroque Orchestra, The New Dutch Academy (NDA). Branded the  “Repertoire Refresher” by the European press, his dynamic, innovative musical approach and highly engaging performance style have made him a popular fixture on the European circuit. This status has earned him major music industry awards and regular guest conducting engagements with period instrument and modern symphony orchestras around the world. Murphy's ground-breaking recording projects have shed new light on many facets of 18th century music, including the German and Dutch symphonic schools, with his work on Corelli being perhaps his most spectacular to date – recently chosen as one the top five highlights of the prestigious 30 year history of the Holland Festival of Early Music Utrecht.

Murphy's 2013 QSO concerts promise Australian audiences exciting insights into classic 18th century orchestral music as well as the opportunity to become acquainted with newly rediscovered symphonic gems featuring a selection of works unearthed by Murphy in European archives. Both programmes will broadcast by the ABC.

Simon Murphy conducting Corelli's Concerti Grossi 
at the Holland Festival of Early Music, Utrecht

Listen to the CD 

Corelli 

Murphy's “legendary” Corelli Concerti Grossi project at the Holland Festival of Early Music was recently voted as one of the top five highlights of the prestigious festival's 30 year history. Following extensive research, Murphy's performances presented the composer in a completely new light. His resulting CD of the Concerti Grossi with the NDA (PentaTone Classics, 2003) became the first ever recording to use Corelli's own large scale orchestra, rich Italianate improvisation and extemporisation, and a full and varied basso continuo section (including baroque guitars, baroque lutes, archlutes, theorbos, harpsichords and organs). It succeeded in redefining contemporary understanding of the iconic 17th century Roman composer's musical aesthetic, instrumentation, performance practices and orchestral soundscape, with the BBC Music Magazine writing:

“When it came to his orchestral music, size mattered for Corelli …
These accounts by the New Dutch Academy, a big band playing on period instruments, reflect the best of both worlds. Its sound is sumptuous, but textures are sufficiently transparent to allow details to cut through, and the historically informed approach includes stylish ornamentation and a battery of continuo instruments which would surely have delighted the composer. … director Simon Murphy infuses these accounts with subtle jazz-like touches: swinging rhythms, inventive extemporisations and vigorous guitar strumming effects.”

Following the project, Murphy was honoured with a personal invitation to perform Corelli's Concerti Grossi for the Italian president at the Palazzo Quirinale in Rome, doing so in a special concert for guests including the Dutch Queen, broadcast live on Italian radio and television. Other invitations included performances of Corelli's Concerti Grossi and Handel's The Water Music for the ZaterdagMatinee at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw for Dutch radio (NPS) and at the Händel Festspiele Halle for German radio (MDR).

Simon Murphy performing Corelli's Concerti Grossi 
in the Palazzo Quirinale, Rome 

Roman Holiday 

Murphy's QSO programme Roman Holiday connects Corelli and Handel, taking inspiration from Handel's visit to Rome in the early 18th century during which the young German composer worked with Corelli and his famous Roman orchestra. The experience left a long lasting impression on Handel and massively influenced the development of his own musical aesthetic and love for a rich and substantial orchestral soundscape. The programme explores Handel's early 18th century cosmopolitan orchestra masterpiece, The Water Music, from the perspective of Corelli's orchestra, instrumentation and performance practices.

Simon Murphy conducting Handel's The Water Music 
at the Händel Festspiele, Halle 

Listen to the live performance 

Mannheim and the Birth of the Symphony

Murphy's award-winning research, performances and recordings exploring the foundation of the western cultural phenomenon of the symphony in the mid-18th century have been most enthusiastically welcomed by the international music press, who have labelled Murphy's work “revelatory” and “a total eyeopener”. Murphy's series of world première CD recordings of pioneering, but nowadays often underrated, Mannheimer Schule composers F.X. Richter and the “Father of the Symphony” Johann Stamitz have been heralded for presenting these visionary composers in a completely new light, with The Australian reporting:

“The hottest property on the European baroque scene Simon Murphy puts flesh on the cobwebbed skeletons of Haydn's predecessors and drags musicology into the hypercritical glare of the contemporary concert platform replete with swashbuckling dynamic contrasts, piquant continuo parts and soaring Mannheim rockets.”

The musical establishment at the court in Mannheim in the mid-18th century not only succeeded in giving the symphony form and face, but became the benchmark of top 18th century orchestral quality. 18th century musical traveller Charles Burney stated that the Mannheim Court symphony orchestra was “an orchestra of generals” with each of its players being equally fit to plan as well as to fight a battle. Mannheim was a source of envy, admiration and inspiration, with even the often highly critical Leopold Mozart describing it as being the musical sun which lights up the skies of whole of Europe.

The Netherlands

Alongside his work on the seminal Mannheimer Schule, Murphy has recently also turned his attention to other 18th century European symphonic centres including cosmopolitan the Netherlands. He has become responsible for uncovering the previously unknown Dutch 18th century symphonic tradition. His recording projects with Dutch label PentaTone Classics have presented the works of several key, Dutch 18th century symphonists on disc for the first time. Murphy has surprised listeners with the fresh and distinctive characteristics of Amsterdam composer Joseph Schmitt (“The Dutch Haydn”) and The Hague court composers Graaf, Schwindl and Zappa, and his discs have received major industry prizes including the Edison Music Award.

New Generation 

Murphy's QSO programme New Generation presents an array of music by the visionary, new generation of  ground-breaking, pan-European composers responsible for establishing the phenomenon of the symphony in Europe in the mid-18th century. Represented in the programme are members of the Mannheimer Schule, two musicians from the Prussian court of Frederick the Great in Potsdam C.P.E. Bach and Hofkapellmeister J.F. Reichardt, London-based star Bach student and Mozart mentor C.F. Abel together with friend and colleague J.C. Bach (“The London Bach”), Amsterdam composer J. Schmitt (“The Dutch Haydn”), Hofkapellmeister at the Court of Orange in The Hague C.E. Graaf, and Italian opera maestro D. Cimarosa, composer of one of the most often performed operas in the period The Secret Marriage.

Murphy – Recent Concert Highlights

At home in the Netherlands, Murphy's recent appearances include cycles of the symphonies of Stamitz, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven and Mendelssohn at Amsterdam's The Concertgebouw, The Hague's Philipszaal and Rotterdam's De Doelen, with performances at the major European festivals including the Bachfest Leipzig.

In October 2012, he opened the NDA's 10th anniversary season with the symphonic programme Black Magic, exploring the late 18th and early 19th century's obsession with destiny and the supernatural, with music from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Reichardt's Macbeth, Rust's Colma's Klage, von Weber's Der Freischütz and Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Further symphonic performances as part of the NDA's 10th anniversary season in 2013 include music by Mozart, Beethoven, Schmitt, Rossini, Romberg and Spohr.

In November 2012, Murphy made his conducting début in China with appearances in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Beijing, also giving master classes and workshops at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts and Beijing Central Conservatory. In December 2012, Murphy made his début in the Baltic states, conducting the Latvian State Choir and Collegium Musicum Riga, in Bach's B Minor Mass, receiving immediate return invitations including performances as part of the city's musical celebrations as European cultural capital in 2014.

QSO May 2013

In May 2013, Murphy brings his musical energy to the QSO in Brisbane, treating audiences to vibrant interpretations of Corelli and Handel's rich Baroque sensuality, and to the cutting-edge excitement of the visionary composers who created the first ever symphonies. With their power chords, exciting rhythmic figures, driving bass lines, and overdrive orchestral effects – such as the Mannheim rocket – this is music which, under Murphy's baton, has been described on more than one occasion as being “18th century rock 'n roll”.


Events 

Queensland Symphony Orchestra
Simon Murphy, conductor

QSO Studios South Bank, Brisbane, Australia

Friday, 24 May 2013, 7 pm
Roman Holiday
Corelli and De Fesch Concerti Grossi
Handel The Water Music
http://qso.com.au/roman-holiday

Friday, 31 May 2013, 7 pm
New Generation
Symphonies and Overtures by Stamitz, Abel, J.C. Bach, Graaf,
Cimarosa, Reichardt and Schmitt “The Dutch Haydn”
http://qso.com.au/new-generation


Relevant Audio and Video Links

Listen to Murphy's SA-CD recording of Corelli's Concerti Grossi made at the Holland Festival of Early Music with the New Dutch Academy on Dutch label PentaTone Classics

Listen to Murphy perform Handel's The Water Music live in concert at the Händel Festspiele, Halle

Listen to Murphy perform Handel's The Water Music live in concert at The Concertgebouw, Amsterdam

Listen to Murphy's world première recordings of symphonies by the 18th century Dutch Hofkapellmeister Graaf and by “The Dutch Haydn” Joseph Schmitt

Watch Murphy conduct “The Dutch Haydn” Joseph Schmitt's “Hurdy Gurdy” Symphony


Further information on conductor Simon Murphy

www.simonmurphyconductor.com

Murphy conducts Bach's B Minor Mass with Latvian State Choir

Dutch-based Australian conductor Simon Murphy (39) has successfully made his Baltic début conducting Bach's monumental Mass in B Minor with the Latvian State Choir in Riga in December 2012. Murphy performed Bach's masterpiece together with the Latvian State Choir and Latvia's Baroque orchestra, Collegium Musicum Riga, in the 13th century church of St John as part of the annual Latvian Christmas festival Eiropas Ziemassvētki.

Following the project, Murphy was offered several return conducting engagements by Latvian state concert organisation Latvijas Koncerti including repeat performances of the B Minor Mass with the Latvian State Choir as well as a number of concerts as part of Riga's musical celebrations as European cultural capital in 2014.

Simon Murphy conducting the Latvian State Choir
Riga, December 2012

Latvian State Choir

The Latvian State Choir was established in 1940. As Latvia's flagship choral ensemble, it represents the nation's enormously strong choral tradition which came to international attention during the “Singing Revolution” in the late 1980's in which Latvians, Lithuanians and Estonians sang together in their hundreds of thousands successfully engineering massive social and political change at the end of the Soviet era. The choir is considered to be one of the best in the world, with Britain's Gramophone magazine recently describing it and the Latvian choral tradition as one of the world's glories.

About Simon Murphy 

Murphy is chief-conductor of The Hague's Baroque orchestra, The New Dutch Academy (NDA), and internationally active as a guest conductor of both period instrument and modern symphony orchestras. He studied with the leading lights of the Dutch early music movement, performing extensively with legendary figures such as Gustav Leonhardt and Frans Brüggen. Murphy has won much recognition for his work as a “repertoire refresher”, presenting fresh perspectives on established masterpieces and introducing newly rediscovered musical gems. Recent performance highlights in the Netherlands include cycles of Stamitz, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven and Mendelssohn symphonies for Dutch radio at The Hague's Philipszaal, Rotterdam's De Doelen and Amsterdam's The Concertgebouw.

Murphy and the music of Bach 

Alongside his passion for classical symphonic music, especially of the Mannheim School, Murphy has a great love for the music of J.S. Bach. He has earned a strong reputation for his distinctive performances of Bach's sacred and orchestral works, with recent appearances at major European festivals including the Holland Festival of Early Music Utrecht, Händel Festspiele Halle and Bachfest Leipzig. Of his performances, The Netherlands' De Volkskrant exclaimed “Murphy is a Baroque musician with “guts”: a conductor with the passion and conviction of a born missionary” and Germany's music magazine Concerto said “Breathtaking, compelling, technically brilliant and unusually effervescent! Murphy has it all - verve and pulsating temperament - presented with the finest finesse.”

Simon Murphy conducting the Latvian State Choir
Riga, December 2012

Murphy's recent performances of Bach sacred works at home in the Netherlands, including “Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen” with the Noord Nederlands Orkest (NNO), have also gained high praise in the Dutch press. The Dagblad van het Noorden said “Guest conductor Simon Murphy doesn't only present the Baroque in a lively and captivating manner – he paces the musical development beautifully, letting the music breathe and rest along the way, whereby the listener's ears remain fresh and alert until the final chord. Under his leadership, the NNO's Bach cantatas sparkled.”

Other recent concert highlights 

In October 2012, Murphy opened the NDA's 10th anniversary season in The Hague with the symphonic programme Black Magic. Exploring the late 18th/early 19th century's obsession with destiny and the supernatural, the programme featured music from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Reichardt's Macbeth, Rust's Colma's Klage, von Weber's Der Freischütz and Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

In November 2012, Murphy made his conducting début in China with appearances in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Beijing, also giving master-classes and workshops at the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts and Beijing Central Conservatory.

Upcoming performances 

In May 2013, Murphy will conduct the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in Brisbane, Australia in a double bill featuring music by Corelli, Handel, Stamitz, Abel and J.C. Bach. Entitled Roman Holiday and New Generation, the concerts will be broadcast live by the Australian national broadcaster, ABC. In the Netherlands, Murphy's NDA 10th anniversary season includes symphonic programmes with music by Mozart, Beethoven, Rossini, Schmitt, Romberg and Spohr.

www.simonmurphyconductor.com

China Début Successful

Dutch-based Australian conductor Simon Murphy (Sydney, 1973) has successfully made his début in China this November with appearances in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Beijing. During the 2 ½ week tour, Murphy also gave master-classes and workshops at the Beijing Central Conservatory and Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, and performed at the official celebrations in Beijing of 40 years of diplomatic relations between the Netherlands and the People's Republic of China.

The tour's programmes included Mozart and Beethoven symphonies, together with works by 18th century Dutch symphonists newly rediscovered by Murphy. Alongside the visit's performing and teaching activities, Murphy had a series of introductory meetings with leading figures in the Chinese culture sector, discussing projects and exploring possible future co-operations.

Murphy earned several return invitations from the tour's activities. In May 2013, he will return to the country to give further workshops and master-classes in the areas of repertoire, interpretation and historical performance practice. Future orchestral concert performances are scheduled for 2014.

Simon Murphy at work with music students in Shenzhen (above)
and in Hangzhou (below) 

The tour's orchestral activities also featured several members of Murphy's specialist The Hague based Baroque orchestra, The New Dutch Academy, in solo and coaching roles. Dutch-based American cellist Caroline Kang performed Haydn's Cello Concerto in C and C.P.E. Bach's Concerto in A minor and Dutch-based Irish flautist Emma Elkinson played Mozart's Flute Concerto in G and Bach's Orchestral Suite no. 2.

About Conductor Simon Murphy

Dutch-based Australian conductor Murphy (39) studied with the leading lights of the Dutch early music movement, performing extensively with legendary figures such as Gustav Leonhardt and Frans Brüggen, also working as the violist of the Amsterdam String Quartet for many years. Murphy is currently chief-conductor of The Hague's Baroque orchestra, the award winning New Dutch Academy (NDA), with the conductor and orchestra celebrating their 10 year jubilee together this year.

Alongside his work with the NDA, Murphy is active as a guest conductor of both period instrument and modern symphony orchestras around the world. He has won much recognition for his work as an ensemble builder, musical innovator and “repertoire refresher”, presenting fresh perspectives on established masterpieces and introducing newly rediscovered musical gems.

          

International Cultural Ambassador

Through his international performing, programming and educational activities, Murphy has become highly experienced in the area of cultural diplomacy and in the role of “cultural ambassador”. Over the past decade, he has worked regularly for Dutch local and national government on major bilateral celebrations and cultural exchange programmes. Highlights include performances in Rome for the Dutch Queen's visit to Italy during the Dutch presidency of the EU in 2004, in Sydney and The Hague for Australia-Netherlands 400 in 2006, and at the Cultural Olympiad in Vancouver and the Hudson 400 celebrations in New York in 2009.

During the November 2012 tour to China, Murphy's performance in Beijing at the official celebrations of the 40 year anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Netherlands and the People's Republic of China featured a special, hand-selected programme of 18th century Dutch repertoire. The event was hosted by the Netherlands' Ambassador to China, H.E. Aart Jacobi.

The Hague's Vice-Mayor and Alderman for Economic Affairs, Henk Kool, also hosted two of Murphy's performances in China, with the cultural activities consolidating on diplomatic and economic relationships between The Hague and several Chinese cities. Murphy also gave a private chamber recital for Dutch and Chinese guests from the corporate and cultural sectors at the residence of the Netherlands' Consul General in Hong Kong, H.E. Wilfred Mohr.

Other Recent Concert Highlights

At home in the Netherlands, Murphy's recent appearances include cycles of the symphonies of Stamitz, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven and Mendelssohn at Amsterdam's The Concertgebouw, The Hague's Philipszaal and Rotterdam's De Doelen. Performances at the major European festivals include the Holland Festival of Early Music Utrecht, Händel Festspiele Halle and Bachfest Leipzig.

In October 2012, Murphy opened the NDA's 10th anniversary season with the symphonic programme Black Magic, exploring the late 18th/early 19th century's obsession with destiny and the supernatural, with music from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Reichardt's Macbeth, von Weber's Der Freischütz and Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

In December 2012, Murphy made his début in the Baltic states, conducting the Latvian State Choir and the Latvian Baroque orchestra, Collegium Musicum Riga, in Bach's B Minor Mass, receiving return invitations to perform as part of Riga's musical celebrations as European cultural capital in 2014.

Upcoming Performances 

In May 2013, Murphy will conduct the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in Brisbane, Australia with a double bill featuring music by Corelli, Handel, Stamitz, Abel, J.C. Bach, C.P.E. Bach and Reichardt. Entitled Roman Holiday and New Generation, the concerts will be broadcast live by the Australian national broadcaster, ABC.

Further performances in the Netherlands as part of the NDA's 10th anniversary season include symphonic programmes with music by Mozart, Beethoven, Schmitt, Rossini, Romberg and Spohr.

Simon Murphy at work with students at the Central Conservatory, Beijing

www.simonmurphyconductor.com

Zappa – New Research Unveiled

Following his 2009 world première CD recording of Zappa's symphonic music, Dutch-based Australian conductor Simon Murphy (Sydney, 1973) presents new research this month containing previously unknown facts about the master musician and composer.

Until now, little was known about the life of The Hague-based Italian 18th century cellist and composer Francesco Zappa (1717 – 1803). An esteemed colleague of 18th century cellists Boccherini and Filz, Zappa worked at the Court of Orange in The Hague, travelled Europe as a virtuoso performer, and had his music published by the leading publishing houses of the day, including the Dutch firm of the Hummel brothers founded in The Hague in the 1750's.

Resulting from years of extensive musical and archival research, Murphy and colleague researcher, Dutch historian Cornelia Klugkist have uncovered a considerable amount of new information about the composer. Including birth and death dates, residential addresses, and concert activities, this information is published in a new article and is now available on the website of The Hague's Baroque orchestra, The New Dutch Academy (NDA).

Background – Murphy's recordings of Zappa's symphonic music 

Murphy surprised the world in 2009 with the first recording of Zappa's symphonic music.

Labelled an eye-opener by the Dutch press, the Netherlands' classical music magazine Klassieke Zaken said of the disc “brilliant performances – a fascinating view of the rich musical traditions of The Hague with the wonderful orchestral sound of the NDA”. German national radio, Deutschlandfunk, said  “When it comes to the subject of Crown Jewels, the Dutch can definitely hold their own with the British. The New Dutch Academy presents a musical exhibition of seven high-carat examples from the Classical epoch, including totally stunning new masterworks. Under no circumstances should one miss this!”

The American Record Guide confirmed with the statement “This is one of the finest SACD recordings I have heard. ... The recording is gorgeous, giving finely balanced and well-placed performances of these works ... Anyone with an interest in off the beaten track late 18th c. music owes it to himself to obtain this SACD.” US Pop Matters reported “Different Zappa, Different Time, Different Place, Same Excitement”.

The recordings of Zappa followed Murphy's previous unveiling of another unknown Dutch-based 18th century composer, Joseph Schmitt “The Dutch Haydn” (1734 – 1791).

Zappa's workplace: the court city of The Hague in the 18th century
(painting La Fargue, Haags Historisch Museum)

Background – About Simon Murphy 

Simon Murphy (Sydney, 1973) is chief-conductor of The Hague's Baroque Orchestra, The New Dutch Academy. He studied with the leading lights of the Dutch early music movement, performing extensively with legendary figures such as Gustav Leonhardt. Murphy has won much recognition for his work as a “repertoire refresher”, presenting fresh perspectives on established masterpieces and introducing newly rediscovered musical gems.

Zappa research 

Murphy and Klugkist's research on Zappa and other 18th century Dutch-based composers forms part of the activities of the NDA's Research Lab - committed to shedding new light on the music and culture of the 18th century, including the Netherlands' own, highly cosmopolitan, 18th century musical heritage.

Initial new information on Zappa by Murphy and Klugkist was first published in the UK's quarterly early music magazine, Musica Antiqua, in late 2012. Full results of the research will be published on the NDA site in mid-February 2013.

Murphy's performing editions of the symphonies of Zappa, Graaf, Schmitt “The Dutch Haydn” and other composers active in 18th century Holland are available for hire via Dutch publisher Albersen.

Listen to Murphy's recording of Zappa Symphonies here.

Relevant Links

www.newdutchacademy.nl
www.simonmurphyconductor.com

CDs

including:

Murphy's world première recording of symphonies from
The Hague's Court of Orange
Symphonies by Graaf, C. Stamitz, Schwindl and Zappa
http://www.simonmurphyconductor.com/web/music_details.aspx?ItemId=885947

Murphy's “legendary” recording of Corelli's Concerti Grossi
made with the NDA at the Holland Festival of Early Music Utrecht
recently chosen in the top five highlights of the festival's 30 year history
http://www.simonmurphyconductor.com/web/music_details.aspx?ItemId=885936

More Info 

www.simonmurphyconductor.com