Bach and his Dutch Contemporaries

This year sees Simon Murphy's vibrant and engaging, hand-crafted concert programme Bach and his Dutch Contemporaries enjoying its 10th year of international success.

Together with members of The Hague's Baroque orchestra, The New Dutch Academy (NDA), and in partnership with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Murphy has delighted audiences around the world with the programme since 2005.

In 2006, Murphy toured the programme to Australia, with highly successful subsequent tours to Canada and the US in 2007 and 2009, and Hong Kong and China in 2014. He has performed the programme throughout Europe on the festival circuit, including at the prestigious Bachfest Leipzig in 2010. In 2013, at home in The Hague, Murphy and the NDA were invited to perform a very special version of the programme for the Dutch royal family and guests (pictured).

            

            

Delivering an intimate and personal musical experience, Murphy offers a captivating view of the richness and variety of the cosmopolitan European music scene of the earlier 18th century, brought to life in an authentic, immediate, dynamic and highly satisfying sound-scape. The programme features classic Bach arias including "Höchster, Mache deine Güte" from Cantata no. 51 Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, "Schlummert ein" from Cantata no. 82a Ich habe genug and "Kommt, ihr angefochtnen Sünder" from Cantata no. 30 Freue dich, erlöste Schar, and places Bach's most famous aria not by him, "Bist du bei mir" (by Stölzel, but included in Anna Magdalena's Notebook), alongside Bach's newest "hit", the recently rediscovered "Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn' ihn". Dutch and Dutch-based composers represented include van Wassenaer, de Fesch, Hacquart and Graaf, together with selections from Schickhardt's highly innovative L'Alphabet de la musique. Other vocal and instrumental works by Handel and Vivaldi complete the programme. For each new tour, Murphy subtly tweaks the programme, keeping it fresh and sparkling.                                                           

For the performances of the programme, Murphy utilises a compact Baroque ensemble or mini-orchestra and a style of instrumentation of the kind of size and type which Bach himself used at the court in Köthen and at his smaller, intimate concerts in Leipzig. With Murphy directing from the viola and with one instrument per part, the richly intricate ensemble/part writing of Bach and his contemporaries - as well as the vitality and immediacy of their musical language in performance - comes to the fore. As well as offering audiences a refreshing, authentic sound-scape, this highly transportable and compact ensemble size and style of instrumentation also lends itself particularly well to the demands of modern day, international touring in a practical sense.

In 2014, Murphy and the NDA toured the programme to Asia for PPHK.

In spring 2015, Murphy and the NDA will tour the programme to Turkey at the invitation of the 43rd Istanbul Music Festival and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. For the performances in Turkey, Murphy will also include music by Bach's flautist Buffardin and by Bach's brother, who were both residents of Istanbul in the early 18th century. Preceding the tour, Murphy and the NDA will perform the programme at the Gothic Hall of the Raad van State at home in The Hague (see www.newdutchacademy.nl for details).

In 2017, Murphy and the NDA have been invited to perform the programme with soprano Gudrun Sidonie Otto at the prestigious Ansbach festival, Germany.

Watch videos of Murphy and the NDA performing repertoire from the programme (The Hague, 20014)

Listen to a live radio concert broadcast of the programme (Sydney, 2006)

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For more information on booking one of the productions
with Simon Murphy and the New Dutch Academy (halls or festivals),
or contracting one of the productions
with Simon Murphy as guest conductor (symphony orchestras),
please send an email to
info@simonmurphyconductor.com
or call direct on + 31 614 975 395

Gothic Project

During research this autumn in the historic Weimar Theatre archives for his Gothic Project, Simon Murphy has made some very exciting repertoire discoveries.

Containing original working material from the theatre's writers and directors including Goethe and Schiller, Murphy found exactly what he had been hoping for in the collection. Tales of the supernatural, of bracing Romantic turbulence, of horrific visions and terrifyingly irresistible destructive urges, of the eeriness of the unexplainable, of corrupted knights and vampires, jumped at him from the pages of the theatre's music manuscripts.

             

In the months since, Murphy has been enthusiastically weaving several of his musical discoveries into the Gothic Project's concert productions, enhancing the programmes' content and further tweaking the productions' flow and impact.

Intertwining powerful symphonic works with arias and spoken word, the project's theatrical concert productions include "Black Magic", "Great Scot" and "Gothic Stories". The programmes explore the world of ghosts, spirits, shape-shifters and the undead, as well as the real world heroes - flawed or otherwise - who battle them, with gripping stage and concert music by Mozart, Reichardt, Weber, Spohr, Gade, Mendelssohn, ETA Hoffmann, Lortzing, Marschner and Wagner, alongside the new Weimar discoveries. Literary works explored in the project's productions include Polidori's The Vampyre, Macpherson's Ossian, Shelly's Frankenstein, Apel and Laun's Tales of the Dead, Bürger's Lenore and Goethe's Faust.

The project's first concert production, "Black Magic", was recently successfully premièred by conductor Murphy and soprano Gudrun Sidonie Otto in The Hague's Philipszaal.

Watch Murphy and Otto perform the Witches Scene from Reichardt's setting of Macbeth from the première performance of the programme "Black Magic"

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For more information on booking one of the productions
with Simon Murphy and the New Dutch Academy (halls or festivals),
or contracting one of the productions
with Simon Murphy as guest conductor (symphony orchestras),
please send an email to
info@simonmurphyconductor.com
or call direct on + 31 614 975 395

Egmont and Wallenstein

Simon Murphy has been asked to create and perform a special new production for the Netherlands' Council of State.

Commemorating the 450th anniversary of a seminal address of William the Silent to the Council of State in which the Dutch leader outlined his vision for what would become the Dutch constitution, Murphy's hand-tailored concert programme includes music, spoken word and arias from Reichardt's setting of Goethe's Egmont, from Schiller's Don Karlos and Wallensteins Tod, together with other vocal and orchestral works by Abel, Mozart and Beethoven.

             

The engagement follows previous performances by Murphy and the New Dutch Academy for the Council of State and for the Dutch royal family. Vice-President Donner will host the January 2015 event.

Burning Desire

Cleopatra, Delilah, Judith, Lucretia ...

Opening the new season in The Netherlands, Murphy presents a fiery and passionate programme of arias by Handel, Vivaldi and their contemporaries, together with instrumental music by Bach, Vivaldi and Telemann. For the performances, Murphy directs The Hague's Baroque orchestra, The New Dutch Academy (NDA), with soprano Julia Kogan.

German Divas Headline Murphy's 2014 Festival Offerings

Fresh from her triumphs at the Salzburger Festspiele and Komische Oper Berlin, German star soprano Gudrun Sidonie Otto treads the boards in The Hague this September for Simon Murphy's classical stage at the Netherlands' Embassy Festival. She is joined by the newly crowned, Nordhorn Competition winner, German recorder virtuoso Elisabeth Champollion for performances of works by Handel, Vivaldi and De Fesch.

Embassy Festival Classical / Jazz Programme 

Held annually in the beautiful, historic centre of The Hague, the Netherlands' Embassy Festival is a vibrant and cosmopolitan celebration of the world's musical and culinary arts.

Curated by Dutch-based Australian conductor and violist Simon Murphy (Sydney, 1973), the 2014 festival's classical/jazz stage features a rich variety of musical styles performed by leading international musicians in a series of concert programmes of music from 5 continents with repertoire spanning 5 centuries.

Murphy's previous festival editions featured Dutch musical superstars harpist Lavinia Meijer and violinist Frederieke Saeijs, Australian classical saxophonist Amy Dickson, Swedish lute virtuoso Karl Nyhlin, Norwegian accordionist Frode Haltli, Germany's Boreas Quartett, award-winning Canadian soprano Stefanie True, U.S. pianist Bobby Mitchell and the Netherlands' celebrated Rembrandt Frerichs Trio.

This year's programme again offers audiences a delectable array of musical styles, from effervescent Baroque instrumental masterworks to sweaty, smoky Bluegrass; from delicate, French impressionist musical portraits to dynamic, modern, new world composition. Music for the ears, eyes, heart, soul and mind.

Festival Programme 2014

Headlining Murphy's 2014 festival programme is star soprano Gudrun Sidonie Otto. The singer will appear in recital with pianist Stefan Haselhoff performing lieder by Dowland, Handel, Ravel, Mozart, Dvorak, Verdi, Kilpinen, Grieg and Schumann.

Other 2014 artists include the winner of the Netherlands’ National Music Prize, flautist Felicia van den End in a colourful recital programme with pianist Hanna Shybayeva of works by Piazzolla, Schubert and Poulenc. Dutch novelist Anja Sicking delivers spoken word, reading from her musical novel Silent Sin, Ardesko Chamber Orchestra performs music by Australian Composer Ross Edwards, and accordionist Marieke Grotenhuis plays a programme of intoxicating, hypnotic tango rhythms, complemented by works by Bartok, Bloch and contemporary Dutch composer Padding.

Stand out 2014 festival highlights:

13:30 Elisabeth Champollion, recorder, Sound Garden

Award-winning German recorder virtuoso Elisabeth Champollion presents enchanting, sensual works for her instrument. Performing on all sizes and models of recorder and other historical wind instruments, her deeply touching and effervescent style has captivated audiences around the world. Centring around Der Fluyten Lust-Hof (The Flute’s Garden of Delights) by 17th century Dutch master Van Eyck, Elisabeth performs a selection of works which Van Eyck himself originally performed outside on magical, long Dutch summer evenings. Elisabeth will be accompanied by Baroque lutenist Karl Nyhlin and Baroque cellist Aleksandra Renska, with a special appearance by soprano Gudrun Sidonie Otto.

16:30 Gudrun Sidonie Otto, soprano, Around the World

German star soprano Gudrun Sidonie Otto has established herself as one of the most exciting, international younger generation vocalists today. Since winning first prize in the prestigious Schloss Rheinsberg competition in 2007, Sidonie has wowed audiences with her style, virtuosity and warmth, performing on the illustrious stages of major European opera houses and festivals, from the Komische Oper Berlin to the Salzburger Festspiele. “Crystal clear and deeply expressive” lauded the German press. Accompanied by pianist Stefan Haselhoff, Sidonie presents a whirlwind musical trip Around the World with works by Dowland, Handel, Ravel, Mozart, Dvorak, Verdi, Kilpinen, Grieg and Schumann.

Festival Location and Atmosphere 

A stone's throw away from the city's historic concert halls, opera houses and art galleries, the tree-lined boulevard of The Hague's Lange Voorhout makes the perfect backdrop for the Embassy Festival's international classical and jazz programme. In this inspiring festival setting, along cobblestone streets once walked by Mozart, Beethoven and Dussek, modern audiences now have the opportunity to savour some of the world's most exciting contemporary performers in a series of engaging concert presentations. Other festival offerings include culinary delights from around the world, theatre, street art and more.

Embassy Festival Classical and Jazz Programme

Festival organiser is Prooost in partnership with the city of The Hague. Major festival sponsors include APM Terminals and ABN AMRO.

The Embassy Festival is part of The Hague's festive, cultural season's opening weekend “48 uur van Den Haag” (48 hours of The Hague)

Festival Details

Embassy Festival, Lange Voorhout (outside), The Hague
Saturday 6 September 2014, 12:00 to 21:00
Entrance FREE!

www.embassyfestival.com

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For further information on conductor Simon Murphy's other projects and performing activities, visit:

www.simonmurphyconductor.com

Working at the Classic Philips Studios

Simon Murphy writes about his experiences working at the classic Philips Studios throughout the years in a highly personal article for the world's most read, on-line classical music journal. 

Strasbourg Début

Simon Murphy will make his début with the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra (OPS) this December.

Taking audiences on a musical road trip of 18th century European symphonic centres, Murphy will conduct a series of concerts of Mozart arias and symphonies in a programme specially created by him for the French orchestra.

Following Murphy's pioneering research and performance work on the birth of the symphony and symphony orchestra, the programme features several of his musical discoveries including the Symphony in E flat by J Schmitt a.k.a. "The Dutch Haydn". The performance opens with a newly edited symphony by Mannheim master FX Richter who preceded Pleyel as head of music at Strasbourg Cathedral which celebrates its millennium jubilee (1015 - 2015) this coming year.

German soprano Gudrun Sidonie Otto appears as the programme's soloist in works by JC Bach, Cimarosa, Paisiello and Mozart. The programme concludes with Mozart's "Haffner" Symphony.

                     

Explore the programme and read Murphy's personal introduction to the concert

Listen to Murphy's recordings of early Mannheim symphonies by Richter, and Schmitt's "Hurdy Gurdy" Symphony, for PentaTone Classics

Look at a selection of Murphy's other hand-tailored guest-conducting programmes

Check out the concerts on the Strasbourg Philharmonic website

www.simonmurphyconductor.com