C & C Rigg Bequest Classic Music in Historic Venues 2023 - 2024

Our 2023 - 2024 series continues with fabulous recitals in four different historic venues. Enjoy these attractive and unique events at St Kilda Presbyterian Church, Como House and Garden, Labassa, and at Glenfern, from March to July 2024. See below for details of the programs and our wonderful guest artists, plus the booking links!

Voices of Grandeur - Bluestone Classics at St Kilda Presbyterian Church
Sunday March 17, 2024 at 3.00pm

An afternoon with Melbourne Cappella Chamber Choir and Rohan Murray in the wonderful acoustic of the historic St Kilda Presbyterian Church, 2 Alma Road, St Kilda. Conducted by Nicholas Cowall, with Rohan Murray at the piano, this male voice choir will thrill you with an exceptional blend of vocal prowess and piano artistry, within a repertoire spanning the soulful depths of Orthodox chant to the dramatic peaks of Italian opera and Russian and Hungarian romanticism.

Programme:
Melbourne Capella Chamber Choir, Nicholas Cowall (conductor), Rohan Murray (piano)
Chesnokov - Let my prayer Arise, Op 24 No. 8, a capella with alto solo
Puccini - Vexilla Regis Prodeunt, for 2-part male chorus & piano
Liszt - Missa quattuor vocum ad aequales S. 8, for 4-part male Chorus, soloists and keyboard
INTERVAL
Puccini- Humming Chorus (Madam Butterfly, for piano & male chorus
Puccini - Colline’s aria "Vecchia zimarra, senti" (from La Bohème) & Cavaradossi's aria "E lucevan le stelle" (from Tosca)
Tchaikovsky - 1812 Overture Op. 49, arr. Cowall for male chorus & piano

Venue: St Kilda Presbyterian Church
2 Alma Road,
St Kilda, VIC, 3182
(corner of Alma Road and Barkly Street, St Kilda)

The Hollywood Connection at Como House & Garden
Sunday April 21, 2024 at 2.00pm and at 4.30pm

Join Vivien Hamilton - mezzo-soprano, Josephine Vains - cello and Robert Chamberlain - piano for a Hollywood-inspired recital in the elegant yet intimate Ballroom at Como House and Garden, still furnished with family heirlooms from the Armytage family, who lived there for nearly a century.

Enjoy fabulous works for various combinations of voice, cello and piano by André Previn, Leonard Bernstein, Erich Korngold, Nino Rota, George Gershwin and Australian composer Luke Severn, as you glimpse the privileged lifestyle of the former occupants of this stunning National Trust mansion in South Yarra.

Programme includes:
Luke Severn - When the World Was Young (2018) for cello & piano
Erich Korngold - Four Shakespeare Songs Op. 31 (voice & piano)
André Previn - Four Songs for Soprano, Cello and Piano (1994)
André Previn - Vocalise, for voice, cello & piano (2002)
Nino Rota - Allegro danzante arr. cello & piano
A selection of Hollywood show and movie tunes by Harold Arlen (Over the Rainbow), Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin and André Previn - in original form and in arrangement.

Choose from two performances, one at 2pm, the second at 4.30pm, with interval refreshments served on the Eastern Verandah by the Friends of the Team of Pianists. With strictly limited seating for each performance in the Ballroom, don't miss out - book now!

Venue: Como House & Garden - The Ballroom
Corner Williams Rd & Lechlade Ave
South Yarra, VIC, 3141

Ludwig Live at Labassa
Sunday May 26, 2024 at 3.00pm

A unique double recital in the National Trust’s lavish 19th century mansion Labassa. Experience the opulent architectural features and impressive interiors of Labassa as you enjoy two contrasting 40 - 45 minute recitals exploring the music of Beethoven (and others!), in one afternoon!

Programme 1 - Reception Room
Judith Dodsworth (soprano), Roman Ponomariov (horn), Robert Chamberlain (piano)
Beethoven - Sonata in F major for Horn and Piano Op. 17
Beethoven - An die ferne Geliebte Op. 98, song cycle for voice and piano
Schubert - Auf Dem Strom Op 119 D. 943 for soprano, horn and piano
Flanders and Swann - An ill Wind (with apologies to WA Mozart) arr. for soprano, horn and piano

Programme 2 - Music Room
Yi Wang (violin), Darryl Coote (piano)
Beethoven - Sonata in A major, Op 47 (Kreuzer)

Each magnificently restored room seats only 40 people, thus each recital will be performed twice; after interval the audience will swap rooms to hear their second recital. Both rooms are at opposite corners of the ground floor, separated by doors and the entrance hall, so each audience will not be disturbed by sound from the other recital. With strictly limited seating, our previous Rigg Bequest double-recital at Labassa sold out early, so be sure to book soon!

Venue: Labassa
2 Manor Grove,
Caulfield North, VIC, 3161
(Please note: parking is in prohibited in Manor Grove and stilettos are not to be worn inside the house)

Great Traditions of the Piano - Murray McLachlan at Glenfern
Sunday July 14, 2024 at 3.00pm

Hear brilliant visiting UK pianist Murray McLachlan in this stunning winter recital in the intimate Glenfern Drawing Room. His acclaimed solo recitals and concerto appearances have taken him to five continents. This program for the Team of Pianists draws from the great tradition of piano solo repertoire with works by Bach arr. Busoni, Beethoven, Debussy, Ravel, Chopin and Liszt. One recital only with strictly limited seating, book early to ensure your place!

Programme
Murray McLachlan (piano)
Bach (arr. Busoni) - Chaconne from Partita No 2 in D minor, BWV 1004
Beethoven - Sonata in E major, Op 109
Debussy - L’Isle Joyeuse
INTERVAL
Ravel - Jeux d’Eaux
Chopin - Prelude in C sharp minor, Op 45
Chopin - Berceuse, Op 57
Liszt - Après une lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata

Venue: Glenfern
417 Inkerman Street,
(SE corner of Inkerman & Hotham Streets)
East St Kilda, VIC, 3183

"...chamber music as it was intended..."