Simon Martyn-Ellis

theorbo | baroque guitar | baroque lute | romantic guitar | lute

Runnymede Summer Concert Series - Brett Rutherford and Simon Martyn-Ellis
Feb
15
4:00 PM16:00

Runnymede Summer Concert Series - Brett Rutherford and Simon Martyn-Ellis

Spend a summer late afternoon with us at the stunning Runnymede and experience this special, short concert taking place in Runnymede's Music Room with Brett Rutherford and Simon Martyn-Ellis playing Viola de Gamba and Theorbo featuring the music of Marin Marais.

Marin Marais stands as a hidden gem in the world of Baroque music. This French composer from the court of Louis XIV left a mark on the musical landscape of the late 17th and early 18th centuries influencing generations of musicians and composers. His music, particularly for the viola da gamba, pushed the boundaries of what was possible on the instrument. He was the subject of the 1991 French film Tous les Matins du Monde which showed Marin Marais looking back on his young life when he was a student of the viol.

For tickets, click on the link below:

Runnymede Summer Concert Series - Brett Rutherford and Simon Martyn-Ellis

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Capricci a Castaldi
Feb
24
6:00 PM18:00

Capricci a Castaldi

  • All Saints Parish South Hobart (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

In 1622, a man who thought of himself as a military specialist and soldier, published a book of music for an instrument that he played as a hobby. Apparently Bellerofonte Castaldi loved to while the evening away playing his tiorba with his mates, noodling away on the latest popular songs. Born into a notable family near Modena, Castaldi's publication, engraved entirely by his own hand, gives us a precious insight into the private world of the 17th Century courtier, where the arts were a type of currency that garnered one favour. And where being a professional was considerably lower in rank.

Joined by colleague Meriel Owen on the baroque triple harp, Simon Martyn-Ellis presents a few select duets and solos from Bellerofonte Castaldi's Capricci a Due Stromenti, along with some works from Castaldi's Roman colleague Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger. There's no mistaking the very unseriousness of the music, created over years surrounded by tall stories, excellent food and wine, and good friends.

For tickets, click on the link below:

Capricci a Castaldi

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Mar
12
to Mar 28

The Devil's Violin - Ilya Gringolts & the ACO National Tour

Touring to Wollongong, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra.

The devil played the violin for Tartini in a dream. The music was charismatic, electrifying, fiendishly difficult and utterly transfixing. Tartini awoke and transcribed the melody, penning the Devil’s Trill sonata. It can only be played by someone astounding.

Ilya Gringolts is that player, returning with his dazzling virtuosity and commanding stage presence for his third tour with the ACO. In the rehearsal room, Gringolts brings an intellectual curiosity and joy in experimentation, whether he’s playing Vivaldi or breathing life into new music. On stage, the result is an assured mastery, where the most difficult music appears effortless. The ACO is one of his favourite ensembles, collaborators capable of answering his nuance and creativity with their own curiosity and skill.

Gringolts and the ACO explore their shared passion for authentic interpretations of Italian Baroque music in a sparkling program featuring Geminiani, Tartini and Vivaldi – where Gringolts will be joined by ACO Principal Violin Satu Vänskä – performed in contrast with contemporary works. Enigmatic Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina’s String Quartet No.2 looks to the harmonies of heaven from an unsettled, earthbound soul. Renowned Australian composer Paul Stanhope’s Giving Ground is a dramatic answer to Geminiani’s famous Concerto Grosso.

Experience the violin pushed to its very limits with Ilya Gringolts and the ACO, in this fiery display from two of the world’s greats.

For more information, visit:

The Devil's Violin

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Musical Portraits: Notturno
Jun
20
6:00 PM18:00

Musical Portraits: Notturno

Notturno is proud to have been engaged to perform a special program for the Sydney Jewish Museum Musical Portraits series. From the Sydney Jewish Museum website…

Join us for a delightful evening of chamber music with Notturno, an ensemble of flute, viola, and guitar, that will take you to the cosy salons of pre-war Europe, to 19th-century Vienna, Paris, and Berlin.

Throughout the evening, the ensemble will also showcase selected compositions by emerging Sydney composers – each highlighting a unique Jewish figure chosen by the artist.

Don’t miss this incredible evening of music and storytelling, as part of the 2024 Musical Portraits series at the Museum.

A ticket to events within this series includes complimentary refreshments, as well as a pass to explore the Museum and all of our exhibitions from 6pm, before the show starts at 7pm.

Tickets can be purchased through the Sydney Jewish Museum website, by clicking this link: Musical Portraits: Notturno

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Jun
7
11:00 AM11:00

The Splendour of the Baroque - Sydney Symphony Orchestra Fellows with Erin Helyard

  • Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Baroque music overflows with its precise, crystalline beauty, and when performed by a chamber ensemble each instrument has space to sing.

Each of these hand-picked pieces gives every Fellow their moment in the spotlight, contrasted with captivating textures for the whole ensemble.

Georg Philipp Telemann was one of the most important composers of the late Baroque and early Classical era, writing myriad works for combinations no one had ever attempted. His intricate and energetic works for small ensemble inspired all those who came after him, including JS Bach and Handel – and Christoph Graupner. Graupner was an influential and prolific composer in his own right, and his work bubbles and bursts with all the grandeur and character of the era. His music is now being rediscovered – in this energising concert, hear why he deserves to sit alongside the greats of the Baroque.

Click HERE for more information.

TELEMANN
Sinfonia Spirituoso
Concerto for Two Flutes and Bassoon in B minor
String Sextet in G minor
Concerto for Two Clarinets in D minor
GRAUPNER Overture-Suite in G

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At the King’s Pleasure
May
14
6:00 PM18:00

At the King’s Pleasure

  • Anglican Parish of All Saints Hobart (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

World renowned lutenist, Simon Martyn-Ellis, presents an intimate recital of music written for the theorbo and baroque guitar from 17th Century France and modern Wales. Focusing on dance suites compiled by Robert de Visée and Francesco Corbetta, the concert presents the type of music that de Visée might have played for his patron and employer, Louis XIV. Frequently requiring him to play in his presence, be that in the gardens or his bedside, de Visée was truly there at the King's pleasure!

As a little aside, a charming suite of character pieces based on Chaucer's The Miller's Tale, from the Welsh composer Stephen Goss, rounds out the evening.

Don't miss this chance to catch an occasional member of lutruwita's own Van Diemen's Band stepping out solo and providing an entertaining and informative evening of music.

Click on the link below for tickets.

TICKETS.

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May
9
6:00 PM18:00

Obscura I | Of Ice and Stars. With the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra

Curated and performed by Genevieve Lacey.

A sensory extravaganza – enchanting, beguiling and dream-like, featuring works for multiple recorders, strings groups of different sizes, and electronics.

Featuring works by Erkki Veltheim, Mary Finsterer, Olivia Davies and Anna Thorvaldsdottir.

Click HERE to visit the TSO website.

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Salut! Baroque: The Influencers
May
5
3:00 PM15:00

Salut! Baroque: The Influencers

  • Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Expectations were high for salaried composers during the Baroque period. Constant demands for new repertoire required inspiration and creativity as well as talent. Influence ebbed and flowed between composers, nations, styles and beliefs. Bach was inspired by his devoutness and his vast collection of other composers’ works; Handel reinvented himself between German, Italian and English styles, depending on where he was living and what was fashionable; Purcell loved theatrical spectacle; and Rameau was fascinated by the exploration of culture from abroad. In turn, our curious composers influenced generations of musicians to continually discover new horizons of musical creativity. See the program here.

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Salut! Baroque: The Influencers
May
3
7:30 PM19:30

Salut! Baroque: The Influencers

Expectations were high for salaried composers during the Baroque period. Constant demands for new repertoire required inspiration and creativity as well as talent. Influence ebbed and flowed between composers, nations, styles and beliefs. Bach was inspired by his devoutness and his vast collection of other composers’ works; Handel reinvented himself between German, Italian and English styles, depending on where he was living and what was fashionable; Purcell loved theatrical spectacle; and Rameau was fascinated by the exploration of culture from abroad. In turn, our curious composers influenced generations of musicians to continually discover new horizons of musical creativity. See the program here.

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Notturno: An dem Fluss (by the river)
Apr
20
7:00 PM19:00

Notturno: An dem Fluss (by the river)

Notturno presents their first program in 2024 - An dem Fluss (by the river) - at the lovely Glebe Town Hall.

Taking a cue from the primary work in this program, the Grand Trio pour Guitare, Flûte et Alto by Jospeh Kreutzer, Notturno look to presenting works from composers that lived and worked by Germany’s greatest river system, the Rhein and the Main.

Kreutzer lived most of his professional life in Düsseldorf, Beethoven was naturally the famous son of Bonn, Scheidler was employed in Mainz, but was forced to flee to Frankfurt when Mainz was laid under siege, and Küffner never seemed to escape his work at the provincial centre of Würzburg.

Apart from Beethoven, all these performer composers have escaped the attention of the modern music world, and it’s our great pleasure to bring them to you for an evening concert.

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Salut! Baroque - The Genius
Feb
18
3:00 PM15:00

Salut! Baroque - The Genius

  • Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

CPE Bach described his father’s house as “like a pigeonry, and just as full of life”, with Johann Sebastian keeping an open house where “no master of music was likely to travel through [Leipzig] without making my father’s acquaintance and letting himself be heard by him”. Bach was a genial host, in contrast to his combative relationship with authority. The complex character behind the music we admire so greatly was not always so well regarded during his life, and it was often his rivals who enjoyed the greater success. This program places the genius of Bach’s music beside the composers who most impacted his life and work.

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Salut! Baroque - The Genius
Feb
16
7:30 PM19:30

Salut! Baroque - The Genius

  • National Gallery of Australia (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

CPE Bach described his father’s house as “like a pigeonry, and just as full of life”, with Johann Sebastian keeping an open house where “no master of music was likely to travel through [Leipzig] without making my father’s acquaintance and letting himself be heard by him”. Bach was a genial host, in contrast to his combative relationship with authority. The complex character behind the music we admire so greatly was not always so well regarded during his life, and it was often his rivals who enjoyed the greater success. This program places the genius of Bach’s music beside the composers who most impacted his life and work.

View Event →