Internationally renowned violin/piano duo, Spiros Rantos and Brachi Tilles will return to Toowoomba this week to open the University of Southern Queensland’s (USQ) 2011 Twilight Series.
Having just returned from a tour of France, Spain and Portugal, their Twilight Violin and Piano Recital will aptly be a journey through musical styles, cultures and ethnic backgrounds.
Israeli-born Brachi and Greek-born Spiros have toured the world performing, recording and sharing their love of music for the past four decades.“We feel that music is always a ‘trip’, be it a spiritual one or a visit to different cultures and times. The items we have chosen for the program are all ones which we love to perform – each of them creates a distinct mood or tells a story.”
“Brachi and I met back in the 1970s, at a train station in Vienna and not long after, we started a chamber music ensemble,” said Spiros. “After two years of successful seasons at the Musicverein and the Vienna Concert Hall, we spent six months in the USA and, in 1976, visited Australia for an Artists-in-Residence program at the (then) Victorian College of the Arts.”
In 1978, they were invited to join the teaching staff in the newly established music program at USQ (then DDIAE). For eight years, they made Toowoomba their home, establishing strong foundations for music at the University and contributing to the cultural life of the city.
“We were the first full time music performance lecturers at USQ and in those years there was a rapid build-up of the music school and the local classical music scene.” Although the couple left Toowoomba in 1986, they have not lost touch with the city or its music scene, returning on a regular basis to make guest appearances.
The program will include Beethoven’s much celebrated ‘Champagne’ Sonata, three charming bagatelles by Sibelius, Konstantinides’ Six Greek Dances from the Dodecanese Islands, Manuel de Falla’s Dance Espagnole, Russian’s composer Rodion Schtchendrin’s In the Style of Albeniz, works by Argentina’s Astor Piazzolla, and Aaron Copland’s Hoe Down.
The Twilight Violin and Piano Recital will be presented at 6pm in the USQ Arts Theatre on Wednesday (30th of March). Tickets to the recital are $18 adult, $15 concession, $13 student and $8 child and can be purchased through the USQ Artsworx Box Office on 07 4631 1111.
Submitted by
Michelle Fox,
USQ Artsworx
