QPAC

Unleashed

Australian Chamber Orchestra ACO Unleashed

30 Jun 2025, 7pm
Concert Hall
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$49 - $131 *
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2 hours
including interval, subject to change without notice

Celebrating 50 years of virtuosity and brilliance with music by Bach, Beethoven, Ravel, Schubert and Kuusisto

Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) ACO Unleashed is an exhilarating celebration of the ACO at 50 – bold, virtuosic and utterly electrifying. Curated by Richard Tognetti to showcase the extraordinary talent within the ACO, this program highlights the individual artistry of ACO principals Helena Rathbone, Satu Vänskä and Timo-Veikko Valve, alongside our newest member, violinist Anna da Silva Chen, where classics by Bach, Beethoven, Schubert and Ravel, alongside Finnish master Jaakko Kuusisto, celebrate the ACO’s “unwavering energy and maverick imagination” (The Times, UK).

No celebration of the ACO would be complete without the music of JS Bach. The concert opens with the Concerto for Three Violins in D Major, which gloriously intertwines soloists Helena Rathbone, Satu Vänskä, and Anna da Silva Chen in a concerto that bursts with warmth, purity and brilliance.

Ravel’s Tzigane, a fiery and intoxicating masterwork for violin and orchestra, has long been considered one of his most electrifying compositions. Satu Vänskä’s virtuosity and magnetic presence will lead audiences through its thrilling journey – from haunting mystery to an exuberant and triumphant finale.

The ACO has a rich history of presenting Beethoven’s quartets. In Richard Tognetti’s own arrangement for string orchestra of the String Quartet in F minor, Op.95 “Serioso”, the intense turbulence and poetic brilliance – foreshadowing Beethoven’s late style – is amplified, demonstrating the ACO’s uncompromising focus and raw emotional power.

Schubert’s Quartettsatz captures the composer’s vast emotional depth and restless energy in a single movement before the concert comes to an enthralling close with Jaakko Kuusisto’s Cello Concerto, performed by Timo-Veikko Valve in what will mark the work’s highly anticipated Australian premiere. Rich, expansive, exquisitely beautiful and bittersweet, Kuusisto’s last completed orchestral work before his untimely passing in 2022 holds special emotional resonance. As Tipi notes:

“Playing these notes holds a special significance for me. Jaakko’s voice is in every melody, every harmony. And while we can’t have a conversation with him anymore, somehow, playing this piece comes close.”

It’s a thrilling finale to a concert that illuminates how, after 50 years, the ACO’s virtuosity, passion and artistry remains as captivating as ever.

Program

Johann Sebastian Bach Concerto for Three Violins in D Major, BWV 1064R 
Maurice Ravel (arr. violin, strings and percussion) Tzigane 
Ludwig van Beethoven (arr. strings) String Quartet No.11 in F Minor , Op.95. “Serioso”  
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Franz Schubert String Quartet No.12 in C Minor, D703. “Quartettsatz”  
Jaakko Kuusisto Cello Concerto, Op.38  

About ACO

The Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) is celebrating fifty years in 2025 and is one of the most acclaimed chamber orchestras in the world, renowned for their inspired programming, unrivalled virtuosity, energy and individuality. Under the direction of Artistic Director Richard Tognetti, they take audiences on an adventure to create truly transformative experiences.

Important Information

This event was previously called Death and the Maiden Reveled.

Celebrate 40 Years of QPAC and Win!

Purchase a ticket at QPAC in 2025 and go in the draw to win a Hyundai TUCSON Hybrid, thanks to Hyundai – proud Principal Partner of QPAC.

To enter the competition, submit an entry form via the QPAC 40 Giveaway competition page. Terms and conditions apply.

Artists

  • Director and Violin Helena Rathbone
  • Director and Violin Satu Vänskä
  • Violin Anna da Silva Chen
  • Cello Timo-Veikko Valve
  • Chamber Orchestra Australian Chamber Orchestra

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