PROGRAMS

Sounds of Southern Nights and Northern Lights

Musical Narratives from Two Worlds

  • Elena Kats-Chernin – Blue Silence (for violin and piano)
    Duration: approximately 5 minutes

    John Field – Nocturne No. 5 in B-flat Major (arranged for violin and piano)
    Duration: approximately 6 minutes

    Robert Schumann – Märchenbilder, selection
    Duration: approximately 12 minutes

    Johann Sebastian Bach – Siciliana (from Sonata BWV 1031, arranged for violin and piano)
    Duration: approximately 4 minutes

    *Interval

    Arvo Pärt – Fratres
    Duration: approximately 6 minutes

    Einojuhani Rautavaara – Notturno
    Duration: approximately 7 minutes

    Max Richter – On the Nature of Daylight
    Duration: approximately 6 minutes

    Frédéric Chopin – Nocturne Op. 27 No. 2 (arranged for violin and piano by Pablo de Sarasate)
    Duration: approximately 6 minutes

  • Sounds of Southern Nights and Northern Lights is an auditory journey traversing the soothing stillness and profound yearning of southern nights alongside the luminous, powerful splendour of the Northern Lights. Hayley Bullock (violin) and Angela Schmidt (piano) together create a unique atmosphere that embraces moments of quietude as well as dramatic climaxes. The two instruments engage in an expressive dialogue, unfolding with delicate elegance in the works of Schumann and Bach, and in the intense, meditative passages by Pärt and Richter.

    This programme brings together compositions from diverse periods and styles, each telling its own story and reflecting the contrasting atmospheres of night and light. The interplay between violin and piano is central, ranging from hushed tenderness to moments of great intensity.

  • Elena Kats-Chernin – Blue Silence (for violin and piano)

    A meditative opening, ushering in the gentle stillness of the night. The concert opens with Blue Silence by Elena Kats-Chernin, a work that captures the atmosphere of a peaceful nocturnal expanse. The violin and piano engage in a gentle dialogue, with the piece’s ethereal character and minimalist motifs filling the space with a serene, almost otherworldly stillness. It establishes a contemplative mood, preparing the audience for the musical journey ahead.

    John Field – Nocturne No. 5 in B-flat Major (arranged for violin and piano)

    Romantic tranquillity and yearning. John Field’s Nocturne in B-flat Major is a quintessential example of nineteenth-century romantic music. The piece unfolds with a deeply expressive, almost wistful melody, accompanied by the piano’s tender harmonies. Its tranquil nature evokes the stillness of a summer night, drawing the listener into a dreamlike realm where melancholy and longing intertwine.

    Robert Schumann – Märchenbilder, selection

    Hidden fairy tales and narratives. Schumann’s Märchenbilder transports listeners into a fantastical world brimming with stories and magical scenes. The violin breathes life into various “characters” within the music, ranging from playful and joyous episodes to more profound, introspective passages. The selection blurs the boundary between reality and fantasy, creating an atmospheric, almost fairy-tale-like ambience.

    Johann Sebastian Bach – Siciliana (from Sonata BWV 1031, arranged for violin and piano)

    Elegance and clarity of the Baroque. The Siciliana from Bach’s Sonata BWV 1031 introduces the programme to the refined elegance and clarity characteristic of Baroque music. The piece is distinguished by its delicate rhythmic accents and graceful melody, performed by the violin in a dance-like, almost buoyant manner. The piano accompaniment underpins the harmony and structure, conjuring an atmosphere of calm sophistication.

    Arvo Pärt – Fratres

    Minimalism as an expression of stillness. Arvo Pärt’s Fratres exemplifies minimalist composition, delving deeply into silence whilst creating an intense emotional experience. Built on recurring musical motifs, the violin and piano perform subtle variations that evoke a hypnotic effect. Fratres fosters an atmosphere of contemplation and inner peace, wherein time seems to dilate.

    Einojuhani Rautavaara – Notturno

    The mystical darkness of night. Rautavaara’s Notturno evokes the mysterious and mystical atmosphere of a northern night. The violin’s sound blends seamlessly with the piano’s soft, floating chords, creating a dense, dreamlike soundscape. The piece unfolds slowly and meditatively, reflecting the silence and secret magic of the nocturnal hours.

    Max Richter – On the Nature of Daylight

    A transition from darkness to light. Richter’s On the Nature of Daylight is a deeply moving and emotional work that translates the profound impact of light and darkness into music. It begins with a melancholic, reflective mood which gradually evolves into a moment of illumination and uplift. The repetitive motifs create a meditative effect, oscillating between sorrow and hope, poignantly illustrating the journey from darkness into light.

    Frédéric Chopin – Nocturne Op. 27 No. 2 (arranged for violin and piano by Pablo de Sarasate)

    A romantic finale – dreamy melancholy. The concert concludes with one of Chopin’s most celebrated pieces, the Nocturne Op. 27 No. 2, arranged for violin and piano by Pablo de Sarasate. This nocturne embodies romantic melancholy and the beauty of night through a gentle, dreamlike melody. The violin carries the lyrical line while the piano provides the harmonic foundation. The piece closes in a moment of quiet yet profound emotion, offering a reflective and intimate conclusion to the recital.

  • Approximately 67 minutes (including interval)

    Part One: approximately 27 minutes

    Part Two: approximately 25 minutes

  • Hayley Bullock | Violin

    Angela Schmidt | Piano

From Baroque to Folk: A Journey in Duet

  • Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach – Duet in e minor
    Duration: ~10 min

    Georg Philipp Telemann – Duo Sonata in E minor, TWV 40:130
    Duration: ~9–10 min

    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Duo in G Major, Op. 70 No. 1
    arr. for flute and violin
    Duration: ~12–14 min

    Béla Bartók – Four Duos for Flute and Violin
    arranged from the original duos
    Duration: ~6–7 min

    Ross Edwards – Ecstatic Dances
    Duration: ~15–17 min

    Irish Traditional Songs
    selection curated by Hayley Bullock
    Duration: ~10 min

    Pantcho Vladigerov – Sitno Horo, Op. 23 No. 3
    arr. for flute and violin
    Duration: ~4–5 min

    Milko Kolarov – Scherzo
    arr. for flute and violin
    Duration: ~4–5 min

    The Irish Washerwoman – Traditional Irish Reel
    Duration: ~2–3 min

    Encore, optional: Waltzing Matilda – Australian Folk Tune
    Duration: ~2–3 min

  • From Baroque to Folk is a vibrant exploration of over three centuries of music for violin and flute.

    The program travels from the elegance of Baroque counterpoint to 20th-century modernism, and

    from the raw vitality of Eastern European folk idioms to the melodic intimacy of Irish tradition.

    This concert celebrates music as a living conversation — shaped by style, culture, and personal

  • Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach – Duet in e minor

    C. P. E. Bach was one of the great musical bridge-builders between the Baroque and Classical eras. His music often feels surprisingly modern in its emotional directness, shifting quickly between elegance, tension, wit, and expressive intensity. This duet places flute and violin in a lively conversation, where each phrase seems to answer, interrupt, or complete the other.

    Georg Philipp Telemann – Duo Sonata in E minor, TWV 40:130

    Telemann was one of the most imaginative and prolific composers of the Baroque period, and his chamber music is full of clarity, charm, and theatrical sparkle. In this four-movement sonata, flute and violin meet as equal partners, passing ideas back and forth with grace and ease. The work combines refined Baroque elegance with a sense of play, making it both intimate and full of movement.

    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Duo in G Major, Op. 70 No. 1

    arr. for flute and violin

    Originally written for two violins, this duo reveals Mozart’s gift for musical conversation at its most natural. In this arrangement, the flute brings a new brightness and transparency to the texture, while the violin retains the warmth and lyrical elegance of the original. The result is a graceful exchange of melody, humor, and lightness, shaped by Mozart’s unmistakable sense of balance and charm.

    Béla Bartók – Four Duos for Flute and Violin

    arr.

    Bartók’s duos are small pieces with a surprisingly large world inside them. Based on folk material from Central and Eastern Europe, they capture fragments of village songs, dances, and rituals, transformed through Bartók’s sharp rhythmic imagination and modern harmonic language. In this selection, the flute and violin create vivid miniatures — earthy, mysterious, playful, and sometimes almost dreamlike.

    Ross Edwards – Ecstatic Dances

    Ross Edwards is one of Australia’s most distinctive contemporary composers, known for music that evokes nature, ritual, and luminous inner landscapes. Ecstatic Dances moves with an energy that feels both ancient and immediate: birdsong-like gestures, pulsing rhythms, and chant-like patterns create a sound world of movement, light, and trance. For flute and violin, the piece becomes a vibrant meeting of breath and string, rhythm and atmosphere.

    Irish Traditional Songs

    selection curated by Hayley Bullock

    This set of Irish melodies brings a personal thread into the program, reflecting Hayley Bullock’s family heritage and connection to Irish musical tradition. Irish airs and dances often carry both joy and melancholy within the same phrase, moving easily between intimacy, storytelling, and communal celebration. Curated especially for this performance, the selection offers a warm and lyrical bridge between memory, heritage, and the living energy of folk music.

    Pantcho Vladigerov – Sitno Horo, Op. 23 No. 3

    arr. for flute and violin

    Pantcho Vladigerov is one of Bulgaria’s most important composers, known for bringing Bulgarian folk idioms into the concert tradition with brilliance and color. Sitno Horo is driven by the asymmetrical rhythms and fiery dance energy typical of Bulgarian folk music. In this arrangement for flute and violin, the work becomes a dazzling dialogue of speed, precision, and rhythmic excitement.

    Milko Kolarov – Scherzo

    arr. for flute and violin

    Milko Kolarov’s Scherzo is a sparkling miniature full of character and quicksilver energy. Playful, rhythmically alert, and full of bright turns, it captures the spirit of a dance that is always slightly teasing the listener. In the flute and violin version, its wit and momentum come forward with particular clarity, offering a brilliant contrast before the final folk-inspired close.

    The Irish Washerwoman – Traditional Irish Reel

    One of the best-known Irish reels, The Irish Washerwoman brings the program to a joyful and spirited close. Its fast-moving rhythm, playful character, and sense of communal celebration make it a natural finale — music that feels as if it belongs not only on the concert stage, but also in a gathering where people dance, laugh, and share the moment.

    Encore, optional: Waltzing Matilda – Australian Folk Tune

    As an optional encore, Waltzing Matilda offers a gentle return to Hayley Bullock’s Australian roots. Familiar, nostalgic, and deeply embedded in Australian cultural memory, the melody becomes here an intimate farewell — a simple song carried through the refined voices of flute and violin.

  • approximately 75–80 minutes

  • Hayley Bullock | Violin
    Dimitre Marinkev | Flute

In Memoria non est in mente

  • David Lewiston Sharpe – In Memoria non est in mente
    ~10–12 minutes

    David Lewiston Sharpe – Field of Reeds (Piano Trio)
    ~15–18 minutes

    David Lewiston Sharpe – Beautiful are the drinking doves
    Sonata for Violin and Piano
    ~12–15 minutes

    Sergei Prokofiev – Sonata for Cello and Piano in C major, Op. 119
    ~20–25 minutes

    Dmitri Shostakovich – Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67
    ~27–30 minutes

  • This concert is dedicated to the memory of David Lewiston Sharpe, a deeply respected composer and mentor whose recent passing left a profound silence in the hearts of many musicians. Hayley Bullock, Dmitrij Gornowskij, and Amir Tebenikhin were all touched by his artistic generosity, his belief in them as artists, and the depth of his creative spirit. This performance is shaped by gratitude, memory, mourning, and the echo of a shared artistic vision.

    The program opens with Sharpe’s In Memoria non est in mente — “memory is not in the mind.” Remembrance exists beyond conscious thought: in sound, in resonance that remains long after loss. Through this music, David’s passing is remembered profoundly, not only intellectually, but through vibration and silence.

    At the center of the evening stands Sharpe’s trio Field of Reeds, a work of haunting atmosphere and suspended emotional space, placed alongside the stark lyricism of Sergei Prokofiev and the devastating emotional landscape of Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67. The Shostakovich trio, written in the shadow of death and war, becomes here an act of collective grieving — our way of mourning a composer, mentor, and friend who left too soon.

  • David Lewiston Sharpe – In Memoria non est in mente

    Composed as a personal and spiritual response to loss, this work carries a rare emotional weight. Its title — “In memory, not in mind” — evokes remembrance as something involuntary and deeply embedded beneath consciousness. Tender, suspended, and haunting, the work speaks through resonance and absence alike.

    David Lewiston Sharpe – Field of Reeds (Piano Trio)

    A work of immense atmosphere and emotional stillness, Field of Reeds unfolds like a landscape of memory. Sparse textures, suspended harmonies, and fragile gestures create a sense of ritual and distance, where silence itself becomes part of the music’s language.

    David Lewiston Sharpe – Beautiful are the drinking doves
    Sonata for Violin and Piano

    A work of drifting lyricism and haunting fragility, this sonata moves between intimacy and eruption. Its vocal melodic lines and dreamlike harmonic world evoke distant folk memory and private lament.

    Sergei Prokofiev – Sonata for Cello and Piano in C major, Op. 119

    Written late in Prokofiev’s life, the sonata balances luminous lyricism with quiet unease. Beneath its warmth lies an unmistakable sense of introspection and restraint, creating a deeply human dialogue between cello and piano.

    Dmitri Shostakovich – Piano Trio No. 2 in E minor, Op. 67

    One of the most devastating chamber works of the twentieth century, Shostakovich’s trio was written in response to death, war, and unbearable loss. Moving from spectral stillness to violence, irony, and collapse, the work becomes in this program a final act of remembrance — a way of grieving David Lewiston Sharpe through music that confronts mortality with honesty and intensity.

  • ~80 minutes

  • Hayley Bullock | Violin
    Dmitrij Gornowskij | Cello
    Amir Tebenikhin | Piano