Australian Chamber Orchestra Australian Chamber Orchestra

Francis Merson is a classical music educator, clinical psychologist and long-time friend of the ACO. In this podcast dedicated to the ACO's 'Baroque Revelry' series, Francis explores the extraordinary variety of Baroque music. The podcast takes us from the court of Louis XIV in Versailles to the canals of Venice, from the depths of hell to celestial heights, from bawdy madrigals to opulent arias – with a bit of everything in between...

Francis Merson is a clinical psychologist, classical music educator, and long time friend of the ACO. In this podcast, released ahead of the third tour of our 2021 Season, 'Schubert's Quintet'.

This grand quintet is a journey through sadness, fear, contemplation and joy, with a melodic richness reflecting Schubert’s status as one of the great writers of song.

Tune in; to dive deep into Schubert's 'perfect' Quintet with Francis Merson.

Francis Merson is a clinical psychologist, classical music educator, and long time friend of the ACO. In this podcast, released ahead of the second tour of our 2021 Season, 'Beethoven & Bridgetower', Francis is joined by ACO Artistic Director Richard Tognetti and 'Beethoven & Bridgetower' scriptwriter Anna Goldsworthy to explore the fascinating story of George Bridgetower, the original dedicatee of Beethoven's beloved Violin Sonata in A major, Op.47, better known today as the 'Kreutzer' Sonata.

Francis Merson is a clinical psychologist, classical music educator, and long time friend of the ACO. In this podcast, released ahead of the first tour of our 2021 season, 'Tabula Rasa', Francis takes us on a whirlwind tour of the works by Arvo Pärt, Shostakovich, Kilar, Prokofiev, and Thomas Adès featured as part of the 'Tabula Rasa' program, exploring their history and the fascinating and often turbulent circumstances behind their composition.

'Richard is Busy: Podcast Episode 1'

Satu Vänskä, Principal Violin of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, interviews ACO Artistic Director Richard Tognetti.

Says Satu: "In absence of the strict touring schedule in the Sydney-winter of 2020, between endless cups of tea and ruminations whilst the dough was rising, I came up with the idea of threatening Richard with a microphone in hope that he would take some time off in his studio if I interviewed him. What is he doing there all day and night? What keeps him so busy? He picked a few topics and pieces of music he was adamant to talk about but as you will hear, the ‘interview’ quickly starts shooting in all kinds of directions esoteric and technical, leaving me to try to make sense of it all for your benefit. I hope you’ll find it a little bit informative and somewhat entertaining. We talk about Feldman, Xenakis, Mozart, Bach, EDM, Jimmy Barnes, his own music and inspirations, different tunings and sound frequencies, get in a tiff and break some dishes."

Artist: Satu
Release title: Hypnosis / The Other Way
Artwork by Richard Tognetti
Recorded at Temple Studio, Manly



Hypnosis

Music & Lyrics by Richard Tognetti
Produced by Kim Moyes & Joseph Nizeti
Engineered by Joseph Nizeti
Mixed by Kim Moyes
Mastered by Ben Feggans

Satu Vänskä: Vocals
Richard Tognetti: Violin, Electric Violin
Joseph Nizeti: Acoustic Guitar, Keyboard, Synthesiser, Drum Programming




The Other Way

Music & Lyrics by Richard Tognetti
Produced by Kim Moyes & Joseph Nizeti
Engineered by Joseph Nizeti
Mixed by Kim Moyes
Mastered by Ben Feggans

Satu Vänskä: Vocals
Richard Tognetti: Violin
Slava Grigoryan: Acoustic Guitar
Jim Moginie: Electric Guitar
Joseph Nizeti: Electric Guitar, Synthesiser