Multi award-winning French-Canadian violinist ALEXANDRE DA COSTA returns to Australia
Internationally acclaimed French Canadian virtuoso violinist / conductor Alexandre Da Costa, returns to tour in Australia in March. Alexandre has performed with the most renowned orchestras and conductors across four continents including London’s Royal Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic and Vienna Symphony Orchestras, the BBC Concert Orchestra, Montreal Symphony and the National TV and Radio Orchestra of Spain. He is Music Director of Montreal’s Longueuil Symphony Orchestra (OSDL) since 2019, and Artistic Director of the Stradivaria Festival since 2012, and has a special tie to Australia having spent 4 years in Perth (2014-2018) as Head of Strings at WAAPA (Edith Cowan University), during which time he performed as soloist with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra/conductor Asher Fisch, for Musica Viva Australia, the Port Fairy Spring Music and Canberra International Music Festvivals, Willoughby Symphony Orchestra, and more.
Among his many accolades, Da Costa counts the prestigious Virginia-Parker Prize, one of Canada’s highest cultural distinctions, the Sylva Gelber Foundation Award from the Canada Council for the Arts, and first prize in the International Violin Competition Pablo Sarasate. A SONY Classical recording artist, Da Costa won the 2012 JUNO award (Canada’s Grammy award) for ‘Best Classical Album’, and his recording of the Beethoven violin concerto made The Washington Post’s ‘Best CDs of the Year’ list in 2013.
Along with the exceptionally beautiful sound of Da Costa’s playing – on a rare Stradivarius violin from 1701 – he is notable for his compassion and drive: during the COVID-19 lockdowns, Da Costa lead his orchestra on tour to bring music and the warmth of nostalgia to hospitals and aged care homes in Canada, and galvanized support for artists with iconic Canadian musicians. With a desire to bring the joy of classical music to as many audiences as possible, this March Da Costa brings three of his most popular programs to Sydney, Melbourne (where he opens the Zelman Symphony Orchestra’s 90th anniversary season at Melbourne Recital Centre), regional NSW and Victoria.
- ‘Stradivarius at the Opera’ features some of the great, romantic and best-known arias from Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, Wagner’s Tannhauser and Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier.
- ‘Stradivarius BaROCK’ is Bach, Vivaldi and Pachelbel’s famous Canon and more as you’ve never heard them before – where rock, jazz and a pop sensibility fuse with the classics, with favourites by Queen, Hendrix and Leonard Cohen thrown in. For anyone who says they ‘don’t really listen to classical music’, it’s a glimpse of how Da Costa earned the moniker, ‘rockstar of the violin’!
- ‘Stradivarius in Vienna’ brings the timeless elegance of Vienna in a mesmerising program with orchestra of immortal works by Johann Strauss such as The Blue Danube, Emperor’s Waltz, and Tritsch-Tratsch Polka, alongside Kreisler’s Viennese Fantasy-Rhapsody and Korngold’s great Straussiana waltz.
On this tour, Da Costa collaborates with young Australian musicians to the most experienced, including: pianists John Martin (Sydney) and Russell Tay (Melbourne), flautist Jane Rutter, percussionist Jess Ciampa, bassist Nicole Murray-Prior, the Penrith Youth Orchestra, and Zelman Memorial Symphony Orchestra.
TOUR DATES & TICKETS:
Wednesday 8 March, 12pm – Stradivarius at the Opera – Live at Lunch – Concourse Concert Hall, Chatswood (Sydney)
Tickets: $33 – $38, book here
Friday 10 March, 8pm – Stradivarius BaROCK – Peninsula Music Club – Bayview (Northern Beaches, Sydney)
Tickets: $30 (including refreshments), book here
Saturday 11 March, 7:30pm – Stradivarius BaROCK – Avoca Beach Theatre (Central Coast, NSW)
Tickets: $45, book here
Sunday 12 March, 3pm – Stradivarius BaROCK featuring jazz trio and Penrith Youth Orchestra – The Joan, Penrith (NSW)
Tickets: $20-$45, book here
Sunday 19 March, 3pm & 7pm – Stradivarius BaROCK – Justin Art House Museum, Melbourne
Tickets: $65 (including refreshments), book here
Saturday 25 March, 7:30pm – Stradivarius in Vienna – Zelman Symphony Orchestra 90th Anniversary season, Melbourne Recital Centre
Tickets: $25 – $85, book here
Sunday 26 March, 2pm – Stradivarius in Vienna – Zelman Symphony Orchestra 90th Anniversary season, Daylesford Town Hall
Tickets: $45 (including refreshments, children under 16 with paying adult attend free), book here
Alexandre will feature on Fine Music 102.5FM’s ‘In Conversation’ with Simon Moore, on Wednesday 8 March at 1pm: tune in here.
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