Bach Akademie Australia’s performance at the Sydney Opera House happily transported audiences to elegant Baroque ballrooms against the backdrop of Sydney’s Farm Cove. Performed to a crowd of eager music listeners in the Opera House’s Utzon Room, The Art of Violin was a dynamic and engaging exploration of the Baroque violin concerto. 

Established in late 2016 by Australian violinist Madeleine Easton, Bach Akademie Australia aims to share with all Australians the inspiration and joyful excitement found in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Focused on making Baroque music accessible to all audiences, the ensemble strives to perform all of Bach’s music, showcasing the incredible inventiveness, profundity and joy of his music. 

The ensemble’s The Art of Violin was no exception to this creative vision. The Art of Violin centred around the Baroque violin concerto, a type musical composition characterised by a musical dialogue between a solo violin and orchestra. The concert was inherently democratic, with three of the group’s violinists rotating as the concerto soloist for each concerto performed. Easton, Bach Akademie’s founder and artistic director, opened the concert as soloist with a stunning performance of Antonio Vivaldi’s Violin Concerto in D Major. Easton’s excellent musicality and animated playing captured the ornamental nature of Baroque-era music, equipped with the dynamic contrast that defines the music of this period. The concerto was enriched by Easton’s elaborate cadenzas throughout the concerto, filling the concerto with rhythmic complexity and playful energy. 

The solo role was then passed to violinist Rafael Font, who played Jean-Marie Leclair’s Violin Concerto in D minor. Font’s expressive playing and musical technicality when playing this distinctly Baroque piece was a joy to watch. Violinist Simon Slattery then took the lead bow for George Frederic Handel’s Violin Concerto in B flat major and Georg Philipp Telemann’s Violin Concerto in A minor, both played with energy and mesmerising musicality. Easton completed the concert with Bach’s Violin Concerto in E major, bringing both musical flair and passion to this notable composer’s piece. 

Apart from the pieces performed, a key point of interest throughout the concert was the instruments played by each performer; many of the instruments were authentically Baroque. Easton, for example, played a 1682 violin crafted by the renowned Fratelli Grancino in Milan, complete with a convex bow. The ensemble also featured a theorbo. Played by Tommie Andersson, the grand Baroque guitar-like instrument – a member of the lute family – added depth and richness that enhanced the ensemble’s overall unique sound. 

Perhaps the most striking element of The Art of Violin was the ensemble’s musicality. The ensemble played the challenging Baroque music with ease and enthusiasm, making this 18th-century year old music alive and energetic to modern ears. The Art of Violin certainly left audiences invigorated as they ventured into the September Sydney night following the show.

The Art of Violin showed at the Sydney Opera House on September 26.