Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

From the ACO Originals Series.
Brett Dean's Electric Preludes takes inspiration from sources as diverse as the paintings of Australian artist Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, a rusty, squeaky swing in an abandoned playground and the paintings of Dean's wife, Heather Betts, with whom he has shared a llong and rich personal and creative partnership. "But the most striking image that fired my fantasy throughout the entire compositional process," says Dean, "Was that of Richard standing with the ACO, his exotic electric fiddle under his chin, taking mere breaths of sound and embryonic motivic shapes and transforming them, with the help of this impressive piece of electronics and sound designer Bob Scott at the mixing desk, filling the hall and enticing the orchestra's manifold responses."

Recorded live in concert during their premiere seasons, this series of four recordings captures the electrifying energy of this remarkable orchestra. In 2020, as the orchestra celebrates 30 years of fearless leadership with ACO Artistic Director Richard Tognetti, it is fitting that these visionary works are available to listeners worldwide.

I. Abandoned playground -- II. Topography: Papunya -- III. Peripeteia --  IV. The beyonds of mirrors -- V. Perpetuum mobile -- VI. Berceuse.