Score
Maralinga : for violin and string orchestra / Matthew Hindson ; arr. Matthew Hindson and Tristan Coelho.
Library shelf no. 784.7272/HIN 1 [Available for loan]
Score & Part
Maralinga : for violin and piano / Matthew Hindson
Version: This product features the Violin with piano version of this work
Library shelf no. Q 787.2/HIN 1 [Available for loan]
Work Overview
The Australian aboriginal word Maralinga may sound quite
beautiful to people outside of Australia, but to Australians its
connotations are much more sinister.
In the early 1950s, the nuclear arms race was underway amongst
the major nations of the world. Great Britain wanted to test its
recently acquired nuclear weapons, and Australia in the 1950s was
a place that still regarded Britain as 'home' (particularly the
Australian Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies). Consequently
secret nuclear testing was conducted in the South Australian
desert, at Maralinga and Emu Creek between 1953-1963.
Tests included some very nasty experiments with kilograms of
plutonium which subsequently contaminated the test site.
Unfortunately, according to a subsequent Royal Commission into
the tests, it seems that the welfare of the Aboriginal
inhabitants and the Australian service personnel at the test
sites was never taken into account. Australian military personnel
were used as unwitting guinea pigs into the effects of radiation
from these experiments.
Maralinga was officially cleaned up by the year 2000, but the
site and its history remains a stain upon Australia's historical
record. This piece makes reference to the long Aboriginal history
at Maralinga as well as more recent events and attitudes.
Work Details
Year: 2009, this version: 2011
Instrumentation: Violin, string orchestra (minimum 3.2.2.2.1).
Duration: 11 min.
Commission note: Commissioned by Lara St. John, Australian Chamber Orchestra.
First performance: by ACO2, Lara St John at ACO2 (Warrnambool Kings College Theatre) on 1 Apr 2011
Subjects
- Has as subject/About: Environmental themes
Performances of this work
8 May 14: Merkin Concert Hall, New York. Featuring Gary M. Schneider, Lara St John, Orchestra for the Next Century.
23 Nov 13: Wolfensohn Hall, Princeton University, NJ. Featuring Lara St John.
22 Nov 13: Wolfrnsohn Hall, Princeton University, NJ. Featuring Lara St. John.
14 Oct 2013: at Maralinga Lament (Union Chapel). Featuring Lara St. John.
13 Apr 2011: at ACO2 (South Melbourne Town Hall). Featuring ACO2, Lara St John.
12 Apr 2011: at ACO2 (Hopgood Theatre (Noarlunga)). Featuring ACO2, Lara St John.
9 Apr 2011: at ACO2 (Chaffey Theatre (Renmark)). Featuring ACO2, Lara St John.
7 Apr 2011: at ACO2 (Mercury Theatre Mildura). Featuring ACO2, Lara St John.
6 Apr 2011: at ACO2 (Castlemaine Town Hall). Featuring Lara St John, ACO2.
5 Apr 2011: at ACO2 (Wesley Performing Arts Centre). Featuring Lara St John, ACO2.
1 Apr 2011: at ACO2 (Warrnambool Kings College Theatre). Featuring Lara St John, ACO2.
2 Apr 2011: at ACO2 (Sir Robert Helpmann Theatre (Mount Gambier)). Featuring ACO2, Lara St John.
20 Mar 09: The Barns at Wolf Trap, Vienna, Virginia, USA. Featuring Aleksandar Madžar, Lara St. John.
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