Australian Chamber Orchestra brings unique show to Kennedy Center

Richard Tognetti, a violinist/conductor/composer with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, was named Australia’s Living Treasure, and no wonder: Since his appointment at age 25, he has led the orchestra for two decades to resounding raves wherever it travels. As the ensemble’s first violinist, he finds it more efficient to lead without the podium and other trappings typical conductors employ. He jokes that all of the instrumentalists stand to make certain none fall asleep on stage.

In two evenings, Tognetti and his international ensemble present Kennedy Center audiences with traditional and unexpected works. One ancient number harks back to an anonymous Sephardic Bolivian monk who wrote Baroque music. The most contemporary pieces were composed by Joseph Tawadros, who performs on the oud while his brother James plays Egyptian percussion. They share the limelight with string works by Handel, Bartok, Elgar, Shostakovich and Pink Floyd. Tognetti adds spice to his own arrangements of a Paganini “Caprice” and two Ravel pieces.

“I first met Joseph in 2001,” Tognetti says. “After the World Trade Center bombing, the western world was traumatized. Instead of encouraging hatred, I decided to have a program uniting musicians from many religious backgrounds, including a Jewish cantor, an Islamic from a controversial mosque, an aboriginal artist and Joseph, who is a Coptic Christian, a group that predates the Muslims. At first there was icy dialogue between the cantor and the Islamic, but in the end music draws everyone together.”

Tawadros calls the music he will perform a modern repertoire for the oud. He composes in the traditional Egyptian taqasim, a form of improvisation. With his feet in both the classical and popular worlds, he has just completed his sixth album, this one for the solo oud. He was the winner of a Freedman Fellowship that sent him to Europe for three months. His “Visions” was nominated as the best World Music Album and he is heard on the score of “The Last Ride,” the powerful Australian film released this year.

“My compositions are different than most because I develop them from themes or phrases that have nothing to do with rhythm,” he says. “When I finally notate a piece, I can see it is uneven, not a set rhythm. The arrangements I give the ACO are difficult, but they are good followers. Ours is a unique collaboration. We have done these together many times in places like Slovenia and Salzburg as well as Australia, and they’re always fun to play. We never get bored because the music grows with each performance.”