From Buckingham Palace to the Sydney Opera House, from Disney and Marvel to EMI: world-renowned flautist Joshua Batty is known for weaving magic through his musicianship.
From June 18-22, he’s touring Victoria with a quartet of leading players from Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, including performances at Mallacoota Golf Club (Saturday, June 21, 2.30pm) and Lakes Entrance (Sunday, June 22, Mechanics Hall, 11am).
They invite you to join them for a sparkling program of flute and strings led by MCO artistic director and violinist, Sophie Rowell.
Alongside a staple of the classical repertoire, Mozart’s Flute Quartet, audiences will experience Prokofiev’s Flute Sonata in D Major, here arranged as a quintet.
Sitting between these sublime works is one of Beethoven’s great string quartets.
“A large facet of what I’m trying to do is showcase the depth and versatility of the flute – to display existing repertoire, like the Prokofiev sonata, from a slightly reinvented angle,” Batty said.
“It’s a symphonic journey for me, one that really captures the human experience.”
“We decided to contrast that with something more traditional, the Mozart Flute Quartet, which is just so perfectly crafted.
“To pair the Prokofiev with Mozart, as it was meant to be heard, in these in mate venues, I think the contrast between the two pieces will be really compelling.
“With Mozart, there’s just a kind of crystalline perfection in the music.
“Experimentation is exciting, but preserving tradition is just as meaningful to me. It’s about giving the flute its full voice, both old and new.”
Batty most recently served as solo flute with the Sydney Symphony, a position he took up in 2019, at the age of 27, after spending two years in the same role with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in Ireland.
Over the past decade, he has performed as guest Principal Flute with more than 30 leading orchestras worldwide and won critical acclaim in venues ranging from Buckingham Palace to Sydney Opera House.
He also has an active recording career, contributing to major films, games, and series for Disney, Netflix, Marvel as well as numerous classical recordings for EMI, Naxos, and Chandos.
