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World Premiere Recording of Matthew Hindson's Maralinga

Dec. 01, 2020

Last month, BIS Records released the world premiere recording of Matthew Hindson's Maralinga for solo violin and string orchestra. The recording is part of an album titled "In Motion" featuring the United Strings of Europe directed by Franck Fontcouberte, and violinist Amalia Hall. Maralinga was originally commissioned in a version for violin and piano by Wolf Trap Foundation for Canadian violinist Lara St. John who had previously championed and recorded Hindson’s Violin Concerto No. 1.

After the premiere of Maralinga at Wolf Trap in 2009, Lara St. John toured with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in 2011 who commissioned this arrangement for violin and strings, which they toured nationally. Ms. St. John gave the Canadian premiere of this version in Toronto in 2013, and the US premiere in New York in 2017 at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park with Ensemble Le Poisson Rouge.

The composer notes:

"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. This version of Maralinga was arranged by Matthew Hindson and Tristan Coelho."



(Maralinga/Matthew Hindson/Amalia Hall, violin/United Strings of Europe/Franck Fontcouberte, conductor)

To learn more about Matthew Hindson, visit: fabermusic.com.

Matthew Hindson
Maralinga (2009/arr. 2011)
for solo violin and string orchestra (min 3.2.2.2.1)
11'

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