Imagine you are walking along an overgrown path … What do you see?

Leoš Janáček used the image of an overgrown path to frame the 15 vignettes he included in his suite for solo piano, On an Overgrown Path.

The MCO’s Artistic Director Sophie Rowell uses the image of an overgrown path to connect five musical works illuminated by the spoken word, with actor Helen Morse reading the poetry associated with the program’s oldest and newest works: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (1725) and British composer Libby Croad’s Portraits (2022).

Melbourne Chamber Orchestra: Overgrown Paths. Photo © Catherine Turner

The program opens with Hugo Wolf’s effervescent Italian Serenade, and this performance, with ultra-delicate phrasing and meticulous attention to the music’s ebb and flow, showcases the MCO’s musicality and finesse.

The five miniatures from Janáček’s Overgrown Path paint some of the composer’s cherished memories – including children at play and a screeching barn owl – using a well-crafted arrangement for string orchestra by the Slovak violinist Daniel Rumler. The MCO gives a well-balanced performance of these colourful but complex vignettes, a highlight being the energy with...