Nicolas Fleury, Emily Sun and Amir Farid - Newcastle

In a matter of weeks in 1865 Johannes Brahms composed a horn trio in memory of his mother, bringing together a combination of instruments that seemed to occupy a new, magical land. No doubt inspired by its poised beauty, in 1910 the composer Ernst Naumann made an imaginative arrangement of Mozart’s Horn Quintet for this same line-up. Placing both these demanding works on the same program asks a lot of a horn player, which is where Nicolas Fleury comes in. Resident in Australia since 2019, Nicolas has a brilliant pedigree, which includes studies in his native France, postgrad tuition in London, and a decade as a soloist and Principal with orchestras throughout the world. Matching such beautiful playing is the welcome responsibility of Amir Farid and Emily Sun, two radiant musicians whose commitment to contemporary music is here expressed in the premiere of a Sonata by Gordon Kerry, generously commissioned by Julian Burnside in celebration of Gordon’s improbable 60th birthday.