Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra Launch Their Tour of Austria, Slovenia, Germany, the UK and Luxembourg in April 2008

Hanover, January 2008. Richard Tognetti and the renowned Australian Chamber Orchestra will appear in five European countries during the month of April. The concert tour begins in Graz on 14 April and takes the Orchestra to Maribor (15 April), Ljubljana (16 April), Regensburg (18 April), Dresden (19 April), Vienna (20 April), London (21 April), Glasgow (23 April) and Luxembourg (27 April). On the programme are works by Bach, Handel, Haydn, Ravel and the English-Australian contemporary composer, Roger Smalley. Some of the works have been adapted and arranged by Richard Tognetti. Cellist Sol Gabetta and tenor Mark Padmore will appear as soloists during the tour. Richard Tognetti’s recordings of J. S. Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin; Sonatas and Concertos for Violin and Sonatas for Violin and Keyboard, for ABC Classics, have recently been released to great critical acclaim.

Founded in Sydney in 1975, the Australian Chamber Orchestra undertakes regular tours of the USA, Asia and Europe and ranks as one of the most successful chamber orchestras worldwide. "This group must be the best chamber orchestra on earth," the Times proclaimed enthusiastically after an appearance by the orchestra in London. The ensemble's national concerts seasons are also enormously popular, with 10,000 subscribers. Their recording of Vivaldi Flute Concertos with Emmanuel Pahud (on EMI), which was released to coincide with the last European Tour in 2006, was nominated for a Grammy award. The ACO is versatile; it appears as a flexible "ensemble of soloists," on modern and period instruments, as a chamber ensemble, a small symphony orchestra and as an electro-acoustic collective.

Richard Tognetti, Artistic Director and Lead Violin of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, has shaped the ensemble's sound since 1989 with unconventional approaches and innovative projects, including intensive work with the music of contemporary composers and crossover projects. A documentary about Richard and the orchestra was filmed in 2003; the film's title, Musical Renegades, reflects Tognetti's character, outside classical norms and as a provocateur on the classical music scene. Tognetti's arrangements have long been an important trademark of the ACO's repertoire. His arrangement of Ravel's String Quartet in F major for string orchestra will be featured on this tour.

In addition to his work as director of the ACO, this year Tognetti also assumes the post of Artistic Director of the Musical September (Glasbeni September) Festival in Maribor, Slovenia, from 4 to 14 September. Along with his activities as a musician, composer and conductor, Tognetti, who was declared an Australian "National Living Treasure" in 1999, devotes himself particularly to his second great passion – surfing.

Tim Baker recently profiled him in his book High Surf – The World's Most Inspiring Surfers, and Tognetti composed the music for star surfer Tom Carroll's documentary on surfing. In 2003 he was co-composer of the soundtrack for the film Master and Commander, and he coached the film's star, Russell Crowe, on the violin.