An evening concert with the Australian Chamber Orchestra was just that little bit different. Walking in to Brisbane Concert Hall was a bearded man with a waxed moustache, wearing a Fez with golden tassels, checkered trousers a bright orange kaftan and golden sparkly shoes. Another man, also bearded, was a little more conventionally dressed but his beard was bright green.

They are Joseph and James Tawadros brothers, with their instruments the Oud and the Riq and Bendir.

The Australian Chamber Orchestra directed by Richard Tognetti is collaborating with the two brothers to present a programme of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons interspersed with compositions from the two brothers. Joseph was born in 1983 and came to Australia when he was two- his grandfather played the oud in 1937. The oud is a short necked lute. Playing the oud transcends time and place – He says ” Music is romance, its nostalgia, its melancholy, its connection to another human being.” In this case it is Richard Tognetti, the gifted violinist and director of the ACO who he says has a vision and is not afraid to put something out there. The two have worked together for many years. In this particular concert the music alternates, between the familiar pieces of Vivaldis Seasons to the astonishingly blending pieces from the two brothers. I loved their pieces “Permission to Evaporate” and “Constantinople”. The tempo is often fast and furious. It is energising and wonderful to listen to – here is a small excerpt.

Joseph is a seven time Aria Winner and he was awarded the member of the order of Australia for Services rendered to music. He is one of the 50 Australian composers chosen to write a fanfare celebrating the Sydney Opera House’s 50th Birthday. James plays the riq a small hand held tambourine -the programme describes their collaboration:

‘Vivaldi’s world was a thrilling and spicy place. Boundaries were porous, particularly in Venice where Vivaldi was born and lived. It was one of the great cosmopolitan and entrepreneurial centres of its time.

Exotic goods, knowledge and culture from the Middle East, North Africa and beyond flowed unstoppably into Europe, propelled by the vast reach of the Ottoman empire. Venice inhaled. So did Vivaldi. And so can you, as the ACO summons that heady time, in a stunning recasting of The Four Seasons that sits Vivaldi’s timeless music alongside the stirring sounds of oud virtuoso Joseph Tawadros and riq master James Tawadros”.

These two worlds intertwine harmoniously with a tempo and beat which melds the Ottoman Empire and the worlds of Venice in those heady days.

Go to https://www.aco.com.au/ for more information on their programme which is happening all round Australia.