Limelight — May 2017

30 LIMELIGHT MAY 2017 http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au

FollowingonfromthesuccessofThe Reef,

Richard Tognetti talks toJo Litsonabout the

Australian Chamber Orchestra’s exciting new

“cinematic and musical odyssey”,Mountain

Threecenturiesago,riskingone’slifetoclimb

amountainwouldhavebeenconsidered

tantamounttolunacy.Thenotionbarely

existed,indeed,thatwildlandscapemighthold

anysortofappeal...Nowtheyarenumbered

amongthenaturalworld’smostexquisiteforms,

andpeoplearewillingtodieforloveof them.”

MountainsoftheMind,RobertMacfarlane

In2012,RichardTognetti–violinvirtuosoandsurfing

enthusiast–combinedtwoofhisgrandpassions

when he took a group of musicians and surfers to

theruggedsurfcoastandtoughdesertlandscapeof

northern Western Australia around Ningaloo Reef.

Together with photographer Jon Frank they created

an adventurous multi-media performance piece called

The Reef.It proved an inspired idea. Melding footage

ofsurfingandthelandscapewithaneclecticscore

thatrangedfromRameau,BeethovenandLigetitothe

AmericangrungebandAliceinChains,The Reefwas a

huge success for the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Building on that achievement comes an ambitious

newworkcalledMountain,whichpremieresinJune.

Billed as “a cinematic and musical odyssey”,Mountain

lookstoawe-inspiringpeaksinacollaboration

betweentheACO,filmdirectorJenniferPeedomof

Sherpafame,mountainclimberandcinematographer

RenanOzturk,andwriterRobertMacfarlane,author

of the influential bookMountainsoftheMind.

Lookingbackoverthegenesisoftheproject,

Tognetti,theACO’sArtisticDirector,saysthatin

thewakeofThe Reef,peoplewereurginghimtodo

something similar with mountains. “[They were]

thinkingIwasgoingtodosomethingwithskiing.

ThereissomecrazyskiingbutIdon’tlikeskiingfilms,

theyarekindofboring,andyoucanfindallofthose

things onYouTubeanyway,” he says.

“Then our chairman came up with the idea of

collaboratingwiththeBanffCentre[forArtsand

Creativity,inBanff,intheCanadianprovinceof

Alberta],whichhasanincrediblemountainfilm

festival.So,IwentovertoBanffandspenttwoweeks

thereinJanuary2014,buttherewasnoonethere–

it was a bit likeThe Shining,” he says w r yly.

Then ACO cellist Julian Thompson suggested that

TognettihavealookofsomeofPeedom’swork.Tognetti

watchedSolo,the2008documentaryshemadewith

David Michôd about Australian adventurer Andrew

McAuleywholosthislifewhileattemptingasolo

kayakcrossingfromTasmaniatoNewZealand.“Itwas

terrific,” says Tognetti ofSolo.What’smore,Peedomhad

beengoingtotheHimalayasforaroundadecade and

had worked on a number of mountain films.

Hitting the

HIGH

NOTES