Indice dei contenuti per May 2018 in Limelight

HERE’S TO ANNIVERSARIES... On April 3, I saw a great tweet by cellist Steven Isserlis: “Alas, our beloved Brahms died on this day in 1897…On the other hand, Doris Day was born on this day in 1922. You lose some, you win some…” We’ll talk to Isserlis next month when he plays Shostakovich with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, but this month birthdays and anniversaries loom large. These days I try to ignore my own birthday, but I remember the late theatre director Richard Wherrett saying that he loved anniversaries because they are punctuation marks in life. Significant, round numbers in particular are a good reason to pause, remember, reflect, and maybe re-evaluate. In the case of a great artist, it’s a perfect time to celebrate their work, and consider the…

GLAD FOR ‘OUR GLAD’ Thank you so much for the article by Leonie Egan [April issue] and her efforts to establish an archive of Gladys Moncrieff memorabilia. Extraordinary that this has not already been done – and wonderful to know that it is happening. Friends and I would be interested to read in Limelight any updates on this important project. Caroline Jones AO WE IN PERTH ARE THE LUCKY ONES Joseph Nolan may consider Australia the lucky country [April issue] but those of us privileged to have been with him on this amazing 10-year journey feel that we in WA are the lucky ones. Listening to him play the organ at St George’s Cathedral, watching him conduct his cathedral consort with such energy and enthusiasm in the Cathedral or concert…

Toby Chadd has been appointed as the new Content Manager for ABC Classic FM and ABC Jazz. Chadd, who was the Label Manager at ABC Classics and Jazz before moving to Classic FM as Development Manager earlier this year, took the reins from Matthew Dewey, who was working as Acting Content Manager following former Classic FM Content Manager Richard Buckham’s move to head ABC Arts. “I’m very excited,” Chadd told Limelight. “I’ve worked at the ABC for a few years now in a number of different capacities, and I’ve always loved the unique ability that we have to pull together projects from across the country and to bring classical music to a really broad audience. So the chance to lead the ABC Classic FM and ABC Jazz teams is thrilling…

My first employment as a young musician in the 1970s was as pianist with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, both as casual rank-and-file musician and occasional soloist. Relocating to the east coast for a decade or so, it was a thrill to return west in 1988 as composer (and unexpected rehearsal conductor!) of one of the orchestra’s “Bicentennial” ventures, the ballet Night of the Full Moon with WA Ballet. My Sixth Symphony (Choral Symphony) was commissioned by my old high school, Guildford Grammar School (Perth), and premiered by WASO in 1996. Since then WASO has emerged as my most consistent supporter, commissioning the orchestral fanfare V (2002), the Seventh Symphony (2007) and Concerto for Orchestra (2014). This new work, Implacable Gifts (Concerto for Two Pianos) is therefore a complete homecoming,…

Many children learn an instrument at some point – often the piano – but how many go on to play as adults? “I often refer to the piano as my first love and it very much was,” author Virginia Lloyd tells me over the phone. “I guess I never got over it.” Lloyd was a precocious pianist when she was young, but set music aside to pursue a very different career. In her new memoir Girls at the Piano – named for the famous painting by Renoir – she delves into her relationship with the instrument, which was so important to her growing up, alongside the experiences of her grandmother and, indeed, the experiences of women pianists since the instrument’s invention, from Mozart’s sister Nannerl, to Clara Schumann and fictional…

CONSIDERING THE RECONSTITUTED VERSIONS OF MAHLER’S INCOMPLETE TENTH SYMPHONY, HE HAD ONE QUESTION: WILL IT GIVE ME AN ORGASM? The ever-so-helpful publicist at Tanglewood was insistent. “Unless you hear otherwise,” she chirruped, “he will want you to call him ‘Lenny’.” To everyone, everywhere, he was simply ‘Lenny’. It was very hard calling Leonard Bernstein by that name. Even his family had some difficulty with it. When he was born – on August 23, 1918, in Lawrence, a Jewish suburb of Boston – his grandmother insisted on the name Louis. When he was 15, he changed it to Leonard. And forever after, he was Lenny. In 1986, I was travelling throughout North America, employed by the American-Australian Bicentennial Foundation in Washington, D.C., to help drum up interest in Australian culture for…

“I FELT IT MIGHT BE FUN TO EXPERIMENT WITH A BATTLE-OF-THE-BANDS THEME WITHIN THE QUARTET ITSELF”– Commissioned composer Holly Harrison Eight string quartets and eight piano trios from around the world will do musical battle for a prize pool of over $150,000 when the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition kicks off in July. “Over seven days, we’ll hear stunning performances from 16 of the world’s leading young ensembles as they compete for the Grand Prize and the chance to launch their international careers,”said MICMC Artistic Director and former Concertmaster of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Wilma Smith. Young ensembles from around the world will descend on Melbourne when the heats begin on July 1 at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM). For the first time, MICMC will be delivered by…

LIVED 1891 – 1975 MOSTLY IN ENGLAND AND AMERICA BEST KNOWN FOR MORNING HEROES, A COLOUR SYMPHONY, CHECKMATE, OBOE QUINTET SIMILAR TO BRITTEN, WALTON, LAMBERT, GOOSSENS By 1955 Arthur Bliss was at the height of a successful career. Now knighted and recently appointed Master of the Queen’s Music in succession to Sir Arnold Bax, he was commissioned to compose a major work for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He recalled that “when the commission came, before starting to write, as always I had to await the moment when some lucky find or incident would fire my imagination”. This came almost immediately in the form of the recently published Musica Britannica, featuring the anthems of John Blow. “I was greatly struck by the beautiful tune in the verse anthem The…

PREVIEW “If you speak to curators of costume or dress or fashion around the world, they’ll tell you how hard it is to collect menswear, particularly from the 19th century,” says Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences Senior Curator Roger Leong ahead of the Powerhouse Museum’s new exhibition Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear, 1715–2015. The exhibition will feature 130 garments by designers such as Alexander McQueen, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Chanel, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Jean Paul Gaultier, Louis Vuitton and Yves Saint Laurent, tracing the relationship between history and men’s fashion. The pieces are primarily drawn from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s renowned collection, which was bolstered by a game-changing acquisition of men’s, women’s and children’s clothing – including a singular collection of men’s three-piece suits from 1750 to…

“What makes this book such a good read is the entirely fresh look it takes at musical culture” MUSIC Beyond Bach: Music and Everyday Life in the 18th Century Andrew Talle Urbana: University of Illinois Press, HB, pp343, $89.99 ISBN 9780252099342 An intriguing glimpse into the daily musical life of many Andrew Talle’s new book, Beyond Bach: Music and Everyday Life in the Eighteenth Century (2017) is written for listeners and musicians who revere JS Bach. In the past we might have heard his music filtered through a Romantic aesthetic (now largely vanished) or a pared-back Modernist aesthetic. Talle, however, points out that during Bach’s working lifetime it was the Galant style which pervaded the growing middle-class culture of Germany. While Bach’s gifts are rich in the layering of complex…

MONDAY - FRIDAY 6am Classic Breakfast Start your day with a delicious selection of the best in classical music, including your daily Swoon 10am Classic Mornings Spend your morning with great music, including new releases and classic performances, plus the latest news and stories from the world of music 1pm Lunchtime Concert The best concerts from Australia and around the world 3pm Music in Time and more Music in Time / Legends / Passenger / Duet / The Game Show 4pm Classic Drive A journey home through classical sounds, designed to relax, refresh and delight you 4pm Evenings Concerts from Australian and international ensembles plus music to help you wind down. 12am Night Music Classical music that’s perfect for all-night listening, presented by some of your favourite ABC Classic FM…

FINE MUSIC 102.5 Fine Music 102.5 (previously 2MBS) is Australia’s first FM radio station, broadcasting a mix of classical, jazz and contemporary music. To listen, tune in to 102.5FM or stream online at finemusicfm.com 3MBS 3MBS is a fine music community radio station in Melbourne. 3MBS passionately supports fine music, especially Melbourne musicians and composers, and is the only locally-based classical music radio station in Victoria. To listen, tune in to 103.5FM or stream online at 3mbs.org.au 4MBS One of Australia’s premier classical radio stations, 4MBS has received many awards for the promotion of young and emerging artists in Australia. Based in Brisbane. To listen, tune in to 103.7FM to listen or stream online at 4mbs.com.au 5MBS While mainly a classical station, Adelaide’s 5MBS also broadcasts a wide selection of…

VINCENT PLUSH LEONARD BERNSTEIN PAGE 44 For almost 20 years, Vincent Plush lived and worked in North America, his life intersecting with many major figures in 20th century American music. A composer, conductor, broadcaster, festival director and writer, he recently completed his PhD at the University of Adelaide. MéLISSA LESNIE HAMBURG PAGE 66 A former online editor at Limelight, Melissa left Sydney for Paris in 2013, promptly changing her name to Mélissa (with the little accent on the ‘e’). She works for a record label, lives in Montmartre, plays accordion, and still enjoys writing home about her travels. DENNIS DORWICK BEYOND BACH PAGE 94 Dennis Dorwick is a retired music teacher, flute and piccolo player, and a 2017 graduate from the Sydney Con. He received a Master of Music (Musicology)…

SIR ANDREW DEPARTS MSO Sir Andrew Davis will step down from his role as Chief Conductor with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at the end of his contract in December 2019. The British maestro, who has led the MSO since 2013, will continue as Conductor Laureate. “The five years during which I have been Chief Conductor have been some of the happiest of my life,” he said. LEVINE SUES THE MET Conductor James Levine has sued the Metropolitan Opera for breach of contract and defamation, just days after the company fired him in March. The decision came in the wake of an investigation launched by the Met which discovered “credible evidence” that Levine had “engaged in sexually abusive and harassing conduct both before and during the period when he worked at…

1. What drew you to the Pipa? My father was a Pipa performer in a traditional Chinese orchestra as well as a teacher of Pipa. One day, my father asked me to pluck the strings of the Pipa after his demonstration. I did but he didn’t say a word. After a month or so, he started to teach me Pipa, one on one. I was seven years old that year. Perhaps he saw my Pipa potential from my first few plucks. We were too poor to afford a suitable sized Pipa, so my father hung the Pipa from the ceiling so that I was able to hold and play the instrument. 2. What role does the Pipa play in traditional Chinese music? Pipa, also known as the Chinese lute, is…

Many composers, alive or dead, find it difficult or impossible to get their orchestral works performed by today’s symphony orchestras. The financial burden that most orchestras bear encourages a reluctance to perform unknown or little-known compositions, even if such works deserve to be heard. Orchestral managements greatly prefer to program popular symphonies and concertos which are guaranteed to attract a strong audience. New works that are performed tend to be short, written by young, living composers, and usually given in the first half of a concert, thus allowing a popular symphony in the second half to be the main draw. Hiring a professional orchestra to record anything is very expensive and beyond the means of most composers. However, there now exists an excellent alternative for bringing neglected works to public…

For Richard Wagner, Ludwig Schnorr von Carolsfeld must have seemed the answer to a maiden’s prayer. For years, the operatic revolutionary had struggled to find a singer capable of encompassing both the vocal and dramatic demands of his taxing tenor leads. Arriving in Dresden for the gruelling six-hour premiere of Rienzi, the composer was initially more than happy with Josef Tichatschek, the affable huntin’ and shootin’ Bohemian tenor who scored a major career triumph in the lead role. Alas, his appearance as Tannhäuser, a role that was written for him, was less satisfactory, and the composer was forced to admit the jovial giant was not exactly the sharpest knife in the dramatic drawer. Wagner knew he needed something else, something perhaps the musical world had not yet seen. Ludwig Schnorr…

Sitting in the audience at a recent Willoughby Symphony Orchestra concert, I was struck by the fact that the composer-in-residence, Nigel Westlake, was also the conductor. To have the composer of the score conduct is a very special treat indeed for musicians. Who better to provide musical insight, interpretative advice and general direction to those given the task of playing this music? It is a relatively rare combination these days. In the past it was far from rare. In fact, from the early medieval period (400 to 1000 Common Era or Anno Domino), composers were always in residence in churches, monasteries, convents and chapels. This was how music was disseminated. Monks, nuns, priests and brothers, largely unknown and anonymous, produced masses, hymns and other works in the style known as…

Thomas Hampson remembers the exact moment that he fell in love with the music of Mahler. It was back in the late 1970s and the renowned American baritone, then still in his early 20s, was studying at the University of California in Santa Barbara, where one of his teachers was the French-born American baritone and pedagogue Martial Singher. “I think it was the summer of ‘79, and he assigned five of us to sing the Kindertotenlieder. I was assigned the second song. I’d heard of Mahler but didn’t know much about it, so I thought ‘I’d better figure out who this is’. So, I went down to the public library and checked out some cassette tapes, [as you did] back in the day, to listen in the car as I…

Mahler The Symphonies New York Philharmonic/Leonard Bernstein SONY 88697943332 (12CD) Painstakingly remastered from the original sources, Bernstein’s earlier Mahler recordings have a remarkable vitality and now bear sonic comparison with his better engineered but more polite cycle for DG. Shostakovich Symphonies Nos 1 and 7 Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Leonard Bernstein DG 4276322 (2CD) Bernstein’s boldly theatrical manner brings the Leningrad Symphony to life like no other, while his sense of humour brings a sparkle to Shostakovich’s student masterpiece. The Chicago SO is on top form. Copland Ballets New York Philharmonic/Leonard Bernstein SONY G010000970723J Life-long friends, no one brought out the essence of Aaron Copland’s music like Bernstein. This classic recording captures the three ballet scores – Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid and Rodeo – with infectious verve. Bernstein Candide Original Broadway…

EARLY STYLE AND MODERNISM As Bliss sought to establish himself as a composer in the years after the First World War, his music reflected the modernist tendencies of the era. The Ballets Russes, Stravinsky and the latest Parisian trends were all significant influences, encouraging biting rhythms and astringent harmonies. THE ELGAR INHERITANCE Bliss admired Elgar and dedicated music to him. The noble romantic character of the earlier master found expression in several Bliss scores, including Things to Come and much of the music he wrote for state occasions. This aspect of his music became increasingly important from the late 1920s. LITERARY INFLUENCES Bliss read widely, and his literary judgement and the depth of his knowledge are reflected again and again in his compositions, such as Morning Heroes, the Pastoral and…

Glass Complete Etudes for Solo Piano Sally Whitwell p ABC CLASSICS 4816592 ★★★★★ When Sally Whitwell’s ARIA Award-winning recording Mad Rush achieved critical and popular success in 2011, “no one was more surprised than me,” recalled the composer and pianist. Prior to the recording of the acclaimed solo release with ABC Classics, Whitwell’s familiarity with the music of Philip Glass did not extend beyond his opera and dance music. Since that time, however, she has become a foremost interpreter of his solo piano music. Indeed, in 2013, Glass invited her to perform the world premiere of his Etude No 18 at the Perth International Arts Festival. The Glass Piano Etudes reflect the development of the composer over the past three decades but leave room for a great deal of interpretation…

Hoorah for British music! The London-based Italian violinist Alfredo Campoli was the pundits’ darling during the 1950s, though apparently not liked by the BBC, who snobbishly recalled that he had headed popular Palm Court orchestras between the wars. To remind us what the fuss was about, Eloquence has reissued six double-CD volumes of Campoli’s Decca recordings. It was his performance of the Elgar Concerto that brought the critics around (Volume 5). It is lovingly played and deeply felt, and has the added advantage of dyed-in-the-wool Elgarian Adrian Boult on the podium. The coupling is Bruch’s Scottish Fantasia, and two works by Arthur Bliss: Theme and Cadenza for Violin and Orchestra, and (more significantly) the taxing Violin Concerto that Bliss composed specifically for Campoli. These two selections are conducted by the…

The Sugar House A story of Sydney, of work and corruption, family and massive social change. How Sydney went from working class to middle class. Belvoir, Sydney, May 5 – June 3 Good Cook. Friendly. Clean. A confronting portrait of a woman slipping through the cracks of Sydney’s housing crisis, starring Tara Morice. Griffin Theatre, Sydney, May 4 – June 16 Bliss Peter Carey’s madcap novel is brought to life in a lush and extraordinary collaboration from the team behind Picnic at Hanging Rock. Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne, May 4 – June 2 Hungry Ghosts Criss-crossing between storylines of the fate of MH370, political corruption in Malaysia and the exploration of identity. Melbourne Theatre Company, May 22 – June 7 The Longest Minute For one family of North Queensland Cowboys diehards,…

Collection: Icons This breathtaking display brings together a number of contemporary photographic portraits of inspiring individuals. National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, until June 3 A Modern Life: Tablewares 1930s-1980s Tracing a revolution in tablewares with classic designs by Wedgwood, Poole Pottery an Arabia. National Gallery of Victoria, until January 2019 The Unmanned Part 2 This exhibition asseses if it’s possible to tell a story of human cultural evolution objectively. Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, June 20 – February 4 2019…

NON-FICTION Martin Sharp Joyce Morgan Allen & Unwin, PB, 344pp, $34.99 ISBN 9781760111755 Martin Sharp’s art was as singular as his style, blurring boundaries with images of Dylan, Hendrix and naked flower children. Joyce Morgan captures the loneliness of a privileged childhood, the heady days of underground magazine Oz and the exuberence of Swinging London and beyond. NON-FICTION Ashes to Light Nelly Ben-Or IB Tauris & Co, HB, 224pp, $41.95 ISBN 9781788313094 In Ashes to Light: A Holocaust Childhood and a Life in Music Nelly Ben-Or tells her story of experiencing, at a very young age, the trauma of the Holocaust, and surviving. No less miraculous was how her innate musical talent survived and was able to reveal itself. NON-FICTION The Monstrous New Art Anna Zayaruznaya Cambridge University Press, PB,…

“Furlanetto shows us why he’s become synonymous with the Knight of the Sorrowful Countenance” “Don Quichotte is exactly what every man should be for at least three or four hours in his life,” Ferruccio Furlanetto told Limelight ahead of his performances in the title role of Massenet’s opera for Opera Australia. “It’s so fascinating to be able to live for these few hours inside this character.” The Italian bass has spent more than just a few hours as Cervantes’ knight-errant since his first performance in the role in 2002, and is now the leading living interpreter . Massenet’s opera, with libretto by Henri Caïn, distils Cervantes’ episodic novel into five short acts that relate the idealistic knight’s quest to retrieve a stolen necklace from the bandit Ténébrun in the hope…

ABC CLASSIC FM SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA May 9 at 8pm Mahler’s epically scaled, even more epically themed Third Symphony can be a tough nut to crack, but David Robertson’s approach with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and American mezzo soprano Susan Graham was exemplary. Understanding that Mahler has placed an ample sufficiency of extremes on the page, Robertson set off at a weighty, measured pace, while never resorting to the kind of added exaggerations that can bloat a reading of what is already a full-cream work. Like his friend and colleague the late Pierre Boulez, Robertson paid homage to Mahler the master-orchestrator, ensuring every variation and combination of instruments was given its moment in the sun – for despite its grandeur and occasional resort to sheer decibels, this…

THE HEART OF THE MUTTER BERLIOZ’S L’ENFANCE DU CHRIST It started as a thank you note, became a musical spoof, and finally grew into a beloved Christmas oratorio. Sir Andrew Davis tells us how he fell for Berlioz’s sacred trilogy. MUSIC TO BERGMAN’S EARS As the Ingmar Bergman centenary gets under way, we explore the diverse and important roles that classical music played in so many of the Swedish director’s films. AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER ENSEMBLES: SURVIVAL OF THE SMALLEST Phillip Sametz finds out how Australia’s most exciting chamber ensembles not only stay together but manage to develop a profile, an audience and even financial security. PLUS... · Jessica Pratt on Lucia · Scott Rankin’s Big hART · Sarah Snook in Saint Joan and much more... ON SALE JUNE 4 2018 AND MUCH…

1. Who composed the oratorios The Martyr of Antioch and The Golden Legend? 2. Who composed Checkmate and Miracle in the Gorbals as ballets for Robert Helpmann? 3. Which operas were completed by Franco Alfano and Friedrich Cerha respectively? 4. Samuel Arnold’s Polly is a sequel to what hit operatic work? 5. Which famous librettist drowned attempting to rescue a young woman to whom he was giving a swimming lesson? 6. Who composed ballets called Joseph’s Legend and Schlagobers (or Whipped Cream)? 7. Carl Friedrich Abel and Bach’s youngest son Johann Christian became the leading musical entrepreneurs of which city? 8. Which gourmand once dismissed a fellow composer saying,“Costa sent me the score of an oratorio and a Stilton cheese. The cheese was excellent.” 9. Which Shostakovich symphonic premiere was…

As revealed in the Berlin State Opera’s 2018/19 season announcement, Daniel Barenboim and his orchestra, the Staatskapelle Berlin, will undertake a concert tour later this year, with Sydney one of the destinations. Among other works yet to be announced, the orchestra will perform the four Brahms symphonies. This will be the first time Barenboim has brought the Staatskapelle to Australia. Although it is very likely that the Staatskapelle will perform at the Sydney Opera House, the venue has declined to comment at this time, asking those interested in its classical music program to subscribe to its newsletter to receive information about upcoming events. Barenboim has been Music Director of the Staatskapelle since 1992, and is widely regarded as one of the world’s most distinguished conductors and pianists. He last played…

Cilea Adriana Lecouvreur Welsh National Opera/Bonynge DG 4757906 This absolute gem of an opera is rarely performed in Australia, but thanks to the golden era of Richard Bonynge and Joan Sutherland I was privileged to see several performances in Sydney in the late 1980s. Puccini Madama Butterfly Renata Tebaldi s, Tullio Serafin DECCA 4784153 I am revisiting roles I learned much earlier in my career. This is by far my favourite recording of Puccini’s timeless masterpiece. Tebaldi as Butterfly, Bergonzi and Serafin – what more could you possibly ask for? Ella Fitzgerald Gold VERVE 9800276 With 40 tracks spanning almost 30 years of Fitzgerald’s life, this 2-CD compilation is an invitation to accompany one of the greatest singers of all time through the passage of her life. Each time I…

JOSÉ ABREU 1939 – 2019 José Abreu, the founder of Venezuela’s world-renowned El Sistema program, has died aged 78. Born on May 7, 1939, in Valera in Venezuela, he studied music as well as economics, gaining international fame as a result of the success of Venezuela’s National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras and Choirs, “El Sistema”, which he founded in 1975. The program, which Abreu started in a garage with nine musicians, has spread across South America and the world, bringing music education to children living in impoverished and challenging circumstances and now boasting a network of 300 choirs and orchestras including the flagship Orquesta Sinfónica Simón Bolívar. Abreu received numerous awards for his work, including the Order of the Rising Sun, Grand Cordon in Japan and the Glenn…

Well it’s nice to be back. Like John Howard with a triple bypass, Limelight has risen like Lazarus. It makes you smile, and smiling is the subject of this month’s soapbox. I saw a YouTube clip the other day of Joe Hisaishi – composer of My Neighbour Totoro, a popular Japanese anime film. He arrived at a concert to play the jaunty theme, turned to the small orchestra and put his fingers on either end of his mouth, indicating the musicians should smile. Smile they did, for at least 30 bars or so before they reverted to their normal serious faces. Playing an instrument takes a great deal of concentration and people rarely smile when they are concentrating. They furrow their brows and look intense, so it is unreasonable to…

How did you first come to the piano? I come from a family whose common language is music. My grandparents were pianists, my mom is a piano teacher, my sister Karin is a pianist, my niece Natasha is a pianist and now my own children are starting to play the piano. At home my mother taught scores of children and I was used to listening to the piano all day long, so when I was almost three years old, I asked her why I was the only one who wasn’t playing, and that’s how she started teaching me. Why did you become a concert pianist, rather than someone who plays the piano? I was always a musician. And for as long as I can remember, always a pianist. Taking the…

How are you finding studying at Curtis? Scarily, it’s gone very fast. It’s been wonderful and challenging, in equal parts. There are so many challenges just being away from home, and the musical environment feels very different to Australia, but I have wonderful teachers here and there’s so much to learn. My teachers are Pamela Frank, and Ida Kavafian. My first year at Curtis, I was also studying with Joseph Silverstein, but he unfortunately died two years ago. How does it feel different to Australia? I think Australia is unique in that it feels comparatively small – all of the institutions and orchestras feel like they’re very supportive of young musicians in a very unique way. I suppose in America if you feel like you’re part of a much larger…

“You are the greatest Brünnhilde I have heard in 40 years.” “And who did you hear 40 years ago?” inquired Birgit Nilsson of what must have been a momentarily flummoxed Karl Böhm. The wit and the voice seem utterly inseparable to us now – disarming, unflagging and totally at the legendary soprano’s beck and call. It could lash, or it could draw you in closer: it could certainly do both at the same time. With the advent of the centenary of her birth, the image of the laughing Valkyrie burns brighter than ever. There she jokes about Rudolf Bing being a dependent. Here she accuses a competitive Franco Corelli of giving her rabies. There she identifies her imitation pearls as bought with the meagre fees of the Vienna Opera. We…

Busker Davey J. is tuning his guitar. Of average height with hair a tone of middle-age grey, his fine fingers pluck each string while he listens intently. It’s festival time. Davey J. is but one of 400 buskers hoping to be heard on their very own ‘Boulevard of Dreams’. They crave recognition. But Davey J. is different. Unshaven and wearing dark glasses, Davey J. relishes his anonymity here – a universe away from his normal life as Hammerschlag, J., that is Justice Hammerschlag of the Supreme Court of NSW. His Honour’s musical pursuits have always been eclectic. A Jewish escapee from South African apartheid, David Hammerschlag ventured into the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House on a cold August night 29 years ago. A few months before, in the…

Film Scores BBC Philhamonic/ Rumon Gamba CHANDOS CHAN9896 A selection of Bliss’s superb film music, including his memorable masterpiece, a suite from the score of Things To Come. Morning Heroes Samuel West orator, BBC SO & Chorus/ Sir Andrew Davis CHANDOS CHSA5159 A powerful and committed performance with fine singing and spectacular Chandos sound. Violin Concerto, Colour Symphony Lydia Mordkovitch v , BBC NOW/Richard Hickox CHANDOS CHAN10380 Two orchestral masterworks captured in strongly characterised performances and led by Richard Hickox, a Bliss specialist. Checkmate Suite, Clarinet Quintet et al Janet Hilton cl , Lindsay String Quartet, Ulster Orchestra/Vernon Handley, Richard Hickox CHANDOS CHAN2411 A two-CD set exploring a range of the composer’s output performed by a slew of distinguished British musicians.…

What was the inspiration for the project? Was it primarily the instruments, or was it the works? I have long been fascinated by historical pianos. While exploring the possibilities of some of them, it seemed natural to look at several cornerstone pieces of the repertoire. At the time of their creation, these works acquired the reputation of being virtually unplayable. Later, having got rid of this reputation, they became the staples of the virtuoso literature, inevitably losing their aura of novelty in the process. This recording has no ambition to be ‘historically correct’ in any way, not least because we shall never know how these pianos were actually meant to sound when they were new. While historical research continues to give us fascinating insights into the past, with the passage…

The year is 1899, and the world can be forgiven for feeling a little anxious about the impending new century. But luckily there’s relief on hand for any such tension: Felix Hoffmann, an employee of the German company Bayer, patents aspirin, which is initially sold as a powder supplied in glass bottles. Aspirin will grow in popularity for the next 50 years, until the invention of paracetamol and ibuprofen. Meanwhile, Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi sends the first international wireless message, from Wimereux on the French coast across the Channel to South Foreland Lighthouse, near Dover, in England. Two years before, he had masterminded the first-ever wireless communication over open sea, across the Bristol Channel. The message simply read “Are you ready?” We have no evidence whether the recipient was indeed…

The Merry Widow Packed full of wow-moments, lavish glamour, show-stopping costumes and thrilling dance, this production is not to be missed. The Australian Ballet, Touring, until June 16 Carmen & The Firebird A thrillingly fiery and dramatic double bill that’s choreographed by two of ballet’s best: Carlos Acosta and Liam Scarlett. Queensland Ballet, May 25 – June 3 La Sylphide A magical ballet full of sprites, sylphides and trouble-making witches, be spirited away to 19th century Scotland. West Australian Ballet, May 18 – June 2…

PREVIEW The musical Gypsy is a revered classic. Regarded by many as one of the greatest musicals ever written, it features the iconic role of Rose, the indomitable, domineering stage mother who attempts to live out her own dreams through her daughters June and Louise. With music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim (written when he was still in his 20s) and book by Arthur Laurents, Gypsy was loosely based on the 1957 memoirs of famous striptease artist Gypsy Rose Lee. The original Broadway production opened in 1959 with Ethel Merman as Rose. Since then performers such as Angela Lansbury, Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, Imelda Staunton, and Australians Gloria Dawn, Toni Lamond, Judi Connelli and Caroline O’Connor have stepped into Rose’s shoes. Now it’s Blazey Best’s turn in a…

TWO BITES OF THE APPLE DANCE French company Ballet Preljocaj will perform its sinister, sexy, contemporary retelling of Snow White at the Sydney Opera House in June, as well as at the Arts Centre Melbourne in August. Choreographed to a number of Mahler symphonies, the production features witty costuming by visionary French fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier as well as extravagant sets by Thierry Leproust. It was first seen in Australia at QPAC as part of Brisbane Festival in 2016, when it won the Helpmann Award for Best Ballet. MITZEVICH TO HEAD NGA VISUAL ART Nick Mitzevich, Director of the Art Gallery of South Australia, has been announced as the new Director of the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra. Federal Cabinet has signed-off on Mitzevich’s appointment, which had been rumoured…

Last Flag Flying Opens: April 25 Genre: Road movie Duration: 124 minutes It’s no accident this tale of three ex-Vietnam war veterans on a late-life road trip to accompany a coffin to its resting place has echoes of Hal Ashby’s 1973 classic, The Last Detail. That early career triumph for Jack Nicholson about two sailors giving a callow young colleague a taste of life en route to naval jail was based on a novel by Darryl Ponicsan. This new film has been co-adapted by Ponicsan and US independent veteran director Richard Linklater from the author’s 2005 literary sequel to The Last Detail. It picks up the trio’s stories in later life, but if you’re a fan of the earlier movie, it’s best to put memories aside and take the new…

Two distinguished soloists were chosen for this performance of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde by Sir Andrew Davis and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, British mezzo-soprano Catherine Wyn-Rogers and Australian heldentenor Stuart Skelton. The opening song Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde (The Drinking Song of Earthly Sorrow) arrived like a galleon in full sail. Skelton, singing from memory, was both a formidable stage presence and in very fine voice, the dark and bitter Dunkel ist das Leben, ist der Tod! (Dark is life, dark is death!) with its final thump tellingly delivered. Veiled and meandering strings introduced Der Einsame im Herbst (The Solitary One in Autumn) where Wyn-Rogers’s burnished and golden mezzo-soprano splendidly portrayed, amongst lakeside mists, the magical Mein Herz ist müde (My heart is weary). Davis here…

ABC CLASSIC FM AUSTRALIAN WORLD ORCHESTRA May 4 at 8pm Italian maestro Riccardo Muti will conduct the Australian World Orchestra this month, performing Brahms’ Second Symphony and Tchaikovsky’s Sixth. “There’s a huge sense of anticipation from the musicians about performing with this great conductor,” said AWO Artistic Director Alexander Briger, “especially AWO trombonist Michael Mulcahy who has a strong connection with Muti as a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Tobias Lea from the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.” Securing Muti is a veritable coup for what Briger describes as “an audacious and limitless orchestra.” SIMPLY CLASSICAL Classic 2 broadcasts Australia’s finest musicians 24/7. Listen online & mobile at abc.net.au/classic2…

Verdi’s Luisa Miller is having its moment in the sun. Sydney and Melbourne audiences last saw it courtesy of Opera Australia in 2016, and the Metropolitan Opera has had a run with soprano Sonya Yoncheva in the title role. Though written before Verdi’s popular middle period – which saw the birth of works such as Rigoletto, Il trovatore and La traviata – it begins to tackle the domestic subjects that would flower more fully later on in his career. What’s more, a good production and a couple of star singers often make a good case for this opera, which is often dismissed as one of his standard rum-ti-tums. And yes, it’s hard to get past a villain who’s named Wurm, but that’s really Schiller’s fault. Based on the German writer’s…

MY FIRST CLASSICAL MUSIC APP For any parents out there wanting their children to learn an instrument, a nice entry point is the My First Classical Music App. Developed by the Naxos label as an interactive version of Genevieve Helsby’s hugely successful children’s novel, this is a colourful way to get them learning about classical music in an ongoing way. They’ll be introduced to a number of classical composers spanning the 18th to 21st centuries, as well as learning which instruments are played in a symphonic orchestra. The biggest selling point of this app is the hugely appealing, fun illustrations by Jason Chapman – Wagner conducts an orchestra of assorted zoo animals, while Beethoven teaches a penguin. Children will enjoy his comic touch, while props should go to the app…

“I would point at it and say, the man in the hat! Let’s hear the man in the hat” There really was a lot of music in the home when I was growing up. My parents were great fans of jazz, particularly swing jazz, so our house was just filled with the music of Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and Oscar Peterson. When I was a toddler, my parents had a Frank Sinatra album called A Swingin’ Affair! I just loved it as a little kid. My mother tells me that I would pick up the cover, which had a photo of Sinatra with his trademark fedora on his head. I would point at it and say “the man in the hat! Let’s hear the man in the hat!” That album!…

A SWINGIN’ AFFAIR! Frank Sinatra, Capitol Records W803 I just can’t help but go back to this album. It’s Sinatra at his prime in 1957, and features songs like Night And Day, From This Moment On, as well as I Wish I Were In Love Again and The Lady Is A Tramp. I know that a lot of people think that the swing album that preceded it, Songs for Swingin’ Lovers!, is regarded as his classic, but for me it was the record my parents had when I was little. It will always be very special and I just think it’s a masterpiece.…