Tabla de contenidos para September 2017 en Limelight

With every tweet that comes out of the White House these days, it seems there’s a new group of people jumping up and down in outrage. Immigrants, transgender soldiers, the sick, the poor – but what about musicians? Artist got their knickers in a twist over who was in and who said no to performing at the inauguration (remember, the one with the biggest crowds ever, right?) But since then, musicians have been a little on the quiet side. Of couse, there was never a time when music wasn’t political. Take the man who penned the Agincourt Carol – a fine piece of propaganda if ever there was one. Or Beethoven’s Eroica in praise of Napoleon, and on into the 20th century with the music of Shostakovich, Tippett or Adams.…

LESS HARPING ON, PLEASE How I long for the sweetly measured commentary of the now departed Colin Fox and Marian Arnold and their ilk on Classic FM. Unlike the current crop, these beautifully voiced presenters understood the importance of rendering informatively brief interludes that heightened the enjoyment of the headlined musical delights. We are now forced to suffer the long-winded logorrhoea of Classic FM announcers harping on endlessly about the effortless levitation that each of them gained from the timeless musical offerings that explicate their own ethereal beauty. These interruptions now include social media feedback that breaks the spellbinding enjoyment of the main event. Instead of suffering effusive announcer advertorials by listening to Classic FM live, I go online and fast-forward through these disruptions. Let’s turn down the volume of…

Visiting Sydney to sing the title role in a concert performance of Wagner’s Parsifal for Opera Australia, Jonas Kaufmann was interviewed by OA Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini at a small press conference where the consensus was he charmed one and all. Reflecting on recent news that the German tenor is no longer taking on productions requiring lengthy rehearsal and time away from his family, he reiterated that working closer to home was on the horizon for him, but said that this did not necessarily rule out travelling for concert performances like Parsifal. Addressing rumours surrounding his withdrawal from The Metropolitan Opera’s highly anticipated new production of Tosca, he said: “I can assure you that I offered them part of the shows, I wanted to sing there and I didn’t want…

Composing for cello and piano as an ensemble is always a challenging undertaking. Both instruments are radically different and speak in very different musical languages. Unlike the majority of cello sonatas – which are virtually all written by pianist-composers – mine is written by a native cello-speaker. The piece is titled Aspects of Return and is cast in three movements – Prologue, Nocturne and Capriccio – each of which are centred around this common theme. Our lives are full of attempts at returning to the past or to previous states of being. This virtually always proves to be an impossibility, either because what we are returning to has changed, or we ourselves have changed along with our perceptions. Each movement of my sonata is supplemented with a quotation and presents…

“EVERY APPEARANCE I MAKE, GOOD OR BAD, GETS A LOT OF ATTENTION” Russian soprano Anna Netrebko is what you might describe as an enigmatic diva. One of the biggest opera stars alive today, she’s a regular performer in the biggest opera theatres around the world. The first classical performer to be included in Time Magazine’s 100 list, she has featured on dozens of albums and is adored by countless fans around the world. Music critics have called her “the reigning new diva of the early 21st century” (Associated Press), “the century’s most spectacular voice” (Vogue) and “a soprano with star power in the best sense” (The New York Times). Yet she’s remarkably modest, almost dismissive, about the evolution of her glittering career and curiously unwilling to discuss how she started…

For Stuart the history of Nuremberg was dominated by two men: Hans Sachs and Adolf Hitler, the former the hero of Wagner’s opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg representing all that was noblest and best about Germany, and the latter all that was evil and heinous. Before commencing work at the opera Stuart followed a well-worn tourist trail from the vast and forbidding rally ground where Hitler had addressed the faithful in the 1930s, to the Palace of Justice where some of his henchman had faced justice in the most famous war crimes trials of the 20th century. The home of the Nuremberg State Opera, facing Richard-Wagner-Platz, offered a much more pleasing aspect. Städtische Bühnen Nürnberg, as it is called locally, is one of the largest theatres in Germany, as grand…

Nixon in China James Maddelena bar, Carolann Page s, John Duykers t, Orchestra Of St. Luke’s/Edo De Waart NONESUCH 7559797691 (2CD) Blessed with one of the finest and most poetic of librettos (courtesy of Alice Goodman), John Adams’ opera makes Richard Nixon a far more nuanced figure than the villain he is popularly portrayed as. The Death of Klinghoffer James Maddalena bar, Sanford Sylvan t, Sheila Nadler ms, Opéra De Lyon/Kent Nagano NONESUCH 0349712116 (2CD) Accused by some of glorifying terrorism, John Adams’ masterpiece looks at the bloody hijacking of the Achille Lauro from all sides in a finely balanced opera with a specially glorious role for the chorus. X, The Life & Times of Malcom X Eugene Perry bar, Herbert Perry b-bar, Thomas J. Young t, Orchestra of St.…

EARLY DAYS “It was the clicking and roaring of my father’s machines which, with the Spanish folk songs sung to me by my mother, formed my first instruction in music!” said Ravel. To understand that – the fine-tooled precision on the one hand, the melodic impulse on the other – is to understand much that is fundamental to his creativity. SHORT STORY “All the great composers were small.” A highly dubious proposition from Ravel, it is a nonetheless significant indication of how conscious he was of a below-average (5ft 3ins) stature he was determined to transcend – not, usually, by forcing himself to expand the small-scale constructions that were natural to him but by extending their expressive scope far beyond their apparent limits. BASQUE PASSION “Look, they say I’m dry…

“Beÿlohlávek and his forces harness all of this turbulent emotion, creating towering climaxes” Dvorÿák Stabat Mater Czech Philharmonic, Prague Philharmonic Choir Jirí Belohlávek Decca 4831510 Like encountering some extraordinary Pietà, listening to Dvorák’s grandiose evocation of Mary at the foot of the Cross leaves a lasting impression on the imagination. Written at a time when the composer was finally gaining recognition, it was to be the best and the worst of times. To have lost one child (as Dvorák did in 1875) was tragedy enough, but to lose his remaining two children the following year would have been more than most parents could bear. The surging opening of the Stabat Mater in particular witnesses to this deep grief. Belohlávek and his forces harness all of this turbulent emotion, creating towering…

“Prokofiev rarely threw away anything that might come in handy later on” Seen through its visual relics, the year 1921 is one of considerable progress. In his important book Psychodiagnostik, the noted Swiss psychoanalyst Hermann Rorschach proposes the use of a set of ten ‘inkblot’ images as a useful tool for assessing a patient’s unique personality characteristics and emotional functioning. What is less well known is that the blots are not as random as many have since come to assume: they are actually carefully crafted paintings by Rorschach himself. Meanwhile, over in the Netherlands, the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian paints his Composition with Red, Yellow and Blue, the first of many famous grid-like canvasses featuring just the three primary colours along with white, black and grey. His radical use of…

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Christopher Wheeldon’s anticipated hit debuts in Australia with puppetry, magic and Bob Crowley designs. Australian Ballet, Melbourne, September 12 – 30 Australian Tap Dance Festival The sixth annual Tap Dance Festival shuffles into Melbourne with a world class line-up of dancers. Various venues, Melbourne, September 30 – October 6 The Great Gatsby David Nixon’s immersive dance adaptation transports audiences to the cool, stylish jazz days of New York in the roaring twenties. West Australian Ballet, Perth, September 14 – 30…

CAIRNS WINS ARCHIBALD VISUAL ARTS Mitch Cairns has won the 2017 Archibald Prize with a portrait of his partner, artist Agatha Gothe-Snape. It’s the fourth time Cairns – who is considered a rising star – has been an Archibald finalist. In 2014 and 2015 he was Highly Commended for portraits of Reg Richardson and Peter Powditch. His painting of Gothe-Snape has drawn comparisons with Matisse, though John Olsen controversially slammed it as “no good”. The work is at Art Gallery of NSW. SAUL SNAGS SIX BOBBIES THEATRE Barrie Kosky’s staggering production of Handel’s oratorio Saul and Leah Purcell’s powerful reimagining of Henry Lawson’s short story The Drover’s Wife were the big winners at this year’s Helpmann Awards. Saul, which played at this year’s Adelaide Festival, won six awards including Best…

Ali’s Wedding Opens: August 31Genre: ComedyDuration: 110 minutes Romeo and Juliet meet Ali and Dianne in immigrant rom-com Before seeing this romantic comedy set largely in Australia’s Arab and Iranian migrant communities, I suspected a lot of heart would, in all likelihood, be used to paper over an inevitable roughness around the edges. Not because of its ethnic background, but because that so often happens with local comedies when they’re the work of first-time feature directors, in this case Jeffrey Walker. But I now confess to having underestimated this delightful film, based on the real life experiences of its charming lead actor and co-writer, Osamah Sami, an Australian born in Iran to Iraqi parents. Ali’s Wedding turns out to be an unusually accomplished production: well directed, written, cast and acted,…

Ascher Fisch and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra have been celebrating Wagner, one of the conductor’s long-time favourite composers, in a series of concerts, several of which will be broadcast on ABC Classic FM in September. In Inspiring Wagner, broadcast September 15, Schumann’s Faust Overture, Marschner’s The Vampire, and Liszt’s Mazeppa join a programme of orchestral extracts from the Ring Cycle, showcasing Wagner’s artistic mastery of orchestral writing. A second concert, the next day, features arias from Die Walküre and Die Meistersinger sung by Australian bass-baritone Shane Lowrencev, with Fisch exploring Wagner’s legacy through Bruckner’s Seventh and the Overture from Chabrier’s opera Gwendoline. “How could I have become a musician without having Wagner in my repertoire? I realised that’s where my heart was musically,” Fisch told Limelight in 2016. “Wagner revolutionised…

ALEX LALAK ANNA NETREBKO PAGE 30 Alex Lalak is an Australian journalist currently based in Paris. She writes for a range of publications and previously worked as a reviewer and reporter on the arts (including opera, theatre and dance) for The Daily Telegraph. RICHARD DAVIS STUART CHALLENDER PAGE 46 Richard Davis is an Australian author who writes in two genres: biographies of opera singers and classical musicians, and also popular ghost stories. His other works include Anna Bishop: The Adventures of an Intrepid Prima Donna and The Ghost Guide to Australia. JULIAN DAY POLITICS OF MUSIC PAGE 50 Julian Day grew up in a rock ‘n’ roll household and rebelled by listening to Mozart. A composer and sound artist, his work has featured at New York’s MATA Festival and Whitechapel…

LOST HOLST FOUND IN NZ Two handwritten manuscripts by English composer Gustav Holst have been discovered in a library in Tauranga on New Zealand’s North Island. The signed scores – a previously unpublished collection of Folk Songs from Somerset and Two Songs without Words, for which the original score was thought to have been lost – date back to 1906. There is some evidence they may have arrived there with English flautist Stanley Farnsworth. MUSIC TO LIVE IN A concerto for apartment block and orchestra has been performed in Paris. The premiere of Pierre Sauvageot’s Grand Ensemble: Dialogue Between an Apartment Building and a Symphony Orchestra saw musicians of the Paris Chamber Orchestra spread across the balconies of a Parisian apartment building. The work will travel to other apartment buildings…

1. Who do you respect most among the great Mahler interpreters, and what particular qualities did they bring to the music that you feel is important? I never like to use the word "interpretation" because music doesn't need it. Mahler wrote everything in his music, it can be easily understood. I am actually surprised how often he is misunderstood, although he did his best to notate everything to the smallest detail. Of the old generation I admire Mengelberg, whose scores I copied because he has many interesting ideas written there. And he knew Mahler well. 2. There are many different elements among the six movements of the Third Symphony, but what do you believe Mahler wanted to 'say' overall when he composed this gigantic work? All of his symphonies are…

Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz was a genuine child prodigy. His sister Clementina began giving him piano lessons when he was three and a half, and by five he had made his debut at the Teatro Romea in Barcelona (pictured right). Studying privately in Paris, he was rejected age seven at the entrance exam for the Paris Conservatoire, either for being too immature or (more fancifully) for breaking a mirror playing ball. Albéniz’s father wasn’t blind to his son’s talent and would make him practise mercilessly. One story goes that after losing his government post, he toured young Isaac and Clementina through the Spanish provinces to earn money. An avid performer, Albéniz quickly became accustomed to the life of a travelling virtuoso. Another legend has it that by the age of…

“The crumbling of the ancient male bastion is slow but exceeding sure” The Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra (formerly know as orchestraseventeen88), will, in 2018, be entering its fifth year as a working ensemble. Recently, at Santa Sabina College, Strathfield, NSW, members of the orchestra directed a specialist Music Camp for high school students concentrating on Mozart’s Haffner Symphony, performed in full at the end of the week. Obviously, the concentration was on historically informed performance practices (HIP), initially resisted by some of the students at the start of the week. By the end of the week all students were completely on board and begging to be notified about the next such venture. The feedback from the students was overwhelmingly positive, manifesting itself in the phrase: “Can we come next…

Sculthorpe: Earth Cry et al Sydney Symphony Orchestra/Stuart Challender ABCCLASSICS 4264812 Always a champion of Australian composers, Challender’s readings of Earth Cry, Kakadu, Mangrove, Irkanda IV and Small Town is still a front runner. Strauss: Music from the Operas Sydney Symphony Orchestra/Stuart Challender ABC CLASSICS 4764361 A fine Straussian, Challender proves excellent in music from Salome, Rosenkavalier, Daphne and Intermezzo. Meale: Voss The Australian Opera, Sydney Symphony Orchestra/Stuart Challender PHILIPS (2CD) You’ll have to try second hand, but Challender’s recording of Voss celebrates a great Australian opera.…

Last year, when The Australian Ballet was organising promotional photography for the launch of its 2017 season, The Royal Ballet in London sent over one of the costumes from Christopher Wheeldon’s ballet Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland for Amber Scott to wear. “I put the dress on and it was making a funny noise and I was asking why that was so, and, apparently, they lined the bodices with plastic because the girls were that drenched in sweat that it was coming through the satin,” recalls Scott, one of the dancers who will play Alice in Australia. Alice is a big role in a very big ballet. In fact, she appears in virtually every scene – hence the need for perspiration protection. “I think there’s only two minutes when she’s off-stage,”…

L’Enfant et les Sortilèges Magdalena Kožená ms , Annick Massis s et al Berlin Phil/Simon Rattle WARNER CLASSICS 2641972 With Ma Mère l’Oye thrown in for good measure, it’s hard to find this exquisite pair of fairytales anything other than adorable. Piano Concertos Krystian Zimerman p , Cleveland Orchestra, LSO/Pierre Boulez DG 4492132 Pierre Boulez’s response to Ravel’s orchestral writing is complemented by the grace of Krystian Zimerman. Daphnis et Chloé Boston Symphony Orchestra/Charles Munch SONY BMG 09026618462 Ravel’s most luscious score is brought to life in the classic account by Munch and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Complete Piano Works Jean-Efflam Bavouzet p MDG MDG6041190 (2CD) French pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet is peerless in everything from Gaspard de la…

“Gillham brings out the lyricism of the Rachmaninov, giving the work an almost breezy energy” Medtner • Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No 1, Piano Concerto No 2 Jayson Gillham p, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra/Northey ABC CLASSICS 4815564 From the dramatic opening gesture of Nikolai Medtner’s First Piano Concerto, Australian pianist Jayson Gillham asserts himself with a powerful sound, channeling the strength and drama of a work that shares its years of composition with those of the First World War. For Gillham’s latest disc on ABC Classics he sets this lesser-known beast of a concerto against one of the warhorses of the piano repertoire, Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto. A younger colleague of fellow pianist-composer Rachmaninov, Medtner only ever wrote for orchestra in his three piano concertos and it is perhaps this – along…

“Heath’s cool, limpid sound and crystalline clarity elucidates Bartók’s contrapuntal argument” Bartók Complete String Quartets The Heath Quartet HARMONIA MUNDI HMM90766162 (2CD) Performances of Bartók’s six quartets have tended to fall into two camps; the hard-edged modernist, exemplified by the Emerson Quartet’s 1989 recording, or the soft-grained folkloric from Eastern Europe, for which the Takács is famed. As the cycle has remained my favourite since my angry youth I have tended to favour the former but inevitably, my radical sensibilities are relaxing as the years go by. This latest recording falls not in the middle but somewhere on a tangent and could well be the ideal library reference. The Heath Quartet nailed their explorative colours to the mast with their Gramophone Award-winning set of the five Tippett quartets and a…

PREVIEW Christian Dior’s iconic New Look, unveiled in his Spring 1947 collection, is the stuff of legend, revolutionising women’s fashion as it did. Less well known is the fact that Australia hosted the first complete Dior collection to be shown outside of Paris just one year later, when 50 original Dior garments toured to Sydney. Later, Dior even named some of his designs “Melbourne” and “Sydney” and a number of his looks were called Australie. To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the House of Dior, the National Gallery of Victoria is presenting a new exhibition featuring over 140 garments along with more than 50 accessories, sketches, photographs and other archival material. Entitled The House of Dior: Seventy Years of Haute Couture, the exhibition also offers an insight…

“This is a fascinating and highly readable account of Vine’s compositional development” [ MUSIC ] The Music of Carl Vine Rhoderick McNeill Wildbird, PB, 236pp, $49.95 ISBN 9780987514530 McNeill’s masterly opus celebrates the fruit of the Vine Perth-born composer Carl Vine’s oeuvre remains arguably one of the most intellectually rigorous yet viscerally exciting in contemporary music. One has only to think of the Piano Sonata No 1, the percussion quartet Defying Gravity, the piano concertos, the Concerto for Orchestra and the seven symphonies – not to mention the music for dance and film. While Professor Rhoderick McNeill’s The Music of Carl Vine is not all-embracing – as McNeill notes, “owing to the large number of works in Vine’s catalogue, a comprehensive treatment of all of them is not possible in…

NATIONAL Australian Chamber Orchestra: Mozart & Brahms Matthew Hunt joins ACO Collective as soloist for Brahms’ soulful Clarinet Quintet. Brahms came out of retirement to write this after hearing Richard Mühlfeld play, and modelled his on Mozart’s to create a work that is clearly written from the heart. Bartók too was writing from his soul in his Divertimento. WHEN: August 29-September 15 WHERE: Port Macquarie, Armidale, Bellingen, Lismore, Toowoomba, Rockhampton, Mackay, Cairns TICKETS: See venue website BOOK: 1800 444 444 [ aco.com.au  ] Australian Chamber Orchestra: Arctic to Antipodes Concerto No 3 is Nordic pastoralism at its very best; String Quartet No 1 is Grieg at the vanguard of new music; and the melancholic hue of Two Nordic Melodies is universal in its appeal. Ross Edwards’ Entwinings brings…

MONDAY - FRIDAY 6am Classic Breakfast Start your day with a delicious selection of the best in classical music, including your daily Swoon 9am Mornings Spend your morning with great music, including new releases and classic performances, plus the latest news and stories from the world of music 12pm Afternoons Classical music to take you through your afternoon at home, at work, or out and about 4pm Classic Drive A journey home through classical sounds, designed to relax, refresh and delight you 7pm Evenings Brings you recent classical concerts from Australian and international orchestras and ensembles 12am Night Music Classical music that’s perfect for all-night listening, presented by some of your favourite ABC Classic FM voices SATURDAY 6am Weekend Breakfast The relaxing and entertaining way to wake up to your…

TIDO MUSIC “We do much more than sheet music,” says Brad Cohen, founder of the music app Tido. “In fact, notation is more of a clothesline for us, on which we hang a rich range of other assets, including audio, video, text and images. It’s the immersive richness of music, experienced through as many facets as possible, which lies at the heart of Tido’s mission. Music is not notation, or sound, or understanding the context – it’s all of these things, and more. Notation is really just one possible starting place on the musician’s journey.” Intent on creating “a library of Alexandria in the musical space”, Tido aims to provide a user-friendly platform that allows iPad users to browse comprehensive collections of audio recordings, images, video, and articles on piano…

1. Which younger composer offended Liszt on their first meeting by falling asleep during a performance of the latter’s B Minor Sonata? 2. Which opera went through 77 rehearsals at theVienna Hofoper in 1863 before being declared unplayable? 3. How many ‘Regards’ did Messiaen write to celebrate the infant Jesus? 4. Mozart and Donizetti both wrote music for the glass harmonica, but which American politician developed it? 5. In Monteverdi’s opera The Coronation of Poppea, which sagacious character is driven by the Emperor Nero to open his veins in a bath of water? 6. Which two of Mussorgsky’s Pictures are named for parts of a town or city? 7. Who composed variations respectively on themes of Corelli, Bridge and Hindemith? 8. Which four Mahler symphonies include parts for voices? 9.…

Guitarist Slava Grigoryan’s Bach Cello Suites Volume I has been named Best Independent Classical Album at the 11th AIR Awards. Released in November 2016, the album retained its number one position on the ARIA Classical Chart for a record-breaking 13 weeks, and has spent 29 consecutive weeks in the top 10. It is believed to be the world premiere recording of the suites performed on baritone guitar. The AIR (Australian Independent Record Labels Association) Awards recognise Australia’s best independent recording artists and span a wide range of genres as diverse as classical, jazz, blues and roots, country, hip hop, and dance electronica. The AIR Award for Best Independent Jazz Album went to James Morrison and Don Burrows for In Good Company, another ABC Classics release. The album is the last…

Mozart Laudate Dominum Kiri Te Kanawa s ELOQUENCE 4804964 I stumbled upon this recording because I was studying the piece. Kiri sings so beautifully, and apart from her sublime voice, she gives a wonderful lesson on legato singing. Note how she sings a phrase with such ease and without taking a breath. Vivaldi In furore Sandrine Piau s , Accademia Bizantina NAÏVE OP30416 I love to sing pieces with a lot of coloratura, and this album is all that. I'd not heard of Sandrine Piau before, but she is a lovely baroque singer and stylistically on point. I particularly love the Mottetto RV626. I could listen to Vivaldi all day. Renée Fleming Arias Renée Fleming s, LPO/Mackerras DECCA 4670492 An oldie but a goodie! This…

ERNST OTTENSAMER 1955 – 2017 The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra was rocked in July by the unexpected death of principal clarinettist Ernst Ottensamer. Also principal clarinet of the Vienna State Opera, Ottensamer died of a heart attack aged 62. Born in Wallern in Upper Austria in 1955, Ottensamer studied clarinet at the Bruckner Conservatory in Linz and the Vienna Musikhochschule. He joined the Vienna State Opera Orchestra in 1979 and was principal clarinet of the Vienna Philharmonic from 1983. He also taught at the Vienna Musikhochschule from 1983. He recorded the Mozart, Weber and Spohr Clarinet Concertos on Naxos and performed chamber music with the likes of Simon Rattle, André Previn and Daniel Barenboim among others. He also played as a soloist with the Vienna Philharmonic, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Budapest Philharmonic,…

“Everyone would gather round the piano as Mozart riffs on West Side Story” Have you ever played that game where you invite eight guests to a fantasy dinner party where being alive isn’t an issue? I was wondering who I would ask to a classical music gathering. Leonard Bernstein would be top of my list. I saw him conduct in London but never met him, and he would be the perfect person, drinking (and unfortunately probably smoking) while holding forth on music and art, his investigation by the FBI as a communist sympathiser, and the state of politics. Next to Lenny I would put Mozart. Their minds would race like Formula One cars down the speedway of music. Would Mozart be all 18th-century grace or would we see the more…

“HAVE I HAD ANY TRAINING AS A CONDUCTOR? THE ANSWER IS NO. BUT IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE. IT’S ALL ABOUT UNDERSTANDING THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ORCHESTRAL MUSICIANS” You were successful at a young age. Was that a huge boost, or was it ever a hindrance? At the time, I thought it was a huge boost. It was only later on in life that you realise you miss out on a few things – ordinary things – because you’re travelling around at a very early age and life takes on a new dimension. Back in the 1980s, BBC Young Musician of the Year counted as mainstream news. Have those days gone forever? They have. Isn’t that a shame? That competition was broadcast live on BBC One on a Saturday evening at 7pm.…

Callas. Björling. Ponselle. Caruso. These are just some of the names that shine brightly in the operatic firmament. But what about those present when some of the greatest operas were written? Singers who created the showiest, most virtuosic parts still thrilling audiences today? 1n the early 19th century, Gilbert Duprez and Julie Dorus-Gras created roles both familiar and lost to us today. With Opera Rara releasing recital discs by Michael Spyres and Joyce El-Khoury dedicated to the pair’s repertoire, both will undoubtedly be subjects of interest again. But who were they exactly? GILBERT DUPREZ The story goes that the modern tenor was born in 1837, when Gilbert Duprez burst onto the stage of the Paris Opéra as Arnold in Rossini’s Guillaume Tell. To the astonishment of the audience, used to…

“They felt like the whole world was starting to come undone, that the floor was falling from beneath them.” On the night of November 8, composer David T. Little (pictured) was rehearsing his opera Soldier Songs, a darkly poignant commentary on war, for San Diego Opera. As results of the US election trickled in, the musicians began checking their phones. They wrapped the rehearsal “in a sinking confusion” and emerged into protests that continued for several days, including the opening night. “I was stunned,”Little admits.“I’ve done a lot of writing and a lot of research about the relationship of music and politics. And yet I felt at a loss for words.” Donald Trump, it barely needs saying, has been one of America’s most divisive presidential picks. Whether you lean left…

 LIVED 1875 – 1937 “My only mistress is music” MOSTLY IN PARIS BEST KNOWN FOR BOLÉRO, DAPHNIS ET CHLOÉ, MA MÈRE L’OYE PIANO CONCERTOS, LA VALSE, GASPARD DE LA NUIT SIMILAR TO DEBUSSY Ravel’s declaration of absolute fidelity to his art must be a paramount consideration in any discussion of any aspect of his creativity or his personality – not just his sexuality, favourite subject for speculation though that is. Music was his life, his passion, and nothing would induce him to sell it short by producing a score of less than complete integrity and less than perfect finish. There is scarcely one Ravel work that is not wholly comprehensible in musical terms or that requires reference to external circumstances to explain it. Do we learn anything from the notion,…

The Medtner isn’t played or recorded all that often – what drew you to this music? I was asked to be involved in a documentary about the Australian pianist Geoffrey Tozer, who, as well as being one of the greatest pianists Australia has ever produced, was a great lover and advocate of Medtner’s music. The piece I would learn during the process of the documentary was the Medtner First PIano Concerto – and this is how I became exposed to this music. I was immediately gripped by the startling opening of this work, and captivated by the uniqueness of the harmonic and rhythmic complexity. Of the few recordings that are out there, are there any versions you particularly admire? My introduction to the piece was of course Geoffrey’s landmark recording…

“Andor Foldes was a stylish player who could turn on tremendous virtuosity” Hearing iconic musicians in their prime is always compelling. The beauty of a DG collection featuring the great Russian violinist David Oistrakh is that it contains recordings from the 1940s and early 1950s, where the strength of his rock-solid technique and his authority are astounding. These early performances were taped by the Westminster Company. They include a searing Prokofiev Violin Concerto No 1 with Kirill Kondrashin (the more popular of the two Prokofiev concertos in Russia), and the concertos by Glazunov and Kabalevsky (the latter a delicious work). From the same period come three discs of trios with cellist Sviatoslav Knushevitsky and pianist Lev Oborin: the composers are Rachmaninov, Taneyev, Haydn, Chopin, Ravel, Smetana, and Dvorrák’s Dumky. Among…

Landscape with Monsters A new show exploring how sceneries are imprinted on our bodies in response to decay and evolving industrial landscapes. Circa, Canberra, September 6 – 9 Dinner This jet-black comedy by Moira Buffini is a feast of wicked laughs, piercing insults and revenge served cold. Sydney Theatre Company, Sydney Opera House, September 11 – October 28 Diving for Pearls Katherine Thomson’s landmark story about aspiration and reinvention is one of the great Australian plays, returning to the Sydney stage. Griffin Theatre, Sydney, September 8 – October 28 Ghosts Since the death of her charismatic but abusive husband, Helene Alving has been treading water in a sea of empty days in Ibsen’s classic. Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney, September 16 – October 22 Hay Fever Marina Prior and Simon Gleeson…

The Art of Science: Baudin’s Voyages Illustrations by French artists created during Nicholas Baudin’s exploration of Australia. Australian National Maritime Museum, until November 26 Sydney Contemporary Art Fair The annual event returns to Carriageworks with the country’s most diverse gathering of local and international galleries. Carriageworks, until September 10 Bill Henson Recent photos selected by the artist encompassing portraits, nudes, museum interiors and landscapes. Art Gallery of Western Australia, until December 12…

NON-FICTION Verdi: The Man Revealed John Suchet Elliott & Thompson, HB, 288pp, $75.00 ISBN 9781783963300 In Verdi: The Man Revealed, John Suchet attempts to get beneath the skin of one of the most private composers who ever lived. In the process, Suchet reveals the contradictory and sometimes curmudgeonly character of this great artist. FICTION Strings: A Love Story Megan Edwards Imbrifex Books, PB, 210pp, $26.00 ISBN 9781945501036 The Merino Rose. Ted Spencer has a hard enough time believing the celebrated violin really exists. To find it sitting on his coffee table is nothing short of incredible. But even though the renowned instrument is a violin lover’s dream come true, it holds only heartache for Ted. NON-FICTION A Player’s Guide to Chamber Music Paul Jeffery The Crowood Press, HB, 240pp, $59.99…

“The opera’s strange mixture of religious fervour and eroticism gives it its power” Set in Egypt during Byzantine rule, Massenet’s Thaïs tells the story of Athanaël, a monk who endeavours to convert an Alexandrian courtesan and beauty, Thaïs, to Christianity. Although Athanaël claims his love for Thaïs is innocent, he discovers that desire has driven his actions the entire time – something he realises too late, just as Thaïs enters a nunnery in renunciation of her life of sin and decadence. Full of hummable tunes, melting long lines, and featuring the famous Méditation, Massenet’s rarely heard opera – which has nonetheless had two concert outings in Australia this year (the other by OA in Sydney) – is a showcase for its soprano and tenor. The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra has gathered…

FOR THE DIARY… ABC CLASSIC FM KAREN GOMYO AND TSO September 8, 12pm Canadian violinist Karen Gomyo was in the country in August/ September for performances with both the West Australian Symphony Orchestra and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, as well as a recital in Sydney Gomyo “combines an attractive and inclusive stage manner with a wonderful technique,” wrote Limelight’s Steve Moffatt of her solo recital in the Sydney Opera House’s Playhouse. “Her mellow-toned 1703 Aurora Stradivarius seems like an extension of her body.” Classic FM is broadcasting her performance with the TSO, playing Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto, conducted by British maestro Andrew Gourlay. SIMPLY CLASSICAL Classic 2 broadcasts Australia’s finest musicians 24/7. Listen online & mobile at abc.net.au/classic2…

Tony Kushner’s landmark play Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes received a star-studded 25th anniversary revival at the National Theatre in London this season. With Marianne Elliott in the director’s chair, the production assembled a distinguished cast of stage and screen luminaries including Andrew Garfield, Nathan Lane, Denise Gough and Russell Tovey. Australian audiences have the opportunity to catch it in cinemas in two instalments: one part on each of two weekends. The National run has proved a hit with critics and audiences, with the actors’ performances singled out for praise. “Lane is magnetic as Roy Cohn, creating a figure who is part predator, part patriarch but, above all, a victim of his own sad delusions about the significance of power,” said The Guardian. “Meanwhile, Garfield as…

THE REAL DEAL: ASHKENAZY ON SHOSTAKOVICH Vladimir Ashkenazy turns 80 this year and celebrates by conducting signature works by Shostakovich. But what do they really mean? The maestro talks to Limelight about the most enigmatic composer of all time. KATS-CHERNIN’S WAY One of the world’s best known and most frequently programmed women composers, Limelight applauds the remarkable life story of Russian-born Elena Kats-Chernin? IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE? A look at the uniquely constituted Australian Doctors Orchestra, a band that believes in saving souls through music, but where every player has a day job saving lives. THE MAKING OF MURIEL A behind the scenes look at the making of Muriel’s Wedding. Can Sydney Theatre Company turn an iconic movie into the great white hope for Aussie musicals? PLUS...…