Table of contents for March 2018 in Limelight

LIMELIGHT SHINES ON Well here we are – and I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to see this issue in print! As some of you will be aware, Limelight had a difficult couple of weeks recently and for a while it looked as if we might not survive. But the wonderful news is that a small group of investors, who believe passionately in the importance of the magazine, particularly at a time of shrinking arts coverage, stepped forward to ensure that the March issue was published. They are also negotiating an ongoing role in our future. So, stay tuned! We have been incredibly heartened and touched by the messages of support we have received during this challenging time. And in fact, as a gesture of support, ABC Classics…

IN SEARCH OF A TUNE Thanks to Rhoderick McNeill for his scholarly feature article Symphonic Australia. Sadly, soon after receiving my copy of Limelight, one of the composers he mentioned, Colin Brumby, died suddenly. Post-composing, Colin did sterling work for classical music at Radio 4MBS in Brisbane. McNeill laments “our lack of awareness of Australian symphonies”. The harsh reason that many musical works don’t catch on a nail in our brain is for the lack of a tune. And, more tellingly, a lack of a tune that wraps its arms around your soul and transports you to another world. Together with intellectual insight and technical mastery, the good and great composers are remembered because they wrote wonderful tunes that fill a spiritual need beyond our understanding and theirs. Young composers:…

Simone Young, Barrie Kosky, Brett Dean, Dane Lam and Lauren Fagan are among the artists nominated for this year’s International Opera Awards, the best Australian showing since the Awards were launched in 2013. The finalists were selected by an international jury of 28, chaired by Opera Magazine Editor John Allison and including Opera Queensland outgoing AD Lindy Hume and Opera Australia head Lyndon Terracini. It s gratifying to see how the International Opera Awards just keep growing,” said Allison. “With a record number of nominations to consider, and our biggest and most international jury yet, I’m very delighted to say that our exciting shortlists – covering six continents and around 30 countries – reflect the truly cosmopolitan nature of the art form. Despite the challenges faced by opera companies almost…

YEHUDI MENUHIN AND LI Australian Christian Li is one of the youngest participants selected to compete at this year’s Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition. At just 10 years old, Li is placed in the junior pool of competitors, and brings with him a repertoire that includes Bach and Wieniawski. He began violin lessons at five, and currently studies with Dr Robin Wilson, Head of Violin at the Australian National Academy of Music. ABC CULLS CD COLLECTION As part of ongoing changes at the ABC, Sound and Reference Libraries around the country will be dismantled in favour of a centralised library in Melbourne. The Sound Libraries serve music stations – including Classic FM and Triple J – and provide music for other programs across the ABC. An as yet unknown portion…

COLIN BRUMBY 1933 – 2018 Australian composer Colin Brumby has passed away at the age of 84. Born in Melbourne, it was during his time as a student at the Melbourne University Conservatorium of Music that he became interested in composition. After graduating from the Conservatorium in 1957, he completed further studies in London with composer Alexander Goehr. Brumby’s acclaimed 12-tone Fibonacci Variations emerged not long after, receiving its premiere in 1963 by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Returning to Australia in 1964, Brumby joined the Department of Music at the University of Queensland. He was Music Director of the newly-formed Queensland Opera Company from 1968 to 1971. In 1972, he completed his PhD at Melbourne University and travelled to Rome to study with composer Franco Evangelisti. Tired of atonality, he…

“The dreaded text line now gives everyone direct access to the presenter” What is going on at ABC Classic FM? I’ve noticed rumblings in the letters page of this very magazine, and various other people have asked me what is going on. I don’t really know because I haven’t been around the ABC for over a year, so I listen to it at a fond distance. CFM (let’s call it that) has always had a nervousness about it within the ABC, as if it doesn’t truly believe it should exist. For years staff have been demoralised and constantly in fear of being sacked, even though some of them lasted 40 years in the same job. A number of years ago one programmer was taken down to the bowels of the…

Recently I’ve been travelling around south-east NSW and elsewhere, photographing, writing and generally absorbing the real-world colours and textures of Eucalyptus trees. A number of artistic threads have come together to initiate this artistic adventure. Firstly, Four Winds have commissioned a new work to be premiered in their 2018 Easter Festival. The performance will be in their extraordinary outdoor Sound Shell near Bermagui in south east NSW. A tree-inspired work then is a no-brainer, and continues my own longterm exploration of textures, patterns, movement and light in nature. This year also happens to be the 20-year anniversary of Murray Bail’s Franklin Award-winning novel Eucalyptus. The book is famous for the virtuosic way Murray threads names and characteristics of Eucalypts through the love story: variously as metaphors for characters or as…

They say that by their works shall ye know them, but in the case of Gustav Mahler the reverse is true: in order to understand the works, it helps to know something of the man himself. Mahler was a bundle of contradictions. A passionate Wagnerian, despite being born an Austrian Jew; an otherworldly artist who negotiated cast-iron business contracts; a self-effacing maestro who drove players crazy with his fanatical artistic determination. All of these have contributed to the sense of confusion that has swirled around this five-foot three bundle of neuroses ever since his premature demise. Of course, Mahler would have been the first to direct any would-be biographer to the music itself. “My two symphonies contain the inner aspect of my whole life,” he told the violist Natalie Bauer-Lechner…

There’s a photo of Graeme Murphy taken when he was about four. He’s sitting under a piano as his mother, Betty, accompanies a deportment and movement group called Plastique. He is entranced. He’s sure of that, even though he doesn’t really remember the occasion itself. The photograph of the little boy beneath the piano has become indivisible from his understanding that, as Betty played, there were“young ladies moving gracefully”. The image has stayed with him for more than 60 years. Was that the tiny spark that lit Murphy’s blazing career? It’s tempting to think so. From that time he loved to dance to his mother’s music, making up“strange, free-form movement”that he jokingly describes as being in the manner of Isadora Duncan (not that he knew who she was at the…

GLOBALLY INSPIRED Flamenco was not the only formative experience met by Debussy at the 1899 Exposition Universelle. He was enraptured too by the sound of the Javanese gamelan, its rhythms, its complex counterpoint and above all the pentatonic harmonies which, like whole-tone harmonies, liberated him from thinking in diatonic terms. RUSSIAN INFLUENCES Debussy didn’t need to take a close interest in Russian music to discover the potential of the whole-tone scale (a scale of six notes, each a tone apart), even though it was the most likely source of his inspiration. He had a posthumous ally in Mussorgsky, whose example is represented most clearly in Debussy’s La cathédrale engloutie and most valuably in Pelléas et Mélisande. ACROSS THE CHANNEL Debussy’s long-term taste for British culture was represented at an early…

“Tiberghien’s Préludes are more restrained compared to some famous interpretations” Chopin Préludes, Piano Sonata No 2, Scherzo No 2 Cédric Tiberghien p HYPERION CDA68194 ★★★★✩ Until recently, Cédric Tiberghien has been engaged in an impressive recording project: a survey of the solo piano works of Béla Bartók. But since polishing off the Hungarian master, the French virtuoso has opted for a return to an old favourite: the music of Frédéric Chopin. His most recent disc with Hyperion features some of Chopin’s most famous works, including the Op. 28 Préludes, and the B Flat Minor Piano Sonata. The program as a whole comes off as incredibly poised, and Tiberghien’s performances of these well-loved works are notable for their clarity and self-control. Lovers of full-bodied, sentimental readings of the Op. 28 Préludes…

A rare but welcome 10-disc set comes from Eloquence: a comprehensive survey of the 78rpm studio recordings (and two Saga LPs) of the pianist Eileen Joyce (1908-1991). A forgotten figure long before her death – she retired from the concert stage in 1960 – at the height of her career in the 1930s and 40s Joyce packed out venues in her native Australia (Joyce was born in Tasmania but her family soon moved to Boulder, WA) as well as in Britain, where she settled. She was the only female pianist people of my grandmother’s generation had heard of. Her keyboard technique was fluent and sparkling in a way that is uncommon today – more than any later soloist, she makes a virtuoso piece out of John Ireland’s Piano Concerto, in…

Single Asian Female Michelle Law’s debut play is a raucous, insightful comedy about a family of Asian women tackling life on the Sunshine Coast. Belvoir, Sydney, until March 25 A Pacifist’s Guide to the War on Cancer A moving show about friendships, pain and death, hairlessness and scars… with songs and dancing. Complicité, Touring, until March 29 You Know We Belong Together Julia Hales offers a deeply personal account of her own experiences of love as a person with Down syndrome. Black Swan State Theatre Company, Perth, March 1 – 4 Flight Paths A funny, intense coming-of-age story featuring two young women exploring Australia’s privilege and place in the world. National Theatre of Parramatta, March 15 – 24 The Children Lucy Kirkwood’s touching and detailed study of three people coming…

Colours of Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Musée D’Orsay French Impressionism presented using the framework of colour. Art Gallery of South Australia, March 28 – July 29 Cartier: The Exhibition More than 300 works of art with loans from royal families, celebrities and the extraordinary Cartier collection itself. National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, March 30 – July 22 The Field Revisited A recreation of the landmark exhibition that inaugurated the museum’s new premises on St Kilda Road in 1968. National Gallery of Victoria, April 27 – August 26…

The Square Opens: March 1 Genre: Satirical comedy Duration: 142 minutes Contemporary art-scene flick transcends film festival origins Swedish writer-director Ruben Östlund made a big splash on the international circuit with his last film Force Majeure, a penetrating story about a family crisis triggered by an Alpine avalanche. His follow-up, a mischievously bold satire on the contemporary art world and 21st-century communications, has seen his reputation rise even further by bagging the Palme d’Or at Cannes last year. Does it live up to expectations outside of the heat of a festival environment? I believe it does. Östlund is not one of these art film auteurs who feel drama is suspect. The Square is littered with dramatic confrontations and struggles that make it engaging and accessible to a wider audience without…

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 Join Damien Beaumont for evenings of beautiful music 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…

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…

ABC CLASSIC FM Many of our readers have written to us about changes to the ABC Classic FM website, and we thought we’d take this opportunity to clarify any queries you might have. The digital world can often be confusing to the uninitiated, but a few tips and tricks often go a long way. Bear with us if you’re digitally savvy! So, first things first, what is a digital platform? A digital platform is often used to mean that a particular service – in this case, ABC Classic FM – has a sizable presence on the Internet. It should provide a user-friendly experience, be of significant value to its visitors, and demonstrate innovation. Streaming is another term that’s frequently bandied about these days, and can be a bit obscure. But…

In 2016, Dutch violinist Janine Jansen and English maestro Antonio Pappano collaborated on a Brahms and Bartók album. What might they have been thinking when they arm wrestled to promote the CD? ENTER TO WIN... Schubert symphonies Quality Box Set The Berlin Philharmonic’s recording of Schubert’s complete symphonies, conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt. SEND YOUR CAPTION TO: Limelight Magazine, Suite 37, Level 13, 167 Macquarie St, Sydney NSW 2000, or email caption@limelightmagazine.com.au For full terms and conditions, go to www.limelightmagazine.com.au. Authorised under NSW Permit Number: LTPM/14/00315 and ACT TP 14/01198.1.…

1. Which Spanish composer wrote the English operas Merlin and Henry Clifford? 2. Which French symphony begins in the mountains and ends with a brigands’orgy? 3. Which piano suite includes Fandango by Candlelight and The Girl and the Nightingale? 4. From Jewish Folk Poetry is a song cycle by which non-Jewish composer? 5. Who was Master of the Queen’s Music between the death of Arnold Bax and the arrival of Malcolm Williamson? 6. Which Goethe poem was Schubert’s Opus 1 but also set by Václav Tomášek, Carl Loewe, Louis Spohr and attempted by Beethoven (who abandoned the effort)? 7. Apart from Pope John Paul II, who is the only Pole to have been awarded the Order of the White Eagle since the collapse of communism? 8. Pieces called Dreaming, At…

" My father loves Bruckner, Berlioz and Britten so I listened to that growing up" My father lectures in classical music at the Centre for Continuing Education in and around Sydney. My father’s also an insomniac, like me, so often as an eight-year old, I would be desperately trying to get to sleep, and I would drift down the stairs and there would be Wagner at full blast. Like me, he does all of his work the night before, in a burst of genius. So, I grew up listening to an enormous amount of classical music. My mother has sung in choirs her whole life, so she would always be practising for the Sydney Philharmonia, sitting at our little piano. And my father trained to be an opera singer –…

DEBORAH jONES GRAEME MURPHY PAGE 42 Deborah Jones is a writer and critic. A long-serving Arts Editor of The Australian, she is currently the paper’s national dance critic and Sydney music theatre critic. She is Sydney correspondent for London-based Opera magazine and Dance International. She blogs at deborahjones.me. STEVE DOW DISABILITY MATTERS PAGE 48 Steve Dow is a Melbourne-born, Sydney-based arts writer across stage, screen, music and visual arts. His work also appears in The Saturday Paper, Guardian Australia, Audrey Journal, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Monthly and Art Guide Australia. RHYS RYAN LA BAYADÈRE PAGE 89 Rhys Ryan is an emerging contemporary dance maker, performer and writer based in Melbourne. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance) from the Victorian College of the Arts and is engaged as…

SOSA GETS A NEW AD Stuart Maunder has been appointed Artistic Director of State Opera of South Australia. Maunder, who takes up the position after four years as General Director of New Zealand Opera, replaces Timothy Sexton, who stepped down as SOSA’s Artistic Director in May, 2017, citing personal reasons. Yarmila Alfonzetti has also been announced as Executive Director, who joins the company on March 1. SSO RESPONDS TO DUTOIT Swiss conductor Charles Dutoit has been subjected to intense scrutiny as a result of recent allegations of sexual misconduct, including one accusation of rape. The Sydney Symphony Orchestra severed all ties with him after four women claimed in December that he had sexually assaulted them between 1985 and 2010. In a statement, the SSO cited its zero tolerance policy for…

GLIMPSES (1976) Glimpses brought to life nymphs and satyrs from Norman Lindsay paintings, mingling eroticism, humour and excitingly complex movement to the music of the now-neglected Margaret Sutherland’s Haunted Hills. Murphy’s commitment to Australian composers had begun. SOME ROOMS (1983) There is no more memorable Australian dance image. Janet Vernon rises from a bath like a goddess, a reminder of her centrality to Murphy’s life and work. Some Rooms vividly explored complexities in relationships and within individuals in a dream–like domestic setting. SALOME (1998) The intense, gripping Salome was the sum of many thrilling parts. The dancers’ extraordinary physicality, Michael Askill’s score, Akira Isogawa’s costumes and John Rayment’s lighting were all testament to Murphy’s brilliance as a complete man of the theatre. TIVOLI (2001) This was Murphy at his most…

Claudio Abbado The Opera Edition Various orchestras and soloists/ Claudio Abbado DG 4798008 (60CD) More than any of the maestros who cut their teeth in the late 1950s and 1960s Claudio Abbado deserves to be hailed as a true all-rounder. One of the most respected conductors of his generation and the heir to Karajan at the Berlin Phil, he coupled the precision and drive of a Toscanini with the fluidity and grand designs of a Furtwängler. Like those two conductors (and also de Sabata who he cited as an influence), Abbado was always at home in the hurly burly of the opera house – and that despite his notorious shyness. He became principal conductor at La Scala in 1969, a key artistic relationship that he developed over the next 16…

Complete Piano Works Jean-Efflam Bavouzet p CHANDOS CHAN10743 (5CD) In a crowded field (including Giesking, Kocsis and Osborne) Bavouzet’s complete solo piano works stand out. Orchestral works Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Stéphane Denève CHANDOS CHSA5102(2) From La Mer to Images, this is a sumptuous, seductive Debussy orchestral set. Pelléas et Mélisande Jacques Jansen bar , Irène Joachim s , Choeurs Yvonne Gouverné, Orchestre Symphonique/Désormière WARNER 3457702 For many, Désormière’s shimmering 1941 recording remains unsurpassed. Violin Sonata Kyung-Wha Chung v , Radu Lupu p DECCA 4211542 A gloriously fresh and energetic performance, recorded in 1977.…

What are the merits of the St Etienne organ? The organ itself is very fiery with regard to its Tutti and I felt its aggressive and immediate sound suited my playing style well. However, and I will never tire of saying this, the acoustic of the building is crucial to the character of an organ and the swirling eight seconds of St Etienne transcends any obvious difficulties in voicing or balancing the stops. How did you choose the works for the disc? Recording the complete works of Duruflé was not an option as this is reserved for the Titulaires of St Etienne. What was permitted was for me to record one work by Duruflé and to build a program around it, so I chose the Suite Op. 5 as I…

“Isserlis plays his Stradivarius with the passion, sensitivity and mastery we have come to expect” The Cello in Wartime Music by Debussy, Bridge, Fauré et al Steven Isserlis vc, Connie Shih p BIS BIS2312 ★★★★★ When the First World War broke out in 1914, a young musician, Harold Triggs, soon found himself serving with the Royal Sussex Regiment in the trenches of the Western Front. He took with him a “holiday cello”, which looks from the outside like a simple wooden box. Inside the box, we find a neck, bow, and strings; within minutes, one can have a functional cello. Triggs carried his instrument around France for the duration of the war. It would not have seemed out of place – many soldiers constructed instruments from spare parts and scrap…

In 1723, seven men are hanged at Tyburn Gallows, in what is now central London. They have been convicted under the ‘Black Act’, a sweeping new law which makes it a capital offence in England to poach deer, rabbits or fish. Created during the economic downturn that resulted from the collapse of the South Sea Bubble trading boom, the law even covers being found in disguise in a forest. It gets its name from the practices of two groups of poachers, who blackened their faces to conceal their identities while out raiding. Across town, one of London’s most influential men breathes his last. Sir Christopher Wren leaves behind an indelible mark on England’s capital, having been given the responsibility of rebuilding the city’s churches after the Great Fire; his masterpiece…

Converge Showcasing the best and latest in contemporary dance and new musical compositions sure to thrill and impress. Expressions Dance Company, Brisbane, March 10 – 17 Moving Well – Danscience Festival Produced by Liz Lea with a holistic focus on dance, science, health and the changing body for a different experience. Form Dance Projects, Sydney, April 7 The Merry Widow Based on the operetta, this ballet has enough tangled affairs, narrow misses and jealous lovers to fuel a French farce. The Australian Ballet, Touring, April 28 – June 16…

AUSTRALIA DAY HONOURS DANCE Former prima ballerina Lucette Aldous received a Companion (AC) of the Order of Australia in the 2018 Australia Day Honours – the highest honour in the Australia Day awards. It was bestowed on her for “eminent service to the performing arts, particularly to ballet, as a Principal Artist at the national and international level, to dance education, and as a mentor and role model for young performers.” Meanwhile, actor John Gaden was awarded an Officer (OA) of the Order of Australia for “distinguished service to the performing arts.” MCLACHLAN TO SUE THEATRE Actor Craig McLachlan is suing Fairfax Media, the ABC, and actor Christie Whelan Browne for defamation following the media organisations’ joint investigation into allegations of indecent assault and sexual harassment against McLachlan. Whelan Browne,…

ABC CLASSIC FM SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA March 16 at 8pm An opera based on the legend of Bluebeard – the story of a wealthy nobleman who brutally murdered a series of wives – is perhaps a strange work to dedicate to one’s partner (quirky at best, implicitly threatening at worst) but this is indeed what Hungarian composer Béla Bartók did with his one and only opera Bluebeard’s Castle. Written in 1911 to a libretto by the composer’s friend, playwright Béla Balázs, and originally intended for a prize by the Fine Arts Commission (it didn’t win), Bartók dedicated the one-act opera to his wife Márta. The music, however, is spectacular – Bartók’s score vivid and colourful – and this concert performance by David Robertson and Sydney Symphony Orchestra more than did…

This year’s Grammys saw a typically strong pool of nominees across the classical categories. The winners included Daniil Trifonov, whose Limelight Award-winning album Transcendental secured Best Classical Instrumental Solo, and soprano Barbara Hannigan, whose Crazy Girl Crazy landed Best Classical Solo Vocal album and sees her sing as well as conduct. In the Best Orchestral Performance category, Manfred Honeck’s recording of Shostakovich’s Fifth with the Pittsburgh Symphony came out on top, while Berg’s Wozzeck conducted by Hans Graf was named Best Opera Recording. Violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra’s recording of Death and The Maiden won in the Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance category, while Jennifer Higdon secured a Grammy in each of the categories for Best Classical Compendium and Best Contemporary Classical Composition.…

John Adams Scheherazade.2 St Louis Symphony/ David Robertson NONESUCH 7559794351 John Adams wrote this ‘dramatic symphony’ for violinist Leila Josefowicz, who made her debut with the SSO when I was first working here. I love John Adams, David Robertson and Scheherazade.2, a work that has women at the core. Bruckner Symphonies Hamburg Phil/ Simone Young OEHMS OC026 Simone Young also made her SSO debut at the same time as me. She’s an extraordinary conductor. The scale and architecture of these works, by one of my favourite composers, make for an extraordinary concert performance and recording. Gershwin John Wilson WARNER CLASSICS 2564649373 I first heard John Wilson last year when he conducted Vaughan Williams’ Sinfonia Antartica and Holst’s Planets in London. It was revelatory. He is also known for recreating lost…

1. How do you feel about making your Sydney Philharmonia Choirs debut? I’m so thrilled to be making my debut with them. They have a solid reputation as Australia’s leading choral organisation with so much soul and history, and I’m excited to be a part of it. 2. You’ll be performing Bach’s B Minor Mass with them. Is it a piece you know well? I have enjoyed listening to it since I can remember, but this will be my first time performing it and I couldn’t be happier to have the chance to be involved in one of the greatest choral works of all time. Vocally, it isn’t too demanding. The range and tessitura sit nicely, and with two evenly-spaced duets followed by joining the choir in the Dona Nobis…

Last time you were in Australia in 2010, you were performing with your father on his 90th birthday farewell tour. He was so loved here. Do you find people still want to talk about him wherever you go? Absolutely. My father has such a global career which impacted people across countries and decades, therefore it’s often that people want to share their experiences of his music with me, which is very beautiful. How profound an influence was your father on you musically? It is impossible to overstate how important his influence was, because obviously he was my father and also my guru and teacher right from when I began learning music from when I was seven. From the beginning, he was a key part of shaping my musicality. The sitar…

LIVED 1862 – 1918 MOSTLY IN PARIS BEST KNOWN FOR CLAIR DE LUNE, PRÉLUDE À LAPRÈS-MIDI D’UN FAUNE, PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE, LA MER SIMILAR TO FAURÉ, RAVEL, ALBÉNIZ, SAINT-SAËNS Debussy disliked the term ‘impressionism’. He apparently still associated it with its original use by the art critic who in 1874 had taken the title of a sunrise painting by Monet, Impression: Soleil levant, and had used it as sarcastic evidence against the artist: “Impression… what freedom, what ease of workmanship! A preliminary drawing for a wallpaper pattern is more finished than this seascape.” When the artists themselves quite happily adopted the term, however, it lost its pejorative sense. We are less clear about what it means when applied to music rather than visual art, but we have a useful general…

“Thierry Fischer is an adept captain who guides this musical Queen Mary safely into harbour” Mahler Symphony No 8 Orla Boylan s, Celena Shafer s, Amy Owens s, Charlotte Hellekant ms, Tamara Mumford ms, Barry Banks t, Markus Werba bar, Jordan Bisch b, Utah SO, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, The Madeleine Choir School Choristers/Fischer REFERENCE RECORDINGS FR725 (2SACD) ★★★★✩ The mountainous, Mormon state of Utah seems a long way from fin-de-siècle Vienna, but the Utah Symphony played an important role in reviving the popularity of Mahler’s music in the second half of the 20th century. Just over 70 years ago the fledgling band signed a one-year contract with conductor Maurice Abravanel. (The Jewish emigré had fled Nazi Germany, eventually settling in New York. Along the way he had a two-year stint…

“Simone Young’s passionate essay recalls her introduction to Salome at age 14” [ MUSIC ] Opera: Power, Passion and Politics Edited by Kate Bailey V&A Publishing, HB, pp304, $74.99 ISBN: 9781851779284 Directors and singers get to tell us what all the fuss is about In his introduction, Kasper Holten argues that for him, opera is the ultimate art form, being a fusion of art, music, singing and drama. This book takes seven great European cities and matches them to an opera written there. Long regarded as an elitist activity, Holten argues the contrary. The productions are chosen to illustrate that the various operas are mostly contemporary, adding to the idea that opera is as relevant and commanding now as it ever has been. Many fine essays,…

NOTHING LAME ABOUT MSO’S LA MER Otto Tausk and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra find their sea legs This performance by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra was directed by Dutchman Otto Tausk, in a program comprising Stravinsky’s rarely performed Scherzo Fantasique, Op. 3 (1908), Debussy’s orchestral masterpiece La Mer (1903-05) and the First Piano Concerto by Brahms in D Minor, Op. 15 (1858) with Palestinian-Israeli Saleem Ashkar as soloist. This was the MSO’s first performance of the work and it was well carried. The outer movement’s moto perpetuum buzzed away in strings with could have been more scherzo-like, lighter in touch and delicate. The audience was then transported from matters apiological to oceanic in Debussy’s marvelously detailed and evocative three-sectioned La Mer. Debussy it seems had little real experience with the sea, but the…

The Nose ABC CLASSIC FM OPERA AUSTRALIA March 1 at 8pm Dubbed “sublime” in a five-star review by Limelight’s Howard Shepherdson when it premiered at London’s Royal Opera House, Barrie Kosky’s new production of Shostakovich’s The Nose opened in Sydney in February. Martin Winkler, who sang the lead in London, also starred in the Sydney performances. “His sense of comic timing, his vulnerability and bathos were superb,” wrote Shepherdson. “Winkler was an operatic Mr Bean with a whiff of Inspector Clouseau. This was an intelligent, comic performance par excellence, from a singer who fully trusted both Kosky as director and Shostakovich as composer.” SIMPLY CLASSICAL Classic 2 broadcasts Australia’s finest musicians 24/7. Listen online & mobile at abc.net.au/classic2…