Latest news

Mozart in art

  If you’re travelling to Europe between now and April, an exhibition by the Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation sounds like a good excuse to visit that city. The exhibition which is entitled Mozart Pictures – Pictures of Mozart displays 12 portraits of the composer. Only 14 were painted of him during his lifetime, and the Foundation…
Read More Mozart in art

A Change of Seasons for Vivaldi

Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, composed in 1723, is so ‘accessible’, it has suffered the fate of overexposure. Its four heady concerti pass through  summer, autumn, winter, and spring, depicting folk life and evocative landscapes in bite-sized chunks. Some of its passages are so instantly recognisable that they have suffered the ignominy of being used as background music in commercials. Enter German-born…
Read More A Change of Seasons for Vivaldi

The compulsion to cough

Ever wished homicide on the audience member who leaps to his feet (and it’s usually a ‘he’) shouting “Bravo!!!” even before the sounds of the music have died away?! It can ruin those moments of silence when a final chord can hang in the air, or the precious silence during which you simply want to be alone…
Read More The compulsion to cough

Ensembles inspire movies

Two recent cinema releases focus on the dynamics amongst classical musicians. Click here to read the New York Times feature on Quartet, directed by Dustin Hoffmann and starring Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly and Pauline Collins; and A Late Quartet, directed by Yaron Silberman, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Christopher Walken, Mark Ivanir and Catherine Keener.
Read More Ensembles inspire movies

Entries open for the 80th McDonald’s Sydney Eisteddfod

This year, the McDonald’s Sydney Eisteddfod celebrates its 80th Anniversary with its biggest and best festival ever. Its 400-event program is packed with a wide range of classical and contemporary solo and group events for singers, dancers, actors and musicians. Opening on the 13th May, there are new additions to the program including a special Piano Accompaniment Award…
Read More Entries open for the 80th McDonald’s Sydney Eisteddfod

Latest reviews

Friar Alessandro, The Voice from Assisi: review

Friar Alessandro, The Voice From Assisi (Decca) is a collection of devotional songs recorded by Friar Alessandro, of the friary of St Francis in Assisi, in Italy’s Umbria district. Many of the songs relate to the Franciscan hagiography. Born Alessandro Brustenghi, in the village of Castiglione della Valle, the 34 year old friar studied composition…