Scholars of J S Bach have studied his music for centuries. Is there anything more to learn? Paul Elie’s book ‘Reinventing Bach’ (Union Books) is reviewed by Ivan Hewitt of The Telegraph. Elie is an American writer, editor and is a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs.
Read the book revew in The New York Times
A fascinating feature on tuning – past, present and future – from Philip Clark of Gramophone magazine. He claims “The argument goes that equal temperament is becoming increasingly streamlined and corporate, and man’s capacity to hear and feel subtle inflections of tuning is in slow retreat.” http://www.gramophone.co.uk/features/focus/tuning
Opera Australia’s new production of Così fan tutte, directed by Sir David McVicar with sets and and costumes by Moritz Junge has opened in Sydney and it’s terrific! You can read our report on it here and scroll down to see all six luscious images –
Accompanists are the unobtrusive support behind the soloist. They are able to lead as well as to follow and perform music that is as demanding as that of a soloist. Yet, they rarely recieve the same adulation and recogntion. Tom Service of The Guardian writes: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/tomserviceblog/2012/mar/04/accompanists-unsung-heroes-music
Opera Australia is offering first time opera goers the opportunity to enter a ballot to obtain premium reserve opera tickets at $20, making the best seats in the house more affordable than a night at the cinema! This has become possible through the generosity of Susan and Isaac Wakil, who have donated $1.5 million to…
Omega Ensemble and ABC Classic have released a new recording, Nielsen: Wind Quintet, Op. 43. In Nielsen’s biography, the author writes: ‘Nielsen’s fondness of wind instruments is closely related to his love of nature, his fascination for living, breathing things. He was also intensely interested in human character, and the Wind Quintet, composed deliberately for…
* More from the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s US tour: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/tognetti-adds-another-string-to-his-bow-20120504-1y46y.html * Composed in 2009 to commemorate the devastating bush fires that year, Brett Dean’s Fire Music was performed in Adelaide over the weekend. Read the review as well an interview in which Brett Dean talks to his publishers Boosey and Hawkes about Fire Music: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/music/visceral-masterpiece-conjures-up-fear-in-fire/story-fn9d2mxu-1226348104697…