Gergiev breathes new life into tchaikovsky competition

The International Tchaikovsky competition held every four years in Moscow, is one of the most exacting and exalted music competitions. Inaugurated in 1958, past winners in its four categories of piano, violin, cello and voice have included Vladimir Ashkenazy and John Ogden( shared, 1962, piano), Gidon Kremer (1970, violin), Deborah Voigt (voice 1990). The XIVth International Tchaikovsky…

‘mozart’s sister’

‘mozart’s sister’

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had an older sister, Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia. Nicknamed “Nannerl”,  she was 5 years older than him, and by all accounts, as talented a musician.  How she came to be eclipsed by her younger brother is the topic of this latest cinematic release opening in Sydney this week. Was he just too precocious,…