The dynamics of a small music ensemble have always been intriguing – remember Vikram Seth’s 1999 novel An Equal Music? More recently movies like Quartet and A Late Quartet have revisited the theme.
Zoe Knighton, cellist with the Flinders Quartet writes about her experiences in Classic Melbourne.
The Flinders Quartet performs at the Utzon Room in Sydney on Wednesday May 14th.
American violinist and conductor Marin Alsop (b 1956) has blazed a trail as one of the world’s pioneering female conductors. In 2013 Ms Alsop made history as the first woman to conduct the Last Night of the Proms in London’s Royal Albert Hall, the world’s largest classical music festival with an audience of over 40…
Released last week on the Deutsche Grammophon label, Andris Nelsons, the leading conductor of his generation, takes on a full cycle of Beethoven’s eternal symphonies – directing the Vienna Philharmonic in a series of new recordings made at the historic Vienna Musikverein. These will be released in a deluxe boxed set on 5 CDs, featuring…
Wavelength Films in association with the BBC made this fascinating feature with Stephen Fry exploring the music of Wagner. http://www.smh.com.au/tv/show/wagner–me/wagner–me-20110902-1jp2g.html
Daniel Barenboim has many facets as a musician. He i a conductor, pianist, and was the spouse and performing partner of the late Jacqueline du Pre. Perhaps however, it is his role as a bringer of peace that will have the widest impact amongst those who appreciate music and even those who don’t. Last weekend his West-Eastern Divan…
Regardless of your taste in music, there are no doubt numerous times when that earworm burrows deeper and deeper into your cortex. American singers and producer Pharell Williams’ song Happy has enjoyed astronomical worldwide success. In this feature, experts in composition, a DJ, an academic and BBC 1’s head of music look at what makes a…
In the world of Paula Hollins, Abendmusik is ‘a method for making printed music lie flat on a stand’, and Abandonne is ‘What Pinkerton did to Buterfly’! These whacky definitions come from her new sunny yellow covered publication, Musical Malaproptionary: A dictionary of musical terms redefined humorously. Aimed at ‘music lovers, screwball musicians, irreverent iconoclasts…. and anyone with a…