The week’s concerts in review…
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra plays Beethoven and R Strauss: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/leaders-note-clash-of-the-titans-strikes-a-timely-chord-20120223-1tqj0.html http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/exhilarating-climb-in-strausss-alps/story-e6frg8n6-1226275087259 The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra’s Venice Secrets: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/a-stumbling-seasonal-start-will-take-time-to-settle-down-20120223-1tq9t.html http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/consistently-inconsistent-solos-mar-vivaldi-concertos/story-e6frg8n6-1226279859757
Marko Letonja takes up the beat with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
For a number of years in the recent past, Sydneysiders were treated to performances by the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra during the first week of August. This annual tour was inaugurated by its Chief Conductor and Artistic Director Sebastian Lang-Lessing, under whose leadership, the TSO also amassed an impressive discography which included the complete Schumann and Mendelssohn symphonies. After…
The Secret’s out!
Beautiful black and white images from the rehearsals of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra’s current season of Venice Secrets. The season continues at the City Recital Hall. http://soundslikesydney.com.au/shows/the-australian-brandenburg-orchestra-reveals-secret-venice/6281.html Images taken by Steven Godbee and reproduced with his kind permission.
Verdi and Wagner – contemporaries who were worlds apart
Verdi and Wagner. Born in the same year each took opera to unprecedented levels in keeping with their national identities. There the similarities grind to a very definite end. Thames and Hudson has recently published a book on the lives and works of these giants of music drama. The author, Tasmanian born Peter Conrad, taught English Literature at…
Gergiev takes music beyond the concert hall
London’s Trafalgar Square has for centuries been an icon of the city. In its centre stands Nelson’s column, flanked by the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery and St Martin in the Fields. It is also the home to thousands of pigeons, which will have to move over for the London Symphony Orchestra as principal…
Elizabeth Connell – she showed that opera has a conscience
This week we learnt with sadness of the death of soprano Elizabeth Connell. She thrilled audiences in Sydney and round the world with her voice and her interpretations of the great dramatic roles like Turandot, Lady Macbeth and Elektra. She sang on the most famous stages around the world – Prague, Hamburg, the Royal Opera…
The afflictions of music
Readers will be familiar with numerous studies claiming the physical and psychological benefits of participating in musical activities. The pressures of being a solo performer in the public eye are anything but calming. Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix – rock stars who died young weren’t the only ones. In classical music, Pergolesi,…
Jessye Norman Australian tour cancelled
Lennard Promotions have announced with regret the cancellation of Jessye Norman’s Australian tour, citing circumstances beyond the control of both the artist and the promoter. Ticket refunds are available from the place of purchase.
All the world’s a stage – concert venues outside the square
Hiring major venues in Sydney is a costly exercise. Albeit the performers get a world class stage and the support services to boot. However, the budget involved is more often than not, beyond the means of smaller and emerging artistes; and the larger auditoriums are not always acoustically suited to the performers. Meeting these needs are a…