Latest news
‘Give me excess of it’ – the memoirs of Richard Gill
Revered conductor and music educator Richard Gill’s memoirs Give me Excess of it will be released on October 23rd, MacMillan Australia. He talks to Matthew Westwood about the book: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/music/musical-memoir-to-settle-old-scores/story-fn9d2mxu-1226498845442 You can also attend a literary lunch to hear Richard Gill talk about the book at The Four Season Hotel in the city: Date: Monday 29 October 2012…
A swell ‘Carmen’ on the harbour in 2013
As if creating a ballroom on the harbour wasn’t challenging enough, Opera Australia will create a village in Seville on the water when it presents its second production of Hand Opera on the Harbour which in 2013 will be Bizet’s Carmen. Stage productions of Carmen in the past, have included a donkey and a horse. There…
ENO’s plan to dress down for opera receives a dressing down
Following the ENO’s announcement of a plan to encourage a relaxed dress code for opera goers, Andrew Mellor argues that it’s ‘much ado about nothing’. After all, going to the races seems to demand the observation of a costly and mysterious dress code that doesn’t deter attendance. http://www.gramophone.co.uk/blog/the-gramophone-blog/stop-telling-us-what-to-wear-for-opera
Sydney’s opera theatre re-named
The name of Dame Joan Sutherland has been immortalised with the Opera Theatre of Sydney’s Opera House re-named in her honour. Concert halls have been named after benefactors (Carnegie), Royalty (The Royal Albert Hall and the Queen Elizabeth Hall) and musicians (the Bruckner Hall in Linz and the Bartok Hall in Budapest. It is a rare honour, and…
Hip-hoppin to chopin
It’s not the first time that Chopin’s music has been appropriated for dance. In 1909, Glazunov orchestrated the music of Chopin with choreography by Fokine and created the short non-narrative ballet Les Sylphides. In 2012, pianist Lang-Lang has collaborated with Dubstepper Marquese “Nonstop” Scott to create a performance that combines Chopin’s Etude Op 25 No 12,…
Paul Mealor’s ‘De Profundis’ cries from the deep
Paul Mealor. On the day I was scheduled to speak to Welsh composer Paul Mealor, based in Aberdeen, Scotland, there was a storm so wild, that telecommunications were disrupted and the call had to be re-scheduled. The elements seemed to conspire to evoke Mealor’s inspirations and memories whilst defying his aspirations to “write music that…
Latest reviews
Tranquillity: Voices of Deep Calm
There’s no doubt that the sound of the St Petersburg Chamber Choir is quite distinctive. Whether it is the Russian language, the way they speak, the way they sing or even something ‘in the air’, they produce a richness that is unique. The ensemble, conducted y Nikolai Korniev has recorded a compilation of a capella sacred works…
Angela Hewitt reviewed
Peter McCallum reviews Angela Hewitt’s recital for the Sydney Morning Herald: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/sublime-bach-rendition-a-moving-experience-20120925-26iig.html