Concert Review: Groove Sessions/ The Idea Of North

The Idea of North – Groove Sessions Independent Theatre, North Sydney, 18 February  2018 Written by Paul Bennett With an impressive collection of albums of various styles, ARIA awards and an extensive fan base in Australia and overseas, The Idea of North can lay claim to being one of the premier vocal groups in Australia….

Album Review: Beethoven Piano Concertos 1 And 3/ Australian Haydn Ensemble/ Peres Da Costa

The Australian Haydn Ensemble’s recently released second album features Neal Peres Da Costa as soloist in chamber arrangements by Vi King Lim, of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 1 in C major opus 15 and the Piano Concerto No 3 in C minor opus 37. This release is another milestone in the AHE’s continuing exploration on…

Concert Review: Twilight Musical Dialogues – Spain and South America/ Walker/Rojas-Gonzales/Carraro

Twilight Musical Dialogues: Music from Spain and South America Sally Walker, flute, Daniel Rojas-Gonzales, piano, William Carraro, violin 10 November, 2017 Adamstown Uniting Church, Newcastle, New South Wales Written by Joseph Asquith It was an inimitable night for music in the city of Newcastle, with the fifth concert of Twilight Musical Dialogues featuring music of Spain and South…

Concert Review: The Sonata Project/ Bernadette Harvey

The Sonata Project Bernadette Harvey Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music 11 November 2017 Written by Ria Andriani One of the aims of Bernadette Harvey’s new concert venture The Sonata Project is to bring back the atmosphere of Romantic soirees in European salons, offering a new experience in  classical piano music for contemporary audiences. This…

Concert Review: Orchestra Of The Age Of Enlightenment/ Rachel Podger/ Music Viva

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Rachel Podger Musica Viva City Recital Hall 13 November 2017 The repertoire spanned no more than a decade and a half, from c 1760 to 1775, yet the music expressed sentiments from elation to lamentation and showcased expert interpretation of the Classical style when the Orchestra of the Age of…

Album Review: From Darkness To Light/ Hewgill/ Ashkenazy/ Decca

From Darkness to Light is a new single CD release from Decca Classics on which cellist Catherine Hewgill and conductor and pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy perform the cello sonatas of Prokofiev and Shostakovich followed by Rachmaninov’s Vocalise.  The pairing of the sonatas is undeniably suitable on many counts. Hewgill and Ashkenazy have collaborated closely over many…

Album Review: Spinning Forth/ Marais Project

The Marais Project’s new CD Spinning Forth is a gorgeous collection of music which showcases the viola da gamba and its ensemble partners, through dedicated pieces written during its golden age in the 17th century and through its second coming in the 20th century, championed in Australia by viola da gamba player and founding artistic…

Review: Bittersweet Obsessions: Monteverdi And Bach/ Australian Brandenburg Orchestra

Bittersweet Obsessions: Monteverdi and Bach Australian Brandenburg Orchestra City Recital Hall 25 October 2017 The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra’s Bittersweet Obsessions: Monteverdi and Bach is an engaging pastiche of early and baroque music, performed in a dramatised setting by thirteen members of the orchestra, led by concertmaster Shaun Lee-Chen. Joined by four vocal soloists – New…