Concert Review: Forbidden But Not Forgotten/ Acacia Quartet

Forbidden but not Forgotten Acacia Quartet Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House June 18, 2017 Fresh from a month-long sabbatical in Berlin, Acacia Quartet performed their latest concert programme bearing the tantalising title Forbidden but not Forgotten. A core part of their work in Berlin was to study, record and perform the string quartets of forbidden…

Concert Review: Might And Majesty / The Australian Piano Quartet/ Andrew Goodwin

Might and Majesty The Australian Piano Quartet/ Andrew Goodwin, tenor June 10, 2017 Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House Written by Ria Andriani From the first chord to the last bar there was no half measure from the Australia Piano Quartet’s (APQ) performance of Might and Majesty, which included a world premiere of  Your Cruel Melody by Sydney…

Concert Review: The Nixon Tapes/ Sydney Opera House/ Opera Australia/ Vivid Live

The Nixon Tapes – Scenes from Nixon in China Sydney Opera House/ Opera Australia/ Vivid Live Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House June 5, 2017 When the Sydney Opera House, Vivid and Opera Australia presented The Nixon Tapes – Scenes from Nixon in China, the opera by John Adams, it was immediately evident that this was…

Concert Review: Composers In Exile/ Nexas Saxophone Quartet/ Coleman-Wright

Composers in Exile Nexas Saxophone Quartet The Independent Theatre, North Sydney May 28, 2017 Nexas Saxophone Quartet: Soprano – Michael Duke/ Alto – Andrew Smith/ Tenor- Nathan Henshaw/ Baritone -Jay Byrnes / Voice and piano- Peter Coleman-Wright AO (Baritone) Written by Victoria Watson A bold and intelligent theatricality pervaded this concert of cabaret music from the Weimar period and its aftermath….

Concert Review: Enigmatic/ Enigma Ensemble

Enigmatic, The Enigma Quartet Independent Theatre, North Sydney May 21, 2017 Written by Victoria Watson This ensemble of stylish and accomplished musicians has been playing together for a number of years. For this concert, core quartet members violinists Marianne Broadfoot and Kerry Martin along with cellist Rowena Macneish, were joined by guest viola player Liz…

Opera Review: La Calisto/ Sydney Conservatorium of Music Opera School

La Calisto, Francesco Cavalli Sydney Conservatorium of Music Opera School Sydney Conservatorium of Music May 20, 2017 Written by Deen Hamaker 17th Century Venice must have been quite a place to produce a work as wild as La Calisto. Even by today’s no holds barred artistic standards there are some outrageous situations in this wild…

Album Review: Hemispheres/ Sally Walker/ Philip Mayers

Hemispheres is a gem of a CD, which, like many independent recordings, has slipped under the radar of the mainstream press. Described as ‘Mystical journeys through four continents’ Hemispheres was recorded by flautist Sally Walker with pianist Philip Mayers, both prodigiously gifted Australian musicians with impressive international careers. The anthology represents eleven 20th century composers…

Concert Review: Hero Works For Strings/ Australian National Academy Of Music

ANAM: Mendelssohn and Brahms – Hero Works for Strings Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House Faculty and Musicians of Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM – Melbourne) 7 May, 2017 Written by Victoria Watson The programme: Felix Mendelssohn – String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 13 (1827) Josephine Chung and Kyla Matsuura-Miller – Violin/ Caroline Henbest…