Stephen Hough Musica Viva April 16, City Recital Hall, Sydney On his third national solo tour for Musica Viva, pianist Stephen Hough presented a programme that was deeply introspective and austere in its sentiments but ultimately uplifting, inspired by the diametrically opposed inspirations of the sacred and the salon. Opening his programme was the Sonata…
Pianist Stephen Hough returns to Australia in April for his fourth tour with Musica Viva. The British-Australian pianist is a familiar and well-loved face to Australian audiences. Stephen Hough, whose father was born in Newcastle (Australia), is a true polymath, being a gifted writer, composer and painter in addition to his pianism. He is also…
Performing is a curious business. It regularly throws up conundrums and contradictions and one of those is the phenomenon of memory. Dancers develop their muscle memory from hours of rehearsal and cues from the accompaniment; memorising lines is implicit in being an actor. Solo instrumentalists almost always perform from memory. All opera singers work from memory, yet…