Of all the figures on stage during a concert, the conductor is perhaps the most enigmatic – commanding a great deal of attention from performers and audience and controlling the sound, whilst not actually making any music – and all the while with his or her back to the audience!
This feature by Clemency Burton-Hill looks at some aspects of what conductors actually do.
“It was the football boots that drew them in” says Michael Sollis. “The moment we drew their attention to my old football boots on the stage, they were completely engaged and listening.” I am speaking with Michael Sollis, newly appointed inaugural Artistic Director of Education at Musica Viva’s Music in Schools education programme and Sollis…
BBC Music magazine turns 20 next month and to mark the occasion, has collected images from 20 outstanding opera productions over the past 20 years. Take a look at this intriguing picture gallery – and to add some spice, hide the caption and try to guess the opera, the production, the year and the singers….
Later this year a handful of young musicians from Sydney will leave for Europe to undertake post – graduate studies at various institutions. One of these is coloratura tenor Edmond Choo who is headed for London’s Royal College of Music. (See our post on his Farewell Concerts). Building a career demands a careful juggling of opportunities,…
This somewhat heartbreaking feature in the New York Times looks at the increasing costs of maintaining a quality piano, and the disposabiity of lower end instruments: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/30/arts/music/for-more-pianos-last-note-is-thud-in-the-dump.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper
If you thought you’d seen it all when Mattel released its Opera House Barbie doll, resplendent in ocean coloured mermaid dress with swirls of white, think again. Now Lego have released its vision of the Sydney Opera House as part of its Architect series, placing the distinctive building alongside others in this collection which includes New York’s Guggenheim Museum, the Burj Khalifa…
Three outstanding Sydney musicians have made it to the finals of the ABC Symphony Australia Young Performers Awards, which this year celebrates its 70th anniversary. The 2014 finals will be held between 19-28 August in Adelaide. Amongst the finalists are Wahroonga violinist Grace Clifford who is just 15 years old, James Jae-Won Moon, a 27-year-old pianist…