Distinguished Service to Australian Music Award recognises the composer for his major musical achievements. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The Polish pianist talks about growing up behind the Iron Curtain, battling with Bach and being his own worst critic.

The Australia Piano Quartet are thriving against the odds. APQ cellist Thomas Rann shares the secret of their success.

Anderszewski, Qin and Dickson head an extraordinary musical evening.

From the ridiculous to the sublime, Townsville's 25th birthday bash is off with a bang.

A few years ago, I interviewed the London-based Elias Quartet about plans to tour and record Beethoven’s complete string quartets. A few days later the publication that commissioned the interview folded and, as I write, our conversation remains untranscribed: lost words of wisdom. But one section, where we cracked into the true nature of spontaneity in music as familiar as Beethoven’s, rewound through my mind as I listened to these deftly articulate and noticeably personal performances of Op. 18 No 4, Op. 74 The Harp and Op. 130, complete with Grosse Fuge finale – all recorded live at the Wigmore Hall in 2014. The first thing you notice is the sound. Do I hear residual traces of the old-school charm of, say, the Busch or Borodin Quartets? Quite possibly, but then again this playing is perpetually and effortlessly contemporary. Unlike Riccardo Chailly’s extreme-sports take on the symphonies, the quartet’s tempi stick within a narrow bandwidth. But their performance of Op. 130 aspires to something quasi orchestral, their muscular, pile-driver tone motoring the Grosse Fuge forwards in time, the crystal-cut clarity of line against line never negating their meticulous plotting of the music’s kaleidoscope of inner harmonic tensions. You are reminded……

Giovanni Battista Cirri (1724-1808) and Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) were both born in Italy; were both virtuoso cellists; worked extensively abroad (Cirri in England, Boccherini in Spain); and had a collection of six cello sonatas printed in London around 1775. But Italian-based Australian cellist Catherine Jones is surely right when she says that Cirri “is already composing in an early Classical style” while Boccherini “is a composer of the high Baroque.” To prove her point, she presents three sonatas from each, revealing the delight she shares with both composers in the cello’s technical and expressive capabilities. Jones has previously recorded three Boccherini sonatas from the same collection while a student; the Cirri sonatas – Nos 3, 4 and 5 – are premiere recordings. Her light, responsive touch and pungent, mostly vibratoless tone perfectly match Boccherini’s playfulness, exuberant embellishment of repeated figures and his imitations of the strummed chords of the Spanish guitar, which are redolent of another Italian who worked in Spain, Domenico Scarlatti. Jones, supported throughout by Nuti, McGillivray and Carter, also luxuriates in the rich sonorities of the drawn-out single and multiple-stopped tones. These characterise certain episodes in Boccherini’s music. Cirri’s, by contrast, display a Classical restraint. Highly recommended….

★★★☆☆ In The Sky is Melting Linda Kouvaras responds to the heat of the Australian summer – an idea translated into sound with great success by Australian duo Marianne Rothschild (violin) and Glenn Riddle (piano), whose new album is an impressionistic journey taking in a range of compositions from contemporary Melbourne. The title track opens with dreamy piano themes reminiscent of Debussy before Rothschild’s striking melody takes the forefront. The first of Stuart Greenbaum’s Six Occasional Pieces reveals Rothschild has little intention of colouring her tone to suit the feel of different works, and the pure consistency of sound does evoke a sense of aural fatigue, but hers is an attractive tone nevertheless. Riddle’s piano gives the piece a contemporary feel, with repetitive cycles of chords commonly heard in modern song. Life Cycles was written for a funeral, though the solo violin lament lacks sensitivity. But a refreshing pizzicato and charmingly simple melody represents an “occasion” of childbirth in For Alette – an uplifting celebration of new life. Argentinian Etching by William James Schmidt was inspired by a 1970s artwork by Stefan Strocen of a figure reaching toward a sun-like orb, and the… Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from…

Kathryn Selby has a few tips to help the individual resonate amidst the background noise of corporate music making.

★★★★★ Intimate recital by Siobhan Stagg and Eidit Golder a real treat. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

A beautiful collection of works, performed with virtuosity, style and grace. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

A title like The Chopin Album, might lead you to expect a disc from the latest pianistic talent, but happily on this occasion it’s a collection of repertoire for cello and piano duo from close friends, cellist Sol Gabetta and pianist Bertrand Chamayou. The stunning centrepiece is the significant Cello Sonata in G Minor. The complexity of the first movement alone is a marvel, and it’s a shame the piece isn’t more widely known. Gabetta talks about approaching Chopin as a bel canto composer, who was always aware of a ‘vocal’ line in the music. It’s a fitting analogy and Chamayou and Gabetta show great sensitivity towards the primary melody, while still uncovering Chopin’s rich polyphony. The Largo movement is achingly beautiful, without becoming too overly sentimental. The militaristic Polonaise Brilliante provides both Chamayou and Gabetta with plenty of virtuosic scope and both performers relish the opportunity. The remainder of the album serves as a tribute to the friendship between Chopin and respected cellist Auguste-Joseph Franchomme. The two men co-authored the Grand Duo Concertant and worked independently on arrangements and transcriptions of Chopin’s music. An original work of Franchomme’s is included on the album, the Nocturne for Cello and Piano…