Violist Stefanie Farrands will use the $20,000 scholarship to commission new works for her instrument. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

With a world-class orchestra, thermal baths and the aromas of spice and coffee, Budapest is a stimulant for all the senses. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Over a lifetime that witnessed unprecedented musical and social upheaval in his homeland of Russia, Alexander Glazunov remained resolutely his own man.

With their lucky charms, bizarre rituals and arcane mantras, the average artist can be an irrational being.

The report on the first National Music Teacher Mentoring Program has come in and the message is loud and clear. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Considering the legacy of Morton Feldman, the radical American composer who would have turned 90 this year. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

In our latest issue, Australia’s great educator tells us why he is still deadly serious about our musical future. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

A major endowment in memory of Richard Pulley will allow the Sydney Conservatorium to expand its regional buddy program. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Elizabeth Joy Roe is an emerging artist snapped up by Decca. She has recorded the Britten and Barber Piano Concertos, but the repertoire on this, her second solo album, is even rarer. The Irish composer John Field (1782-1837) studied with Clementi, later traversing Europe as a concert pianist. Contemporary accounts mention Field’s lyrical, singing tone and poetic style. He is credited with inventing the nocturne: a short study expressing Romantic notions of the night. Impressed by Field’s Nocturnes, Chopin composed his own iconic set. Field’s Nocturnes fall into the pattern of a lyrical, thematic line, usually supported by flowing arpeggios or repeated patterns in the left hand. His early pieces recall Mozart’s slow movements (No 1 in E Flat), but later ones contain dramatic contrasts (No 10, Nocturne Pastorale). The thematic line is often treated to pianistic decoration, as in No 6, Cradle Song – possibly the precursor to Chopin’s Berceuse – and Liszt in his ‘consolation’ mood is anticipated in No 5 in B Flat. Field’s Nocturnes are not restricted to a particular time signature: most are in 3/4, but only one (No 8 in E Flat) sounds like a true waltz. No 16 in… Continue reading Get unlimited…

Based on a 2010 Japanese publication which contained over 100 variations on Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, for this expanded cycle, Australian composer Julian Yu has brought in pianist Michael Kieran Harvey to undertake this series of variants presented in styles ranging from Baroque counterpoint to the 20th-century – from Webern to the Minimalists. There is little doubt Yu has created a fun and wide-reaching teaching programme based around a tune familiar to all of us. Mozart’s Variations on the same piece continue to delight listeners of all ages. However Yu’s cycle is much longer and, as such, becomes a problem in terms of concentration for the listener. Here, as in the concert hall, I would suggest a treasury to be dipped into. The work is divided into sections which support this idea – Counterpoint, Harmony, Texture and Figuration, Tonality and Atonality, and both Popular and Folk music. Harvey’s performance is fine, aided by clarity and conviction. Yu’s Variations undoubtedly had their genesis in his compositional classes and as such are aimed at musicians holding a middle level of ability with the instrument. For such students, this set provides the accompaniment to his text, though even at this level, I’d imagine…

Profound musicianship breathes life into familiar repertoire.

Mendelssohn’s Lieder ohne Worte (or Songs Without Words) were a bold step forward in Romantic writing. The title suggests much of the meaning behind the music – that it was possible to give purely instrumental music the emotional depth of a song, even without the added help of words to create imagery. The liner notes point out that the Songs Without Words generally stick to placing the melody in the upper voice, combined with a chordal accompaniment in ABA form. While this is broadly true, what variety Mendelssohn achieves from such a simple set-up! With this disc covering Books 5 to 8 of the set, fortepianist Ronald Brautigam has now recorded the complete Songs Without Words.  These later books contain some of the best-known pieces, including the famous Frühlingslied (Spring Song). There are some delightful links between the composers of the 19th century here – Book 5 is dedicated to Clara Schumann, who had to encore some of the pieces multiple times in her concerts. With this sense of history in mind, Brautigam plays these pieces as they should be heard, and with no sense of artifice. This is honest playing with some of the most natural phrasing I’ve heard…