Korean violinist’s attack on a coughing child spoils her anticipated return. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Playing parts of Philip Jameson’s string quartet Black Rapids is as difficult as tapping your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time. That analogy came up a couple of times at an open rehearsal for the piece on Sunday at Musica Viva’s boardroom in Sydney. Metronomes were out, mathematical calculations made, strategies were worked out on how to keep the whole thing from going off the rails. The piece, it turns out, is as terrifying for the players as those black rapids of the title. The strong and lovely stillness, the crazed rush towards a quiet spot, the danger lurking in the depths – you can hear it all. But it’s a title that came after Phil had finished the score as a way of helping listeners find their way into it – the same as Copland with Appalachian Spring, who was thinking of Martha Graham’s dancing, not of pastoral scenes, when he was writing it. Being part of a new piece, to me, is a massive privilege. The Silo Collective came about after I’d heard Julian Burnside’s Peggy Glanville-Hicks address – it resonated with me when he said that if no one commissioned music now there would…

This year we publicised the awards to all conservatoria in NSW, Queensland, Victoria and ACT, inviting applications for assistance from our foundation. Applications closed on October 17 and our auditions took place on November 23. Each of the six finalists had to perform a thirty-minute program for an independent artistic assessment panel chaired by Professor Michael Brimer, together with Ms Natalia Sheludiakova and Dr Christine Logan. We are pleased to announce three awards each in the amount of six thousand dollars. L to R: Pavle Cajic, Sabina Im and Alex Raineri Pavle Cajic is twenty, currently studying at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. He is planning a career as a solo/chamber pianist and composer. He plans on applying the award to assist in covering costs for overseas study in Germany and Europe, and for international com petition entry fees. Sabina Im is twenty-four, has been studying in Sydney and recently in London. She is planning her career as a solo performer, chamber musician  and accompanist. She plans on using her award to further her studies in London. Alex Raineri is twenty one, studying in Brisbane and in Melbourne. His career plans include solo and chamber music, specialising in contemporary music….

Italian gossip site reports the superstar tenor and pop icon are an item. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Media Watch report of “big cuts” in classical radio broadcasting to be confirmed on Monday. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Messiaen packs out QPAC with a little help from Brian Cox. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Chandos’s second collection of Beethoven Sonatas from Bavouzet contains the two Op. 27 Sonatas (the second of which is the Moonlight), the three Op. 31 Sonatas (the second of which is the Tempest), Sonatas Op. 28 (Pastoral), Op. 53 (Waldstein), and the unnamed Sonatas Op. 22, 26 and 49. Written between 1795 and 1805, they represent the composer’s middle period. The earlier works retain a classical elegance, but this disappears in the Op. 31 set. By the time of the Waldstein (and its rejected slow movement, recycled separately as the Andante Favori), the composer has decided to use the piano sonata as a platform for making some big statements. Unlike some pianists, Bavouzet recognises that a different approach, even a different touch, is required from one work to the next. The accents in Op. 22 for example are sharp and briskly classical, whereas the accents in the finale of the Moonlight Sonata and the first movement of the Tempest are fuller, more in keeping with sturm und drang. His pedaling in the first movement of the Moonlight (the trickiest aspect of that music) is perfectly judged, and he finds a tender quality in a slower than usual rendition of the Allegretto. Overall,…

Alice Chance – September 2014 I’m sitting cross-legged on the carpet amongst a pool of colourful pages. My headphones are on, my fingers are treading cautiously on the keyboard and I think I might be humming. The air-conditioning gently hums back to me in this warm, cosy room at the Baradine Tattersails Hotel. In a town where the population is less than 600, the residents certainly make up in warmth that which they lack in number. Julie, from the hotel, never fails a cheerful morning greeting between feeding the roosters and getting her grandchildren off to school. Narelle, from Freckles the coffee shop, cooks mountains of delicious food and knows exactly when you need a cup of tea. But I’m not here for a ‘quaint rural experience’. I’m here to work alongside some of the greatest talent in the country. Many of whom are still at school. The Moorambilla festival has been taking place in Coonamble, (7 hours north west of Sydney), for the past nine years. I’m privileged enough to have been Composer in Residence for Moorambilla Voices for the last two. The young members are divided into a boys and girls choir, participants are aged 8-11, and they…

Polish-themed German festival jettisons conductor for being a friend of Putin. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Composer and guitarist Bruce Mathiske reveals the story behind his cycle of guitar concerti.

Anna Magdalena composed major works in a household torn by adultery and suicide, claims Darwin Professor. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

“Steel yourself for his mallets of musical mastery”. So runs the spruik in the liner notes of Nick Parnell’s self-published album Vibes Virtuoso. This is no idle boast. Adelaide percussionist Parnell knows his way round the three octaves of metal keys and sustain pedal and his mission is to put this instrument centre stage. Born in the Flinders Ranges town of Orroroo, Parnell taught himself drums in his parents’ sheep shearing shed before studying at Elder Conservatorium. This is his third album, the previous two were under the ABC Classics label, and it covers some familiar classics mixed up with George Gershwin and bravura pieces like Josef Suk’s Burleska No 4 and Vittorio Monti’s Csardas. Parnell’s spectacular playing is matched by his excellent accompanist, Amir Farid. The duo have great musical understanding and chemistry, and while they never quite reach the heights of those two great jazz improvisors Gary Burton and Chick Corea, they are impressive nevertheless. The instrument’s limited expressive range works better for some works. Two of Erik Satie’s Gymnopedies, Handel’s Arrival of the Queen of Sheba and excerpts from Gershwin’s American in Paris all transpose well. Ravel’s Alborada del gracioso and Debussy’s Reverie… Continue reading Get unlimited…