Lacey does far more than just tiptoe through the tulips.

It may have seemed politically naive of Paul Hindemith in 1933 to start planning an opera asserting the moral duty of an artist under a repressive regime, but like many intellectuals of the day, he didn’t take the Nazis seriously and hoped they would soon be out of power. Mathis der Maler would be his undoing and force him into exile in 1938. Hindemith later took themes from the opera and wove them into a large-scale symphony and the harmonic outline of the work brilliantly portrays the internal development of the artist. Christoph Eschenbach’s hyper-romantic way allied with the superb Hamburg orchestra would seem ideal for this reaffirmation of the Germanic symphonic tradition. The opening Concert of Angels promised much with impeccable intonation from blended wind and strings, but as the movement proceeded the conductor’s tendency to underline phrases with modifications of pulse allowed momentum to sag. The Entombment becomes ponderous. The Temptation of St. Anthony is grand and mighty but lacks bite.  The Symphony in E Flat was the first major work Hindemith wrote after arriving in America so is an appropriate coupling. With Stokowski, Bernstein or Tortelier it is a breezy romp of a score. Eschenbach trudges, attempting…

Handel’s Partenope is one of those inexplicable rarities. A tuneful, light romance, it has everything that one could want from a Baroque opera – love, intrigue, cross-dressing… Back in Handel’s time, however, the opera claque had it in for the piece. “Senesino put me in a sweat in telling me that Parthenope was likely to be on the stage, for it is the very worst book (excepting one) that I ever read in my whole life,” sniped the rival Academy’s purse-lipped Italian agent Owen Swiny. Poppycock, said Edward J Dent who described it in 1959 as “perhaps the best libretto that Handel had ever set,”likening it to Shakespeare no less. As always, the truth lies somewhere in-between. A tale of love, jealousy and betrayal, the plot revolves around the un-historical titular Queen of what would become Naples and her three suitors. Arsace, Prince of Corinth is the front runner, but when Rosmira, his former betrothed arrives disguised as a knight, it throws the field wide open. Arsace is forced to dissemble rather than admit his falsehood, and Partenope’s affections are diverted towards Armindo, the timid Prince of Rhodes. After Arsace forces Rosmira to reveal her identity by challenging her to…

Pianist, composer and arranger Joe Chindamo and violinist Zoë Black are more than capable of transcending their specialities of jazz and classical.

Since signing to Virgin (now Erato) the Berlin-based Artemis Quartet has recorded some superb accounts of core repertoire including one of the finest Beethoven cycles of recent times.  Brahms supposedly wrote some 20 quartets that ended up in the bin before the rigorously self-critical composer felt ready to publish the three extant examples. Each inhabits its own sound world and are tough nuts to crack; the dramatic intensity of the first and the sly playfulness of the third can both easily turn turgid if slathered with heavy-handed Romantic excess, so Artemis proves to be ideal exponents with their modernist sensibility tempered by warmth of expression and miraculous variety of tonal colour and dynamics.  The opening movement of the First Quartet is perfectly judged, veering between nervous energy and sweet repose but with an eye always on the architecture so that the ebbing conclusion seems an inevitable consequence rather than a mere petering out. The Romanze is breathtakingly beautiful, drawn with the gentlest brushstrokes of tone; the players’ telepathic ensemble playing at the lowest dynamic level is a wonder to behold. Their variety of vibrato and colour illuminates the Scherzo with half-lights and veiled tone evoking a half-remembered dream so that…

I approached this release with trepidation. The prospect of 11 pieces by 11 composers could easily become maudlin. Besides, what more can possibly be said about Gallipoli? Chris Latham, the director of the project (which had a decade-long gestation period) himself says in the notes “… the history of multi-author works was beyond dire. I didn’t know of one successful example. They were all stylistic mishmashes with no aesthetic cohesion”. This live performance is from one of Istanbul’s most revered mosques in the presence of Governor General, Sir Peter Cosgrove. Among the contributors are the usual suspects – Sculthorpe, Edwards, Kats-Chernin – with contributions from New Zealand and Turkish composers. Inevitably, the work begins with the plaintive sound of a didgeridoo, equally inevitably played by William Barton.  The Australian contributions are in the generic “contemporary Australian” idiom but the attempts to fuse traditional Ottoman and modern Turkish music with Indigenous and western Australian and New Zealand music come off. There isn’t a weak link. The mosque acoustics are sensational but the Istanbul orchestra’s contribution is adequate, nothing more. The Australian choirs acquit themselves better under Jessica Cottis’ committed direction. The cutaway shots to World War I stills are often as…

Opening with the broad Festive March Op. 13, Ondine’s latest release of music by Finnish composer Toivo Kuula presents orchestral works from a composer better known for his vocal writing. Though more solemn than ‘festive’, the expansive March places Kuula in the tradition of Sibelius, with whom he studied composition. Kuula’s orchestral offerings are unfortunately limited: the composer died young, killed in a fight during celebrations for the end of Finland’s Civil War. The first South Ostrobothnian Suite opens with chorale-like brass and winds underscored by motoring pizzicato strings. The cor anglais is the star of this movement, Landscape, Satu Ala’s tone liquid and tenebrous. The second movement, Folk Song, drips with Finnish melancholy while Ostrobothnian Dance is elegant and convivial. The third movement, Devil’s Dance, is bright and cheery and Song of Dusk is full of rich melody, once again featuring the cor anglais. South Ostrobothnian Suite No. 2 is the work of a more mature composer, but is very much a suite of convenience raher than musical unity – Kuula himself often performed the movements separately at concerts he conducted. The final movement, Will-o’-the-Wisp, opens with a treacley cello solo and is longer than all of the preceding movements combined….

History tends to favour the creator, though is not always kind to the muse. Mozart and the Weber Sisters is a refreshing change in that it honours both. Presenting a strong, insightful narrative of love, fervour and disappointment, this release paints fascinating musical portraits not only of an infatuated Mozart, but also of the talented women who inspired him – the sisters Aloysia, Josepha and Constanze Weber.  Mozart would eventually marry Constanze, but his first love was the eldest, Aloysia. She and Josepha had illustrious careers as opera singers, with Mozart writing some of his most daring and inspired music for them. The luscious Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio!, capitalised on Aloysia’s impeccably soft, stratospheric cantabile, while the fiery Der Hölle Rache was perfect for Josepha, the original Queen of the Night.  The vocal prowess of these impressive women is channelled in Sabine Devieilhe, a formidable artistic force who rises to the technical challenges of this wide-ranging programme. There are numerous highlights, but an obvious one is Mozart’s insertion aria to Glück’s Alceste, Popoli di Tessaglia. Devieilhe is magnificent, not least for the infamous top G – one of Aloysia’s unique vocal gifts. Ensemble Pygmalion’s sound is gorgeous, and Raphaël Pichon’s…

A highly articulate, soul-searching performance from this ever-thoughtful pianist.

Laura Chislett’s Flute Vox was envisaged as a kind of sequel to her 1995 collaboration with pianist Stephanie McCallum, The Flute in Orbit. More than 20 years later, the pair have released a double CD exploring more recent works by the composers featured on their first album, as well as a selection of other works. The album is an eclectic mix of contemporary flute works, from the solid intensity of Edgard Varèse’s Density 21.5 – a venerable 80 years old this year – to Michael Smetanin’s spritely 2015 work for flutes and mixed media, Backbone. Toru Takemitsu’s Voice kicks off the first disc, the close, dry recording highlighting Chislett’s precise technique and making audible every nuance of breath, voice and air. While this allows the listener to hear every detail of Chislett’s playing, it also robs the work of some of its haunting mystery. Along with Varèse and Takemitsu, Iranian-American composer Reza Vali is the only other non-Australian composer on the recording, his Persian Suite (Folk Songs, Set No. 12E) contributing lyricism and spirited energy. The didgeridoo-like growls and percussive vocal attacks of Zadro’s Vox Box make it a rhythmically driven tour de force for amplified bass flute and Brett…

“The pianist imagines an old artist, one Franz Liszt, troubled by that spiritual sickness known as nostalgia. At the piano, he strikes up a waltz – Valse oubliée No 1 – but perturbed by his melancholic mood, the waltz trails off…” Thus begins Olivia Sham’s fantastic journey into the creative soul of Liszt à la Berlioz’s semi-autobiographical text for the Symphonie fantastique. The Australian-born Sham is currently based in London and has a special interest in 19th-century pianos and their music. She recently completed her PhD on Liszt performance practice at the Royal Academy of Music. Quoting directly from Berlioz and Liszt, her programme note imaginatively links works, from across Liszt’s lengthy career, which she performs on two silvery-toned Érards (1840 and 1845) and a modern Steinway model D. In a nod to the compositional procedures of both Berlioz and Liszt, Sham uses Liszt’s four Valses oubliées, played on the Steinway, as an idée fixe of sorts, to interrupt the aged Liszt’s reveries which take him back variously to the prodigious youth, the virtuoso “at the height of his prowess”, the iconoclast and the champion of new music. The earlier works are performed on the Érards, and they are among…

With works cherry-picked from across Saariaho’s career since 1982, this album shines a spotlight on the beauty and intimacy of her chamber music.