The 1714 Guarneri instrument will be debuted by ACO violinist Rebecca Chan this month. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Collaborative project sets out to prove that ABC Classic FM talent is not just skin deep. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

I found this CD puzzling, but a friend described it as a “marquee” issue – a showcase for the Australian Chamber Orchestra and director, Richard Tognetti. The main courses are the first movement of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and the first movement of Brahms’ First Symphony. The rest of the program is a Bach violin concerto and two other short excerpts. I’m at a loss to understand why anyone would want to hear just the first movement of the Beethoven or the Brahms. Surely it would have made more sense to issue a double CD featuring both in their entirety. Tognetti’s way with the concerto is admirable. Without sounding rushed, he keeps it moving while retaining the monumental grandeur. His is an unfailingly sweet-toned reading with plenty of animation. The Brahms is similarly flowing, eschewing the granitic approach of Klemperer and Furtwängler. I recently saw Tognetti’s Brahms Fourth. His conducting gestures were infrequent, but the results were stunning: the ACO’s ensemble was tight and the heft of just 48 players was amazing. This is not quite as impressive but I’d still like to hear the entire performance as the textures are admirably lucid with just the right quotient of bounce or schwung…

Dawn Upshaw tours with the ACO after their triple grammy whammy. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Australian Chamber Orchestra and Dawn Upshaw head the impressive list of this years winners.

The ACO’s Richard Tognetti’s in the Limelight hot-seat for a special December issue. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The John Travolta of the clarinet trips the light fantastic through music old and new.

Star countertenor proves there's much more to the voice than a load of old Baroque.

Dawn Upshaw, Anthony Marwood and Yevgeny Sudbin are among the guests at the ACO’s pre-fortieth birthday party. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Why Bach was top of the class with respectful nods to Brahms, Ives and Ligeti. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The Australian Chamber Orchestra’s baby sister comes of age. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Perennially young at heart, the ACO has 
just the right touch with these two works written while Mendelssohn was in his teenage years.