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Brett Dean @ ANAM

Australia’s international star composer discusses music, his relationship with the past, and his plans for the future. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

February 28, 2014
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Week 2: ANAM Orchestra, May 20-24

Having landed from Hong Kong at 8am Monday morning, I had time to taxi home and spend a few hours with my family before heading to ANAM in South Melbourne for the first rehearsal of the Lutosławski Cello Concerto. The Artistic Director of ANAM is Paul Dean, a clarinetist and composer of the highest order, and also one of the greatest people in the business despite stubbornly supporting the Brisbane Lions. Paul had approached me late last year about this concert and mentioned the Lutosławski concerto. The soloist was to be the brilliant Johannes Moser who is lighting up concert stages around the globe. Needless to say I jumped at the chance. The concerto is notorious for being one of the hardest to conduct (let alone play) given the aleatoric construction, with many elements left to chance, and its fiendish rhythmic complexity. I remember colleagues of mine at the Sibelius Academy lamenting having come to grief on this work, so I was certainly keen to make sure I was as well prepared as possible. I purchased a copy of the score and began my study process. I was very fortunate to meet the British conductor Ed Gardner in New York…

June 24, 2013
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CD and Other Review

Review: CASALS ENCORES (cello: Alban Gerhardt; piano: Cecile Licad)

The encore is an awkward ritual, but without it concertgoers feel cheated. The audience knows the artist is coming back; the artist knows it, but still we cheer and applaud, willing the performer to reappear. When our exhortations are rewarded, the artist pretends the little nugget they’ve kept up their sleeve is a spontaneous addition. But presenting a satisfying encore is an art in itself, and Spanish cellist Pablo Casals had an arsenal of compact crowd-pleasers for precisely this purpose. No doubt a disc of beloved encores once popularised by the most revered cellist of the 20th century – some in Casals’ own transcriptions – means big shoes to fill for Alban Gerhardt, whose faultless technique and singing tone make this an admirable tribute. The program’s balanced selection contrasts favourites with rarities, sparkling virtuosic display with the slow, expressive numbers that defined Casals’ encore style. Some of the most famous inclusions are weighed down by familiarity – Elgar’s Salut d’amore, Saint-Saëns’s The Swan and Chopin’s Raindrop Prelude languish most. As is often the case in concert, the most successful offerings are the most surprising. Boccherini’s Sonata in A major is the ideal showcase for Gerhardt’s… Continue reading Get unlimited digital…

August 11, 2011