From the long-awaited recording of Jessica Wells’ The Night Parrot to Nardi Simpson’s Of Star and Birds, Cameron Lam catches up on a bumper few months of album releases in his latest playlist.

Cameron Lam's playlist of Australian art music for December explores ideas of reflection, community and support.

Isolated at home waiting for your billy to boil? MSO invites choral singers to perform Banjo Paterson’s famous bush-ballad for a special ANZAC Day commemorative video.

Australian choral music given committed performances by West Australian ensemble.

Sam Allchurch, who directs the concert, tells us about his choice of the Twelve Days of Christmas as this year's theme.

Sam Allchurch will present a series of masterworks in 2020, including two world premieres.

Celebrating its centenary next year, the Philharmonia has commissioned 12 Australian composers whose works will be performed throughout 2020.

At long last, Joseph Twist's setting of text by British Cardinal John Henry Newman will receive its world premiere.

Inspirational thinkers like Steve Jobs, Nelson Mandela, and even Professor Stephen Hawking, get the Twist treatment. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

A miniature EP by Joe Twist: three works about ‘dance’; only 23 minutes. As in most of Twist’s music, allusions to popular culture are abundant. Dancing With Somebody – a string quartet – celebrates the persona (with some musical quotations) of pop diva Whitney Houston. Twist sets rhythmic buoyancy against a dark struggle. A subversive structure plays out: patterns are set up, then disturbed (though not repeated!), all aided by first-rate playing from the Sydney-based Acacia Quartet. In I Dance Myself to Sleep, Twist looks to female characters from films such as Superman and Star Wars. Am I listening to contemporary music for the concert hall or cheap bar music? (I ask that with admiration: Twist squeezes a familiar genre into something weirdly beautiful). Pianist Sally Whitwell is a gorgeous co-conspirator in Twist’s ironic game. The crystalline sound of quartet and piano jars with the overly-sampled Gorilla, a film score. A couple on a weekend away meet an alluring woman and a ritualistic dance takes place. I imagined some sort of sacramental physical theatre but this has too much sampled music masquerading as live instruments. The fade-out at the end was too obvious for what was (so far) an exciting…

A majestic and noble memorial in the grand tradition of great orchestral choral music. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Much choral food for thought as Paul Stanhope passes the baton. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in