America’s classical bad boys, Time for Three, bring their unique brand of jazz-fusion down under.

Emma Matthews takes on the nation's biggest orchestra for the Best Classical Album ARIA.

International guests join Melbourne’s recently returned orchestral heroes.

Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti talks Beethoven, dabbling in folk, and her musical journey to date.

Melbournians fly the flag for Oz with a walloping Royal Albert hall debut. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Sir Andrew Davis’ Australian orchestra has listeners crying into their suppers.

Renowned artists, works and premieres are on the table for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's new season.

A most auspicious start to Sir Andrew Davis’s anticipated Mahler project. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

I’ve always thought Khachaturian’s ballet music superior to his concertos. Even James Ehnes’ customary fusion of virtuosity and insight cannot convince me otherwise. Despite the contribution David Oistrakh made to its composition, if I had to sum up the Violin Concerto in one word, I’m afraid it would be “racketty”. Even the “exotic” arabesques, which must have seemed original in the 1930s were much better when used by composers like Dmitri Tiomkin and Miklós Rózsa in 1950s “sword and sandal” epics. Ehnes ennobles virtually every piece of music he performs but I think his prodigious talent is wasted on this work. The rest of the disc contains string quartets performed by Ehnes’ eponymous quartet, a curious juxtaposition because, while the Khachaturian has never really entered the “canon” of great violin concertos, it certainly does have audience appeal. Shostakovich’s Eighth String Quartet is his only work in this genre to have gained permanent status in the repertoire, but it’s still a hard nut to crack for the uninitiated listener. It’s a work of emotional extremes, although the very opening is played here with a warmth I’ve never heard before. The second movement is demented (even by Shostakovich’s standards) but these wonderful……

European tour program to surely bring the house down at the Albert Hall. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The main strike against this CD is that it lasts barely 45 minutes. A pity, as the performances are very fine.

Two spectacular instrumental showcases that, despite their differences, find common ground.