Russian violinist Alina Ibragimova gives an astounding performance of Sibelius. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Two contrasting orchestrations aid aural promenade through Mussorgsky’s masterpiece. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Tequila disguised as a slice of lemon; musicians in cages; Bach in the dark. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Festival of Voices “slightly unusual concert,” proves to be just that.

A finishing school for composers of orchestral music has existed for some time in Australia, and most of our renowned composers are alumni. For the past eight years, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra has hosted it with financial support of Symphony Australia. I received my first book on orchestration (by Walter Piston for those taking notes) as a teenager, and was fascinated with the idea of manipulating the sonorities of an entire orchestra. That fascination has never left me (although the copy of the Piston has – if you have it, please return it). Last year I submitted a score for the TSO Composers’ School which was not accepted, but I did take up an invitation to spend a few days in Hobart as an observer. This 2013 experience taught me a great many valuable things, not least of which was an understanding of the criteria my music would have to meet to be accepted the following year. This could be called ‘the invisible brief’ and is a familiar enough idea to artists in all media. The score of my piece ‘Angelus’ was submitted in January and accepted. This made me extremely excited. Soon after my tutor for this event, the…

TSO share the story of ballet dancer Li Cunxin with delightful music and stunning imagery. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Equal respect given to composers old and new, from a variety of genres and nations, in a remarkable orchestral performance. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

For the last twenty years soprano Emma Matthews has been an invaluable asset to Opera Australia, her miraculously reliable vocal abilities elevating many potentially mundane evenings into memorable occasions. With a captivating, vivacious stage presence whether playing sweet ingénue, saucy minx, ditzy maid or femme fatale (her Lulu was an unexpected tour-de-force) one felt secure knowing the musical values would always get their full due. Her virtues of beautiful silvery tone with tight but attractive vibrato and her impeccable technique allied with rock solid intonation are showcased here with this collection of Mozart arias. Opening with Lieve sono al par del vento one hears the artist’s virtues in a nutshell; beauty and virtuosity in abundance but never for the sake of empty display. Ruhe sanft, mein holdes leben is radiantly sung with the ends of phrases hanging in the air like silk on a breeze and Ach, ich fühls is sung with chaste purity and refreshing simplicity. She certainly has the pipes to deal with the concert arias; four of which are offered here and are the highlights of the recital. These are notoriously tricky works with many stratospheric passages; the coloratura demands are ramped up due to their function as insertion…

Volume 61 in Hyperion’s Romantic Piano Concerto project finds Howard Shelley in top form. Not only does he despatch hair-raisingly difficult passagework as if it were the simplest exercise, but he simultaneously directs from the keyboard, securing committed and alert playing from his Hobart colleagues. How far these labours are justified by the music’s merits remains the question. Theodor Döhler (1814-56) and Alexander Dreyschock (1818-69), both child prodigies who achieved brief renown, will be largely unknown. Dreyschock’s most admired achievement consisted of playing Chopin’s Revolutionary Study with octaves added to the left-hand; Döhler lacked even this claim upon posterity. Dreyschock’s Morceau de Concert deserves revival – a Beethovenian study in gravitas, with intelligent instrumentation in which cello and horns play significant roles. It seems odd that anyone capable of writing this should also have purveyed the clichéd homage to Vienna, for which even the booklet note cannot summon marked enthusiasm. Döhler’s concerto lies between the Dreyschock pieces in quality, with some imaginative modulations in the first movement but with bland note-spinning elsewhere. Hyperion’s engineering is clean and well-balanced, if slightly less opulent than the label’s best. Not among the finest releases in this valuable series. Continue reading Get unlimited digital…

Slovenian conductor Marko Letonja will take over as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in January 2012. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in