The Australian Music Centre turns 50 this year. Composer Vincent Plush, who was there at the start, recalls how it all began.

This month's features explore OA's new 'Digital Ring', the stage adaptation of The Dictionary of Lost Words, Mahler's Ninth, and Sir Eugene Goossens' push for the SOH.

Cameron Lam explores Australian music written for brass instruments, from tubas and trombones, to double bell trumpets and a 19-century ophicleide.

George Crumb’s death at the age of 92 is an immeasurable loss for the arts. A composer with an extraordinary talent for finding new sonorities, colours, and sounds in his haunting works, his titanic impact on music in the twentieth century is still felt even now. 

Features include the return of the opera Voss, the stage adaptation of Boy Swallows Universe, avoiding one-hit wonders in new Australian music, and a profile of Global Creatures' Carmen Pavlovic as Moulin Rouge! The Musical opens in Melbourne.

We look at opera's love affair with wine, the Australian Chamber Orchestra's new project River, and Virginia Gay's emergence as a playwright. We also salute Paul Goodchild, doyen of Australian brass.

What can a grand old European city tell us about life in Australia today? Roland Peelman chats with Julian Day about how new music and First Nations musicians play an essential role in this year’s Vienna-themed Canberra International Music Festival.

As we celebrate the centenary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth, Vincent Plush looks back on his blazing, multi-faceted career and recalls a few personal encounters, including a rare appearance by the maestro semi-clad and wearing silver lamé.

Vincent Plush’s new orchestral work for the Canberra Symphony celebrates the vision of Walter Burley Griffin. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in