Ahead of performances with WASO and ASO, the French-Canadian pianist explains the challenges of Chopin and Saint-Saëns. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The in-demand Australian maestro talks about a life of the road and the importance of the message behind the music.

WASO Principal Flute Andrew Nicholson was in at the birth of several Potters. Memoirs from the Studio

The classically trained opera turned indie pop singer delivers a night richly laden with artistry.

The orchestra was love at first sight for the Perth-bound Israeli conductor – the sounds, the instruments, the cigarettes, the coffee...

Since he picked up his father's synth and fell in love with music, the Russian's rise has been meteoric. How does he handle it all?

Bostridge takes us on a nightmare ride through Zender's refracted Schubert.

The Swiss-Australian conductor will work with the Tasmanian and West Australian Symphony Orchestras in 2017.

I enjoyed this Brahms cycle. Fortunately, Asher Fish is not a member of the “Brahms Lite” Chapter or a Chailly/Gardiner – style speed merchant. What’s more, unlike the hapless, battle-jacketed George W Bush standing on the deck of that aircraft carrier, under a sign proclaiming “Mission Accomplished”, Asher Fisch really has accomplished his “mission” to transform the West Australian Symphony Orchestra from merely good into a potentially great instrument, on the strength of theses performances at least. It plays with confidence, sheen and finesse. The buoyant galumphing rhythm of the opening movement of the First Symphony is just right (no repeat observed – presumably because of the plan to fit this and the Second Symphony on a single CD) without diminishing the inherent drama. The second and third movements are really like lightly scored serenade movements buffering two huge epic book-ends, but it’s here the quality of the woodwind phrasing (and the depth of the orchestra’s talent) becomes apparent. This is warmly shaped, with oboe and clarinet solos notable but also a lovely extended reverie by concertmaster Jackson duetting with horns. The Finale, with its deliberately tentative opening, is always problematic but Fisch guides his players through treacherous shoals… Continue reading Get unlimited…

Pin back your ears as six tale-tellers from Australian orchestras share some rippers from the dim and distant past.

Stephen Layton's dramatic conviction makes a powerful testimony of Handel’s musical centrepiece.

★★★★☆ Sublime performances from WASO’s Wagnerian dream team. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in