The Circus Academy Comes to Town
If you’ve ever dreamed of running away and joining the circus, a new academy in Sydney lets you indulge that aspiration without having to run away. Composer and producer Chloe Charody and her business partner violinist Sonja Schebeck have taken their experiences from their circus opera The Carnival staged in London’s West End and opened…
Under the impression – the sesquicentenary of Debussy’s birth.
Wednesday August 22nd 2012 is the sesquicentenary of the birth of Claude Debussy. Whilst the music world plans for the anniversaries next year for Britten, Verdi and Wagner, the acknowledgement of Debussy’s 150th birth anniversary has been distinctly underwhelming. Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times investigates: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/19/arts/music/debussys-150th-birthday-gets-little-notice.html?_r=1&ref=music
The 2012 Sydney Eisteddfod results
All the music results from the 2012 Sydney Eisteddfod: http://www.sydneyeisteddfod.com.au/uploads/2012ClassicalSingingResults.pdf http://www.sydneyeisteddfod.com.au/uploads/2012ChoralResults.pdf http://www.sydneyeisteddfod.com.au/uploads/2012PianoResults.pdf http://www.sydneyeisteddfod.com.au/uploads/2012InstrumentalSoloResults.pdf http://www.sydneyeisteddfod.com.au/uploads/2012InstGroupResults.pdf http://www.sydneyeisteddfod.com.au/uploads/2012CreativeResults.pdf
Benjamin grosvenor ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ – a formidable talent
Playtime for a young Benjamin Grosvenor was less about manipulating a games console or donning mouthguard and shin pads. For him, ‘playtime’ meant time with his beloved piano – “the big shiny black thing in the music room – very exciting for a child”. This fascination took him from starting pianos lessons aged…
Hot off the press –
Elena Kats Chernin is at work on a new composition: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/many-lands-and-voices-capture-core-of-countrys-heart-20120809-23wu5.html A preview of Zubin Kanga’s Sydney concert http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/dont-try-this-on-the-new-steinway-kids-20120812-242p3.html
Victorian Pianist wins Sydney Eisteddfod Piano Scholarship
Twenty-four-year-old Victorian pianist Konrad Olsezewski has taken out the prestigious $10,000 Allison/Henderson Sydney Eisteddfod Piano Scholarship with a winning performance, Konrad played the Piano Sonata No 2 in B-flat minor, Opus 36, (1st version) by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Konrad recently completed a Bachelor of Music with Honours at the University of Melbourne and is now studying for a…
Now its opera under the water
Sydney presented opera on the harbour. Now German soprano Claudia Herr presents the world premiere of her vocal work under the waters of the river Elbe in Dresden. The performance commemorates the devastating floods that hit Saxony 10 years ago. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19215589 http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/__pr/P__Wash/2012/08/09ElbeOpera.html
BBC Music magazine looks at opera’s 20-20
BBC Music magazine turns 20 next month and to mark the occasion, has collected images from 20 outstanding opera productions over the past 20 years. Take a look at this intriguing picture gallery – and to add some spice, hide the caption and try to guess the opera, the production, the year and the singers….
Monteverdi meets the marimba
When Synergy Percussion under its Artistic Director Timothy Constable presents Masterpieces of Time, later this August, some of the music performed will pre-date by centuries, the instruments on which it will be performed. Herr Bach, Monsieur Couperin and Mr Handel will meet the marimba, vibraphones, bells, gongs, mechanical music boxes, prepared piano and steel drums. It doesn’t make the original versions obsolete, but…