Accolades for Carolyn Watson
Sydney conductor Carolyn Watson’s star continue to rise as she has headed off to Europe for the northern summer. She sent Sounds Like Sydney a ‘postcard’ from Berlin. “I’m writing this from Berlin where I’ve just arrived. Very fortunately, I was named as the recipient of Opera Foundation Australia’s 2012 Berlin New Music Opera Award,…
More news….
There are changes afoot in the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House, aimed at improving the acoustic. More at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/opinion/acoustic-alterations-at-the-opera-house-must-retain-the-architectural-harmony-of-the-hall/story-fn9n9z9n-1226420429346 What’s the obsession with expecting musicians to have the stamina of an athlete, the technique of the possessed and the looks of a deity? http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/review/making-beautiful-music/story-fn9n8gph-1226416992126 Review the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s current touring…
Hot off the press….
How will we access music over the next decade? http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/mp3s/music-revolution-20120705-21jmo.html A new organ in unveiled in Sydney: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/traveller-over-seas-and-years-20120707-21nqz.html A review of the weekend’s Sydney Symphony concert conducted by conductor designate David Robertson: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/shifting-layers-have-rewards-20120705-21jt9.html
Highlights from the Olympics Proms include tenor Stuart Skelton singing’Grimes’
London is the only city in the world which can offer its visitors the chance to simultaneously attend two of the world’s largest festivals that pair sport and music – the Olympics and the BBC Proms. The Proms opens on July 13th and runs till September 8th; the Olympic Games open on July 27th and…
More about Melba’s funding cut
“The Melba Foundation was established to promote Australia’s finest classical musicians and artists in the national and international music world” says the opening statement on the home page of Melba Recordings. It continues: “The appointed role of the foundation is to help the best contemporary Australian musicians…. develop a profile and continue to build musical…
Technology transports the sound
The orchestra pit of the Opera Theatre in the Sydney Opera House wasn’t big enough to accommodate the 86 orchestral musicians required for Opera Australia’s present production of Korngold’s “Die tote Stadt”. Answer: take them off-site and link them to the theatre with video and acoustic technology. Matthew Westwood of The Australian has the full story: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/music/pits-not-up-to-it-so-piped-musics-the-go/story-fn9d2mxu-1226409545488
The weekend’s music news
William Barton receives a standing ovation for his performance with the Sydney Symphony: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/hail-the-didgeridoo-virtuoso-20120628-2156p.html Michael Shmith reviews DG’s 82 CD set release of Herbert von Karajan’s 1060s recordings: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/a-school-reunion-of-sorts-20120628-213fy.html …and a new Chief Executive for the Sydney Opera House: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/ex-belvoir-head-to-run-opera-house/story-e6frg8n6-1226412792951
Haitink seeks new generation of conductors
During this year’s Lucerne Festival mestro Bernard Haitink conducts master classes for aspiring young professionals. The festival has been running since 1938 when the concerts in its first series were conducted by Toscanini. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/features/bernard-haitink-a-maestro-passes-on-his-baton-to-the-next-generation-7873227.html
A New CD for Slava and Leonard Grigoryan
Keeping up with the Grigoryan brothers is no mean feat. This month Slava Grigoryan performs in concert with the Willoughby Symphony, the brothers Leonard and Slava appear on Jose Carbo’s recent release My Latin Heart, but most importantly, between early July and mid-October, they will undertake an extensive national tour from Perth to Townsville…