Conducting Business
Being a conductor has got to be one of the strangest of jobs! In the cascade of music that the audience comes to hear, the conductor makes not one sound; he touches no instrument. The audience doesn’t even witness the emotions of the maestro/maestra at work and indeed, some gestures may even be completely obscured. Tom Service…
Demystifying Danielle
The uber–glamourous and precociously talented soprano Danielle de Niese returns to Australia, for performances around the nation. She was interviewd by Sharon Verghis of The Australian. Following the link to her interview are links to her blogs in ‘The Huffington Post’ http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/review/rising-opera-star-danielle–de–niese-is-set-to-stun/story-fn9n8gph-1226374852846 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/danielle–de–niese/the-case-for-making-recor_b_1220059.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/danielle–de–niese/baroque-coming-out-party_b_1177726.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/danielle–de–niese/inspired-to-inspire_b_1154608.html
The Piano Man
Roger Woodward returns to Sydney in November for a series of recitals. This month, he also performs in Canberra, Brisbane and Sydney. Awards for his performances include the “Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik” in November 2007 and the Diapason d’Or. His life has encompassed both musical and social causes for which he has also garnered the Polish Order of…
The inspirational power of Fischer-Dieskau
Rising opera singer and lyric baritone Raphael Hudson explains why Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau’s legacy is so central to the art of singing and expresses a very personal view of the inspirational power of this iconic role-model. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau changed the face of Lieder and Art Song. Before him, there were excellent singers who performed Lieder very well, often…
Manhattan School of Music comments on ANU School of Music re-structure
Academics from New York’s Manhattan School of Music comment on the re-structure at the ANU School of Music in Canberra: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/music-schools-sour-note-20120527-1zcp1.html
Fischer-Dieskau’s artistic ideals
Last week the world mourned the death of the extraordinary baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, (b 1925) who would have turned 87 on May 28th this year. Although he worked in all genres of vocal repertoire, he made his mark in lieder. He was also the link with some of the legends of the 20th century, having…
The Australian String Quartet aims for a family of Guadagnini instruments
The Australian String Quartet and the Ngeringa Farm Arts Foundation launch a fund to own outright the four precious Guadagnini instruments presently played by the quartet – the first and only ensemble in Australia that plays instruments crafted by the same person. http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/four-fabulous-rarities-bridge-the-centuries-20120523-1z5m3.html
Spotify launches in Australia
Spotify, came to Australia this week. The Swedish digital music streaming service was launched in October 2008, and has clocked up a colossal 10 million users in less than 4 years. With three different levels of service Spotify offers capability of creating playlists, share music, browse artists, biographies and similar music, from a repository of millions of tracks. Spotify is available for your PC, Mac,…
The Art of Music makes art for music
Singer Jenny Morris has created a project called Art of Music in which 10 paintings inspired by iconic Australian songs will be auctioned to raise funds for the Golden Stave Music Therapy Centre at the University of Western Sydney’s Kingswood campus. The auction is to be held at the Art Gallery of New South Wales on…