Latest news
‘Sappho’ CD release
The new double CD recording of Sappho by Peggy Glanville-Hicks will be available for sale from mid-November. It features soprano Deborah Polaski, tenors Martin Homrich and Scott MacAllister, baritone Roman Trekel, bass-baritone Wolfgang Koch bass & John Tomlinson., with the Orquestra Gulbenkian and Coro Gulbenkian conducted by Jennifer Condon. Read our 2 part interview with Jennifer Condon: Part 1 Part…
Toscanini’s treasures for auction
The family of maestro Arturo Toscanini has placed hundreds of his valuable possessions on the market for auction by Sotheby’s in London on November 28th. The conductor died in New York in 1957. The items include Toscanini’s Steinway model D piano, some of his batons and documents hand written by Verdi, Wagner, Strauss and Mendelssohn. More at:…
Closer ties for the arts in Austral-asia
The federal government wants to build reciprocal relationships with arts bodies in Asia as part of closer ties with the continent http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/hopes-but-no-new-funds-for-asian-links/story-e6frg8n6-1226504849368
‘Synaesthesia: Music of Colour and Mind’ – a kaleidoscopic sensory encounter
“I hear a note by one of the fellows in the band and it’s one colour. I hear the same note played by someone else and it’s a different colour. When I hear sustained musical tones I see them in textures. If Harry Carney is playing, D is dark blue burlap. If Johnny Hodges…
World premiere broadcast of ‘Sappho’
Peggy Glanville-Hicks. There’s news of a historic event Australian music from conductor Jennifer Condon who has revived Peggy Glanville-Hicks’ forgotten opera Sappho: She says: “Greetings from Hamburg! Prior to the Australian release of the world premiere recording, Peggy Glanville-Hicks’ Sappho is being broadcast on ABC Classic FM’s Sunday Opera programme. (November 4th at 7pm) If you do…
Nicola Benedetti avoids the crossover and stays current
You may not have noticed, but a famous violinist slipped in and out of Sydney this week. She has promised to return ‘soon’ so we can hear her at her craft. Twenty five year old Nicola Benedetti was this year named ‘Female Artist of the Year’ at the Classical Brit Awards. Born in Scotland of…
Latest reviews
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang reviewed
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is the musical from the book written by the alter-ego of Ian (James Bond) Fleming. The musical starring David Hobson opened in Sydney last week. John McCallum reviews the show: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/arts/flying-cars-are-cool-and-so-are-villains/story-e6frg8n6-1226519085593
Synaesthesia: reviewing a journey into the unknown
Descending the spiral staircases into the darkened subterranean caverns of the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), was like entering the recesses of the subconscious. The museum was about to host the inaugural coming together of a collision of sensory experiences in the form of Synaesthesia: Music of Colour and Mind, a festival that…