A $400 million upgrade is planned for the Sydney Opera House, reports Matthew Westwood in The Australian.
Does this plan place too much competition on the venue to live up to expectations as a tourist facility as well as a centre for the arts and its ensembles in residence?
Opening at the English National Opera on September 13th is a new production of Verdi’s Otello. Debuting in the title role is Stuart Skelton. In fact, it is an Australian double for the male leads as Jonathan Summers sings the role of Iago. This production of Otello at the ENO marks the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth….
The Beethoven commemorations continue with a new release on 6 March, by celebrated pianist and renowned Beethoven specialist Rudolf Buchbinder. Buchbinder has released his first album on Deutsche Grammophon, a new series of works based on Beethoven’s monumental Diabelli Variations. Buchbinder first recorded the Diabelli Variations early in his career. This time, he has invited…
It is surely a travesty for classical music in Australia that the ABC Symphony Australia Young Performers Award is to be discontinued after being run annually for 71 years. More than just a contest, the nation’s only national fixture for emerging musicians has been operating since 1944 and has served as a platform for some of…
New York’s Metropolitan Opera announces Met Stars Live in Concert, a new series of 12 pay-per-view concerts featuring opera’s most extraordinary voices, streamed live from striking locations across Europe and the United States. While the Metropolitan Opera House remains dark because of the ongoing health crisis, Met Stars Live in Concert will allow audiences to…
Music is ubiquitous. Its impact on our lives is vast and indefinable. Matthew Westwood reviews some of the current beliefs surrounding the effect of music on the mind. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/for-health-keep-a-song-in-your-heart/story-e6frg8n6-1226188081061
When nationally renowned viola da gambist Jenny Eriksson formed Australia’s first electric viola da gamba band, Elysian Fields, she had one pianist in mind: Matt McMahon. Jenny and Matt developed their friendship over several years of performing together at jazz gigs. In 2014 she finally invited him to write for, and appear with, her…