Latest news
How It All Began: Nicholas Routley On The Sydney Chamber Choir
A decade after Nicholas Routley, the founding director of the Sydney Chamber Choir has left the ensemble he created, there is still a powerful nexus between them. Talking about the choir’s upcoming 40th anniversary concert this weekend, which he will conduct, Nicholas Routley muses “I don’t know whether to say ‘we’ or ‘they’ since I…
Ashkenazy Follows The Path Of Jean Sibelius.
If you’re wondering what Vladimir Ashkenazy – one of Sydney’s favourite musicians – has been up to since leaving the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, here’s news of one of his projects: earlier this year, he journeyed to Finland to make a film, Vladimir Ashkenazy on the Path of Jean Sibelius, with the Philharmonia Orchestra of which he…
Queen’s Birthday Honours For Opera Singers
Huge congratulations to opera singers soprano Cheryl Barker and baritone Peter Coleman-Wright for being awarded honours in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2015. Ms Barker was made an Officer (AO) in the General Division “for distinguished service to the performing arts as an operatic soprano, as a mentor and role model, and through fundraising support…
Barenboim Performs Schubert Cycle On A Piano He Co-Designed
This week pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim has been appearing in four concerts at London’s Royal Festival Hall, performing the complete piano sonatas (11 of them – from memory) of Franz Schubert. What makes this series even more special is that Mr Barenboim has been performing on piano that he has co-designed and which took 4,000…
Australian Youth Orchestra Calls For Applications
The Australian Youth Orchestra invites applications from Australia’s most talented pre-professional musicians to participate in prestigious national and international musical programs offered by the AYO in 2016. The AYO runs innovative musical programs for musicians aged 12-30, and is an internationally recognised orchestral training-ground. Applications open 25 May and close on 12 June. Each year…
The Art Of Listening
A really important feature from the Editor of Gramophone, Martin Cullingford on the importance of listening to music: “The art of sitting, concentrating and listening to something long-form and complex is an increasingly alien experience. And unless people develop that skill, classical music will face an uphill struggle. “ Click here to read the feature…
Latest reviews
CD Review: Kingfisher – Songs for Halcyon
Kingfisher – Songs for Halcyon, is a recording of 21 songs by living Australasian composers, performed by the new music ensemble Halcyon. Released on the Tall Poppies label (TP 236) last month, the project was the brainchild of Halcyon’s founders and core performers, soprano Alison Morgan and mezzo-soprano Jenny Duck-Chong, to commemorate Halcyon’s 15th anniversary and…
CD Review: Merry Christmas From Vienna/ Vienna Boys Choir
The Vienna Boys Choir’s 2015 Christmas release Merry Christmas from Vienna out on the Deutsches Grammophon label (DG 00028948119479) is a heart-warming anthology of sacred and secular festive songs that include both the traditional and the modern. If ever the Vienna Boys Choir made a recording that you could sing along with or dance to – then…