Latest news
The Great Symphonies Series
Tom Service of The Guardian begins a year – long journey which explores the symphony and how it changed our world. The word was first used in the 16th century and referred to music for various combinations of voices and instruments, like Gabrieli’s Sacrae symphoniae, 1597. The symphony as we know it today took shape…
Mahler’s 8th symphony celebrates its 103rd anniversary today.
Today, September 12th is the day in 1910 when Gustav Mahler’s monolithic symphonic cantata the Symphony no 8 premiered in Munich. Mahler underwent much soul searching as he wrote it, but the audiences loved it, awarding the performance with a 20 minute ovation. Mahler himself conducted the premiere for which the impresario Emil Gutman…
Selby & Friends Gather a World of Musicians in 2014
Chamber music specialists Selby & Friends have rolled out their line-up for 2014. Pianist, founder and Artistic Director Kathy Selby, AM will perform with old friends and new, from Australia and around the world. Chameleon -like, the ensemble will morph from duos to larger ensembles to perform world premieres as well as cornerstones of the chamber repertoire with a special focus…
Marin Alsop on Women in Conducting.
Marin Alsop has blazed a trail as one of the few females at the pinnacle of the world of conducting. She is the first female to conduct the Last Night of the Proms. The fact this milestone needs to be observed and commented on is telling in itself. As she takes the baton for this traditional…
Is Gender a Factor in Conducting? Petrenko Creates a Furore
Just days after violinist Nigel Kennedy claimed that “conductors are completely over-rated”, and on the eve of Marin Alsop becoming the first woman to conduct the Last Night of the Proms, Russian born conductor Vasily Petrenko has created a storm by claiming that orchestras “react better when they have a man in front of them” and that…
Latest reviews
Review: ‘La Boheme’, Opera Australia
La Bohème – Giacomo Puccini Opera Australia 4 January 2014 Joan Sutherland Opera Theatre, Sydney Opera House. When is an operatic first night not a first night? Well, for Opera Australia, it’s when Puccini’s La Bohème opens the Sydney summer season just four days after the New Year’s Eve Gala performance of the same…
A ‘Classy’ Christmas – Sydney Children’s Choir ‘Voices of Angels’
Sydney Children’s Choir: Voices of Angels City Recital Hall, Tuesday December 17th 2013. Talk about ‘class’ in the context of the Sydney Children’s Choir, and you’re not just talking about lessons for children learning how to sing in a choir. You’re talking about a group of children who have the kind of ‘class’ to deliver…