Latest news
The Unbeatable Power of Words and Music
Whilst music and words by themselves have the power to evoke myriad emotions, conductor Mark Wigglesworth writes about the unbeatable power of combining words with music: http://www.gramophone.co.uk/blog/shaping-the-invisible/when-it-comes-to-expressing-emotion-is-music-better-than-words
2013 Art Music Winners Announced.
The 2013 winners of the ART Music Awards have been announced, acknowledging excellence in the creation, performance, education and presentation of Australian music. The awards are made by APRA AMCOS and the Australian Music Centre, and include contemporary art music, jazz and experimental music. At the pinnacle, the Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music was presented to 85-year-old George Dreyfus…
The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra’s 25th season.
The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra has announced its 2014 line up. True to the niche it has created for itself , the programme focuses on music from early classical times and before, with a splash of Bartok and deFalla on the side. The orchestra is joined at various times by its choir, and soloists performing…
Britten’s scores online
As part of the Benjamin Britten centenary this year, the British Library has made available online, digital images of a comprehensive range of Britten’s original scores, along with annotations. Choral, instrumental, opera, incidental music – it’s all there. Click here for the link to The British Library’s Digitised Images page.
Dvorak’s New York contract goes on display
The contract signed by Antonin Dvorak which clinched the deal that took him to work in New York has been found amongst the personal papers of the woman who hired him. Dated ‘Prague 1892’ it contains detailed terms of his employment. The contract goes on display in Manhattan on September 8th. Click here to read more and…
Opera Australia releases its 2014 line up
It’s rush hour for Sydney’s performing ensembles as they jostle to release their programmes for 2014 and secure the all important subscription dollar for the year. Hot on the heels of the SSO’s 2014 season release, Opera Australia has announced it’s compilation for next year on a re-vamped website. Nine of the 16 productions offer opera in…
Latest reviews
Pinchgut Opera’s ‘Giasone’ reviewed: Recreating a 400 Year Old Soundscape
Possibly the most challenging aspect of writing about my evening at Giasone, Pinchgut Opera’s 2013 production, has been to decide which of the many facets of this beautifully integrated production was the most memorable – was it the casting or the singing? The musical direction or the orchestra? Was it was the inventive staging…
CD Review: Long Walk To Freedom, Original Soundtrack
As if to perpetuate the legend once its hero was dead, Long Walk to Freedom the biopic of Nelson Mandela had its first showing in London on December 5th 2013, as the great man passed on. The movie had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2013. The original movie soundtrack,…