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Update on the ‘Ring’
Click here to read Matthew Westwood’s update on the Melbourne Ring cycle in The Australian.
Marimba Concerto Fuses Latin and Classical styles
Daniel Rojas As the premiere of his Marimba Concerto draws near, composer Daniel Rojas reflects on the excitement of the occasion. He writes: “A world premiere of any orchestral work is a rare occasion. I often compare it to the launch of a new novel or the opening night of a new movie or…
Stradivari’s creations on display in Oxford
If you’re visiting the United Kingdom this northern summer and you’re an aficionado of the violin, a day trip out of London to Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum could just be your idea of heaven as it puts on display 21 instruments created by the master craftsman Antonio Stradivari (c.1644–1737). Stradivari didn’t only make violins – he made…
“No such thing as an ‘overnight success’ in opera” – Dame Kiri
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is refreshingly honest about the trend to fast-track singers to classical singing without the vital technical foundations. Click here to read The Guardian.
Stories in music as Jane Sheldon and Acacia Quartet launch ‘North+South’
In the intimate setting of the Sydney Philharmonia space at The Wharf, soprano Jane Sheldon and the Acacia Quartet launched their recent CD North+South, recorded with harpist Genevieve Lang, in an evening of stories in music as Acacia also performed two works for string quartet composed by Lyle Chan. Now based in the US, Jane Sheldon sang a selection of 10 folk songs from…
The curse on ‘The Ring’
It seems that this opera has a phantom that simply can’t be shaken. The Melbourne production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle scheduled for late 2013 is seeking a conductor at short notice after the designated conductor Richard Mills resigned. Productions of Wagner’s Ring are said to be jinxed – a phenomenon discussed in Stephen Fry’s excellent 2010 BBC…
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Stephanie MacCallum records Alkan’s ‘Recueils de Chants’
Sydney pianist Stephanie McCallum has released the first volume of Recueils de Chants a series of tone poems for piano by Charles-Valentin Alkan. This first edition contains the first three of five books, adding a world premiere recording of Une fuse a spinning song.tone poems by Charles-Valentin Alkan. Recorded in the Recital Hall West, of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music during 2012, there is nearly 75…
Fine singing and production impel Verdi’s ‘Forza’
La Forza del Destino – Giuseppi Verdi Opera Australia 29 June 2013 Opera Australia’s Sydney Winter Season opened on Saturday 29 June with a new production of Verdi’s La Forza del Destino which is part of the company’s commemoration of the bi-centenary of Verdi’s birth. It is 16 years since the company staged this work…