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…
Kingfisher – Songs For Halcyon: A Gift For The Present, A Legacy For The Future
The recording, Kingfisher – Songs for Halcyon is now available on the Tall Poppies label. Below is our review of a concert performance of some of the songs from the recording from April 2014 Celebrating a decade and a half of innovative music making and professional collaboration in 2014, Halcyon presented an evening of song Kingfisher …
Concert Review: orchestra seventeen88 Chamber Soloists
orchestra seventeen88 Chamber Soloists “Big Schoolroom”, Sydney Grammar School, Darlinghurst Saturday 21st November 2015 Kate Clark, flute/ Nicole van Bruggen, clarinet/ Darryl Poulsen, horn/ Lisa Goldberg, bassoon/ Jakob Lehmann, violin /Caroline Henbest, viola /Daniel Yeadon, cello/ Maxime Bibeau, double bass The ‘Big School’ room of Sydney Grammar School on College Street was an apt setting for orchestra seventeen88’s end of year…
Concert Review: The Nutcracker/Omega Ensemble
Omega Ensemble The Nutcracker – Virtuoso Series City Recital Hall 16 November 2015 Celia Craig (oboe), Georgina Roberts (oboe / cor anglais), David Rowden (Artistic Director and clarinet), John Lewis (clarinet / bass clarinet), Ben Hoadley (bassoon), Simone Walters (bassoon), Michael Dixon (horn), Jenny Mcleod-Sneyd (horn), Lisa Osmialowski (flute), Paul Stender (cello), Alex Henery (double…
Concert Review: The Man In The Other Room/Acacia Quartet/Anna Fraser
The Man in the Other Room Acacia Quartet with Anna Fraser, soprano Mosman Art Gallery, November 8, 2015. Lisa Stewart, Myee Clohessy, violins; Stefan Duwe, viola; Anna Martin-Scrase, cello. Last weekend, Acacia Quartet performed the Sydney premiere of a new composition by Newcastle based contemporary Australian composer Ross Fiddes, The Man in the Other Room….
CD Review: The Greats – Masters Of European Music
Last weekend I had the exceptional pleasure of strolling through the Art Gallery of New South Wales, viewing its spring/summer exhibition of over 70 paintings – The Greats: masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland. The collection spans more than four centuries of art with works from the Renaissance (Botticelli’s The Virgin adoring the sleeping…
Concert Review: The Birch Tree/Thoroughbass
Thoroughbass The Birch Tree St Luke’s Anglican Church, Mosman 8 November 2015 Joanne Arnott (recorder), Lucy Cormack (cello), Shaun Ng (viola da gamba), Angus Ryan (cello), Diana Weston (Director and harpsichord) One of the intriguing musical developments of the past few years has been the way in which period musical instruments are being utilised in performing…
Concert review: Fearless Italian Baroque Violin/ Riccardo Minasi/Australian Brandenburg Orchestra
The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Fearless Italian Baroque Violin Soloist and guest director by Riccardo Minasi October 29, 2015 City Recital Hall, Sydney Playing on an Amati violin from Cremona that is over 300 years old, Baroque specialist Riccardo Minasi performed a selection of rarely heard Neapolitan orchestral gems directing the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra from the…