Susan Graham’s recital reviewed

David Vance commends Susan Graham’s ambitious programme:

David Vance commends Susan Graham’s ambitious programme:
From the Hungry Waiting Country is a new release by Halcyon, performing the music of contemporary Australian composer, Elliot Gyger. Released on the Tall Poppies label, it contains three works by Gyger, Giving Voice (2012), Petit Testament (2008) and the cycle from which the disc takes its title, From the Hungry Waiting Country (2006). Halcyon’s…
Handel Messiah/Marc Minkowksi/Deutsches Grammophon Virtuoso. Nearly three centuries after Handel’s Messiah was first performed in 1742, and nearly a century after its first recordings in the 1920s, Deutsche Grammophon has re-released a 2001 Archiv recording conducted by Marc Minkowski on its Virtuoso label (Catalogue Number 478 6175). Virtuoso promises quality performances at an affordable price….
A Brahms Affair Omega Ensemble City Recital Hall 7 September, 2016 At the vanguard of performing live clarinet repertoire in Sydney, Omega Ensemble presented A Brahms Affair, featuring the swoon-worthy later works of Schumann, Borodin and Brahms in configurations of 2, 4 and then 5 players. Omega Ensemble co-directors clarinettist David Rowden and pianist Maria…
Compassion/Nigel Westlake/Lior Sydney Symphony Orchestra ABC Classics 481 0678 First published in March 2014, this review is being re-published in the light of the nomination of ‘Compassion’ by Nigel Westlake and Lior, for Orchestral Work of the Year in the APRA AMCOS Australian Music Centre Art Music Awards for 2014. In October 2013, composer Nigel Westlake was awarded the…
The Silver Violin (Decca) is the title of the 7th recording for the 25-year-old violinist Nicola Benedetti. It’s a well matched collection of original violin music written for the silver screen, performed by the 2012 Classic Brit Awards ‘Female Artist of the Year’. The CD is a fine demonstration of the breadth of Benedetti’s versatility and the…
Mass in B minor, BWV 232, J S Bach Choir of Christ Church St Laurence, St Laurence Baroque and Australian Baroque Brass Christ Church St Laurence April 2, 2017 Whether Sydney’s choral directors were in cahoots or whether it was coincidence, choral music fans have the rare luxury of hearing three of J S Bach’s…