The Brandenburg Christmas Cake recipe!

Paul Dyer

Paul Dyer
Today, December 2nd 2013 marks the 90th birthday of the incomparable Maria Callas. Born Cecilia Sophia Anna Maria Kalogeropoulou in New York on December 2nd in 1934, she moved to Greece, her ancestral home at the age of 14 and entered the Athens Conservatory in 1940. In 1942 she sang Tosca in Athens and after several more roles…
The German coloratura soprano Simone Kermes has earned herself the formidable reputation of being ‘dangerous’. In fact, ” a dangerous, no-holds barred singer” says Gramophone magazine. A rare accolade for anyone in the performing arts, let alone one who has a niche in performing Baroque. Simone Kermes brings her special mix of theatre and electrifying…
Maria Schneider’s composition Winter Morning Walks has won four Grammies this year for the composer, the soprano soloist Dawn Upshaw and production team. The recording features one of Australia’s finest ensembles, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, who will perform this song cycle in its upcoming Sydney season. Schneider has recently moved from working in jazz…
Noël! Noël! the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra’s annual Christmas concert is in its 15th year. The series has become a seasonal fixture with concerts in churches and concert halls in and around Sydney, as well as in Wollongong. “In Noël! Noël! we blend the ancient with the modern in our arrangements and also instrumentally,” says…
Soprano Sarah Brightman has one of the most recognised voices in contemporary music. This week she releases her eleventh studio album Dreamchaser. Making the album, she says, takes back to her childhood, growing up in Hertfordshire, England, dreaming of spectacular, unknowable things. “My mind’s eye brings me a rush of images from all of the…
Baritone José Carbó has recorded a sensuous collection of Latin American songs on a CD entitled My Latin Heart. The songs represent some of the best from the repertoire of popular songs. More importantly, they’re all taken from from sheet music given to Carbó by his grandfather Donato. In this clip, Carbó sings Granada, which is…