Did the ailments of composers influence the music they wrote?! Did Tavener’s life-threatening inherited disease Marfan’s Syndrome initiate the otherworldly sound of his music? Did Beethoven’s deafness cause him to focus on his physiological rhythms?
Click here to read Tom Service’s feature in The Guardian.
The Brussels Philharmonic has revolutionised the use of paper in music performance by distributing Samsung Galaxy devices to its more than 100 musicians. Digital scores are then sent to the players, shaving hundreds of thousands of dollars off their budget. Stylus pens are used to make markings on the scores. More at: http://www.phonearena.com/news/Samsung-Galaxy-Note-10.1-is-the-tablet-of-choice-for-the-Brussels-Philharmonic_id36405
So Silvio Berlusconi has finally stepped down. Recently, Alex Ross wrote about the indifference of the Berlusconi government to supporting the arts in Italy. (1) Ross also makes reference to the unprecedented action by Riccardo Muti, conducting Nabucco halted the performance and spoke to the audience about the situation. The response from both the chorus and the…
Terrific reading for classical music fans in the Sydney Morning Herald: The Sydney Symphony’s tour of China: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/diplomacy-conducted-on-a-grand-scale-20121120-29nz4.html Natalie Bochenski interviews classical guitarist Milos Karadaglic: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/milo-lets-his-fingers-do-the-talking-20121121-29pz7.html Peter McCallum reviews the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s Russian Visions programme: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/from-russia-visions-of-its-disturbing-tumultuous-past-20121119-29m42.html And Philip Glass’ epic opera Einstein on the Beach returns ….to Melbourne in 2013: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/opera/time-is-relative-as-fourhour-einstein-opera-epic-returns-20121120-29nxn.html
ABC Classics celebrates the 60th birthday of pre-eminent Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin with The Elena Kats-Chernin Collection, a 10 CD boxed set, also available as a digital collection, bringing together her iconic works with pieces recorded especially for this collection. Kats-Chernin is one of the most cosmopolitan and successful composers working today, with a prolific…
Congratulations to 23-year-old Jeremy Boulton winner of the Marianne Mathy Scholarship (‘The Mathy’).
Musica Viva announces the launch of an exciting new initiative which aims to encourage more female composers in the Australian music landscape. It is named The Hildegard Project, after Hildegard of Bingen, a 12th century German Benedictine abbess, writer and composer who is known for her literary, musical and scientific works, and for her religious and…