All Rise: Jazz at the Lincoln Centre with Wynton Marsalis and the MSO 25 August, 2023, Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne Epic. Grand. Exhilarating. Describing All Rise with any level of useful detail is an impossible task. To label it as Jazz Symphony, in 12...
Articles + Reviews By Brad Slater
Brahms and more, MSO at its best
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra | Brahms Violin Concerto and more March 11, 2023, Hamer Hall Elena Schwarz, conductor Clara-Jung Wang, violin When programming this concert much more thought went into the repertoire than the title might suggest. Starting a concert with an...
MSO with Christian Li – a fine night of music making for audiences both young and old
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra | MENDELSSOHN AND BRAHMS Friday December 2nd 2022, Hamer Hall Sir Andrew Davis - conductor Christian Li - violin Ensuring the tradition and richness of the classical western art music tradition, and indeed the future of our Australian...
Lisa Gerrard’s soaring vocal perfection
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra | Immortal Diamond Oct 5, 2022, Hamer Hall Melbourne Lisa Gerrard, Paul Grabowsky, MSO, conductor Benjamin Northey "Immortal Diamond was largely composed during the dark winters of lockdowns and can perhaps be understood as a secular...
MSO’s Harold in Italy showcases virtuosic viola
MSO | POETRY IN MUSIC August 19, 2022, Hamer Hall Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Jaime Martín conductor Christopher Moore viola Berlioz, Harold in Italy Coffee, laneways, Chris Moore playing viola. Melbournians love them all. We've even (almost) forgotten that for a...
Evergreen Ensemble’s Snow in Summer provided many colours
'Snow is Summer’ pays homage to the windswept landscapes and islands of Scotland. The program drew together music from folk and art music traditions, moving between hauntingly beautiful melodies, toe tapping folk tunes and a contemporary Australian commission. The...
Ana de la Vega’s Mozart Myslivecek Flute Concertos with English Chamber Orchestra
Recording the Mozart Flute Concertos is a bold move. Every professional flutist knows these works and they are the most commonly requested concerto for any professional orchestral audition. Likewise, they have been recorded superbly many times. Rampal and Nicolet gave...
Melbourne Musicians’ high quality performance of a balanced and varied program
What a privilege it is to attend a concert in a group’s 42nd season. The Melbourne Musicians were established in 1975 by artistic director Frank Pam and today presented a balanced yet varied program in St John’s Southgate. Opening with little known Italian baroque...
Peninsula Summer Music Festival’s Suite Française full of refined and sensitive playing
The Suite as a musical form was central to French instrumental music in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. An introductory prelude would be followed by a series of dance movements. Today's program gathered individual movements from different composer's into three...
Peninsula Summer Music Festival: Concerti Grossi was a Sunday afternoon outdoor baroque treat
Attracting 300 or so audience members to a classical concert is quite an achievement. As artistic director of the Peninsula Music Festival and appearing as violin soloist, Julia Fredersdorff should be feeling extremely happy and proud. Often outdoor classical concerts...