Mood, colour and atmosphere Anyone coming to classical music for the first time can have certain needs – they might prefer tuneful music or something not too romantic or something that is big and loud or has a more intimate feel to it. Those who like lots of mood,...
A Splendid Retake To anyone venturing into the weird but enjoyable world of opera, this was a splendid introduction. But it was enjoyable for anyone, young or old. Indeed this retake of the 17th century french composer Jean – Baptiste Lully’s opera, Alceste, renamed...
An intriguing concert The AHE have garnered a great following judging by the full house at the Utzon Room on Monday night. In a crowded chamber music scene, with lots of groups competing to gain share of wallet/purse of the concert goer in Sydney, this is quite an...
A fresh approach This concert was certainly a rather different taking of the Song of Songs, a collection of love poems usually attributed to that great biblical figure King Solomon. The poetry is certainly beautiful, sometimes rather erotic and always very sensuous....
If you sing, ‘de dah da, dad dad da’, you will impress your friends as obviously they will think you know a Mozart quartet! W.A. Mozart 1st Piano Quartet K478 in G Minor On a fairly breezy evening, almost an English summer evening, it was that cold, the young and...
This is a very well-produced CD, put together with thought and with a comprehensive booklet that provides some very informative and interesting translation of the songs – more of that later. Against a lot of infighting between Kings and Popes and the backdrop...
This album was created as a companion to the National Gallery of Australia’s exhibition ‘Arthur Boyd: Agony and Ecstasy’. It is, as the CD booklet says, ‘a collection of snapshots, a survey of Australian music across the eight decades of Arthur Boyd’s life. However...
Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House, 3 September 2014 Schubert - String Quartet No 13 in a Minor, D804 (Rosamunde) Much of this program was in minor keys which often are quite sad, reflective and certainly there was a ruminative feel to this program. The String Quartet by...
Program Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Trio in G major, Op.121a ‘Kakadu Variations’ Gabriel Fauré Piano Trio in D minor, Op.120 Pyotr Tchaikovsky Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50 ‘In Memory of a Great Artist’ This was a great chamber concert. Why? Two key ingredients: A...
Cole Porter’s music and lyrics very much reflect a bygone age of lightness of touch in their approach. The best of the music perfectly matches the often very witty lyrics. Some are profound; some definitely are double entendre in their meaning while others are just...