Innehållsförteckning för October 2014 från Limelight

Whatever your attitude to lists such as our 21st Century Masterworks (page 32), the results generally make for compelling reading. And whether or not anyone agrees with our selection, I sincerely hope the article succeeds in turning some new listeners on to the music of today. There was a time, not so long ago, when I found anything post-Stravinsky about as pleasurable as listening to garbage trucks picking up the glass for recycling. But through exposure to new music (usually against my will, at the hands of overzealous friends), I discovered many composers working in a tuneful, tonal idiom that I enjoyed. Among them are Einojuhani Rautavaara, Kaija Saariaho, David Lang and our own Elena Kats-Chernin. So if you’re a bit of a reactionary like me, I do urge you…

LETTER OF THE MONTH… NOW I KNOW I’M HOME Two days ago I opened up my Limelight magazine and was saddened to learn that Peter Sculthorpe had died. He has captured the essence of what it means to be Australian – especially for people of his vintage, with all that we have experienced. On Sunday August 24, I came home to Melbourne after a month in America, having had no news from Australia. I had missed my daily music on ABC Classic FM. The first thing I did was to turn on the radio. I recognized Peter’s Small Town music and I sighed to myself: “Now I know I’m home”. Evelyn Lawson, Karingal, VIC FOUR SEASONS IN ONE SEASON Alas, Vivaldi is not alive to collect royalties! Max Richter is…

Hobart Baroque has announced that next year’s festival has been cancelled due to a lack of State Government funding. Despite outstanding results for revenue and audience attendance at this year’s events, the Government determined it was appropriate to offer the Baroque Festival organisers the same amount as last year. Festival Director Leo Schofield said that it was an insulting amount and he had decided to quit the state. “I’m feeling a bit pissed off of course at being treated like some kind of serf but the reality is if one is not appreciated, one doesn’t hang around,” he told the ABC.…

For Australian composers, Peter was a mentor, a guiding light, an inspiration. His music was unfailingly honest and of the heart - just like he was as a person. His unique and creative approach was a beacon to composers the world over in demonstrating how music can be of its place and time. Matthew Hindson The huge ovation at the Royal Albert Hall that greeted the AYO’s performance of Peter Sculthorpe’s Sun Music II (the encore of our BBC Prom concert in August 1984) was the moment in which all that I’d learnt, read and heard about the defining role Peter had played in giving Australian music a national and international voice became crystal clear to me. I felt immensely moved by the experience. Such a warm, supportive and humane…

There is nothing quite like singing in a choir, as so many people in Australia and the world know so well. Even more special is singing in a massed choir of 400+ voices. In performance, each chorister combines to create such a powerful sound to raise the roof of a venue like the Sydney Opera House. This year I was commissioned by the Sydney Philharmonia Choir to write a new work for massed choir and orchestra. When I say the Sydney Philharmonia Choir commissioned the piece, I really mean the members of the Sydney Philharmonia Festival Chorus. Many of the singers in this group put forward their own hard-earned money to enable the construction of a brand-new piece of music. Talk about putting one’s money where one’s mouth is! This…

You’ve been in the music business for about 50 years. Was yours a musical family? Not especially, no. My mother had studied the piano as a girl, but then most girls did, you know. She always said though that I was singing before I was talking, and as soon as I discovered a piano I didn’t want anything much else in life [laughs]. I had piano lessons and when I was about 11 I went up every Saturday morning on the Metropolitan line to the Royal Academy of Music – they had this program for school kids. I sang in the local church choir, and when my voice broke it happened to coincide with the organist leaving, so they asked if I’d like to be assistant organist. I taught myself…

John Adams On the Transmigration of Souls  New York Choral Artists, New York Philharmonic/Maazel NONESUCH 7559798162 Thomas Adès Tevot  Anthony Marwood v, Chamber Orchestra of Europe/Thomas Adès EMI 4578132 George Benjamin Written on Skin  Purves, Hannigan, Mehta, Mahler Chamber Orchestra/ George Benjamin NIMBUS NIM5885 Harrison Birtwistle Night’s Black Bird  The Hallé Orchestra/Ryan Wigglesworth NMC NMCD156 Brett Dean The Lost Art of Letter Writing  Frank Peter Zimmermann v, Sydney Symphony/Nott BIS BIS2016 David Lang The Little Match Girl Pasionon  Theatre of Voices/Paul Hillier HARMONIA MUNDI HMU807496 Steve Reich Double Sextet  Eighth Blackbird NONESUCH 7559797864 Kaija Saariaho L’Amour de Loin  Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin/Nagano HARMONIA MUNDI HMC801937 Maria Schneider Winter Morning Walks Dawn Upshaw s , Australian Chamber Orchestra ITUNES DOWNLOAD Jörg Widmann Jagdquartett  Leipziger String Quartet MDG MDG3071531…

Piano Sonatas John Ogdon EMI 3653322 (2CD) An excellent way to hear the development in Scriabin’s style, at the hands of one of his foremost interpreters. The Poem of Ecstasy Kirov Orchestra/ Valery Gergiev PHILIPS 4680352 Scriabin’s best known work is taken to new peaks in Gergiev’s testosterone fuelled performance. Prometheus, The Symphonies Russian Federation State Academic SO/Svetlanov MELODIYA MELCD1001993 (4CD) Orchestral works cut from a range of different cloths – the ‘Mystic Chord’ is at the heart of Prometheus. Piano works Yevgeny Sudbin BIS BISSACD1568 (SACD) A wide-ranging recital CD from our profile writer himself.…

Verdi Falstaff Tito Gobbi bar, Rolando Panerai bar, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf s, Philharmonia/Herbert von Karajan WARNERS 5099994819 (2CD) Verdi’s final opera, so very different from his others, burst upon the world in 1893. He was 80. Rather than the lugubrious work of an old man, it dances with wit and youth. Many fine recordings exist, such as those conducted by Solti and Bernstein. However, for my money this famous version from 1956, led by a vigorous Herbert von Karajan with a stellar cast, is the best. Key to the work’s success is the contribution by librettist Arrigo Boito. He made his Falstaff less vulgar than Shakespeare’s original, editing the libretto brilliantly, dropping several minor characters and some scenes, enabling the composer to complement the newly streamlined text with his fleet footed…

Tracey Moffatt: Spirited New video and photography works exploring themes of spirituality and place under a distinctly Australian aesthetic. GOMA, Brisbane, from October 25 Golden Mirror Carousel A life-size mirrored carousel by Belgian artist Carsten Höller powerfully forces viewers to reimagine their realities. Federation Court, Melbourne, October 1-March 1 Fashion Icons Masterpieces from the collection of the Musée des Arts Decoratifs showcasing the evolution of modern Parisian style. Art Gallery of SA, October 25-February 15…

GREG KEANE CARLOS KLEIBER PAGE 30 Greg Keane has been a Limelight contributor since 2008. He is a copywriter and has also lectured in music appreciation in the adult education sector. He has a prodigious collection of LPs and is currently also the producer (aka the Dark Lord of Vinyl) of ABC Classic FM’s Mornings program. JULIAN DAY 21ST CENTURY PAGE 32 Julian Day grew up in a rock ‘n’ roll household and rebelled by listening to Mozart. He is a composer and sound artist whose work has featured at New York’s MATA Festival and Whitechapel Gallery in London. He has also presented programs on ABC Classic FM, BBC Radio 3 and Triple J. LYNDEN BARBER FILM REVIEWS PAGE 96 When not earning an honest coin as a screen studies…

Jonas Kaufmann arrived in Sydney to begin his debut Australian concert tour only to find his luggage had wound up in London. “Fortunately I had my tails in hand-luggage just in case,” he told a press conference at the Sydney Opera House. He went on to joke with Opera Australia’s Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini that perhaps he should keep his (enforced) jeans, shirt and jacket look if opera is to attract a younger crowd. Discussing how he copes with the demands of singing diverse repertoire he was candid.“You need a technique that makes your instrument reliable and relaxed so that you don’t consume or abuse it. Let it do its thing. And if this works, it should actually work for every repertoire.”His programs in Sydney and Melbourne centred on Italian…

1. Who first inspired you to sing? It was my paternal grandfather, who was a choir master and loved music. The traditions in South African folk music are almost always aural, so we all learn songs early on from our mothers and grandmothers and all by ear. One of these is the lullaby on my album – Thula Baba – which is sung in my mother-tongue Xhosa. This is a click language, full of sweet vowel sounds. Somebody once said that Xhosa is a “singer’s delight”. 2. How did growing up under Apartheid affect your chances of studying music? Well, I definitely would have been able to learn the piano if it wasn’t for Apartheid! So many opportunities were denied us and the music education we got was very basic.…

FRANS BRÜGGEN 1934 – 2014 The early music pioneer and founder of the Orchestra of the 18th Century has passesd away at the age of 79. Born in Amsterdam on October 30, 1934, Frans Brüggen initially studied flute and recorder with Kees Otten at the Amsterdam Muzieklyceum. At the remarkable age of 21, he was appointed a professor at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague going on to become Erasmus Professor at Harvard University and Regent’s Professor at the University of Berkeley. Along with his academic career of writing and lecturing, Brüggen became an accomplished flautist, playing a wide repertoire from Baroque to contemporary. It was as a recorder virtuoso that he made his name however, with many acclaimed recordings. In 1981, he founded the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century,…

The German soprano Christiane Karg managed somehow to get through to the end of a performance of Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera at Glyndebourne on Sunday despite dislocating her knee during the first act. The show was halted briefly after the singer took a tumble on stage early on in the three-hour opera. In a remarkable case of “is there a doctor in the house?” her left knee was relocated by a GP who happened to be in the audience. Karg declined painkillers and managed to complete the performance, although she had to sit down for the rest of the evening.…

For many who knew him, Anton Bruckner was viewed as rather provincial. He spoke with a regional accent, delighted in simple pleasures, and for the first half of his life he had no greater ambition than to be a school teacher. There was, however a much darker side to his personality characterized by megalomania and a morbid fascination with death. Bruckner suffered from extreme mood swings, and at his most depressed or anxious he would resort to obsessive counting rituals. Passing by buildings he would count the number of bricks and windows; he would also count the number of prayers he said each day and the number of steps he took. Composing was no different – he would make a tally of bar numbers to ensure each work’s proportions were…

What was it that made you want to become an opera singer? So many things! Playing Yum-Yum in a school production of The Mikado at the age of 14; hearing a Joan Sutherland CD for the first time; and some early successes in the local Eisteddfods which gave me confidence in my abilities. I also can’t emphasise enough how important my first singing teachers were in encouraging me at a vital age. What made you decide to apply for training in London? I love London’s buzz – plus you’re so close to the rest of Europe that you can hear the best international artists perform live. You also have access to some world-class teachers and coaches. So how did you go about getting a place at the Royal College of…

At the beginning of 21st century, many of us are still grappling with the -isms of the last century – neo-classicism, neo-romanticism, minimalism, postminimalism, modernism, postmodernism, neomodernism – let alone those of our own time. With this in mind we thought we’d help guide you through the standout musical moments in 21st century composition so far. Because you may be about as confused as we are. And we sympathise. The first thing to point out about our list is that it’s completely biased. It reflects our taste and listening habits and what comes across our desks. We sought advice from composers and musicians worldwide, from Cologne to Cork to Connecticut, but ultimately it reflects our own perspectives here in Australia. We have the online world at our fingertips, but particular…

In a career lasting half a century, he was said to have given 96 orchestral concerts and 400 opera performances. Herbert von Karajan, in one of his few reported quips, declared that, “He is like a wolf who hunts when he is hungry. Kleiber conducts only when his freezer is empty”. That comment was hardly accurate: Kleiber once demanded (and received) a customised Audi 8, then worth £100,000, in lieu of a fee. His repertoire has been described, accurately as “spotty” – Beethoven Symphonies Nos 4, 5, 6, 7, Brahms’s Second and Fourth Symphonies Mozart’s Symphonies Nos 33 and 36. I also tracked down a Borodin Second Symphony, a CPE Bach Cello Concerto and a Telemann Suite. His operatic repertoire was equally discerning and yet random: Puccini’s La Bohème, Bizet’s…

LIVED 1872-1915 MOSTLY IN RUSSIA BEST KNOWN FOR PIANO SONATAS, PROMETHEUS, LE DIVIN POÈME, LE POÈME DE L’EXTASE SIMILAR TO RICHARD STRAUSS, RACHMANINOV, MEDTNER It’s hard to find a more colourful personality than Alexander Scriabin when trawling through the history of pianist-composers. Trust me, I’ve tried. Born on Christmas Day, dying at Easter, and surrounded by controversy throughout his life, Scriabin himself did little to discourage people from seeing him as a kind of Messiah. He strongly believed that spiritual liberation could be achieved through art and the God experience attained through stimulation of various human senses. For his final piece, Mysterium, to prepare humanity for salvation, Scriabin wanted to synthesise all human senses via one orgiastic performance – the culmination of his life-long visions. Naturally, the performance was planned…

• THE ‘MYSTIC CHORD’ Also known as ‘Prometheus Chord’. The notes are: C, F Sharp, B Flat, E, A, and D. This complex six-note chord served Scriabin as the harmonic and melodic basis for his later compositions. • EARLY SERIALISM The ‘Mystic Chord’ can be broken up into six notes to produce harmonies, chords and melodies in a serialist manner – a term not coined until 1947. Scriabin did exactly that before Schoenberg came up with the 12-tone technique, one of the main differences being that Scriabin didn’t use his system as rigidly. • COLOUR SYNAESTHESIA This is a neurological condition in which stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to involuntary experiences in the visual pathways – people who hear sounds also see colours. Did Scriabin have this condition? It’s…

Donizetti Maria Stuarda Joyce DiDonato ms, Elza van den Heever s, Metropolitan Opera/ Maurizio Benini WARNERS 2564632035 (DVD) Sir David McVicar likes a triology. He’s signed up for a Mozart cycle in Sydney and already thrilled us with a brooding Don Giovanni. He’s also in the middle of Donizetti’s ‘Three Queens’ for the Metropolitan Opera and this gripping Maria Stuarda, the most powerful of the bunch, is the rich fruit. It’s beautifully and faithfully designed by John Macfarlane and features an outstanding cast, all of whom flourish dramatically under McVicar’s masterly direction. Based on Schiller’s drama, Donizetti’s opera hinges on an encounter between Elizabeth I and her cousin (and prisoner) Mary Stuart that famously never happened. McVicar has righted the balance in favour of history by allowing 12 years to…

Complexity of Belonging German and Australian talent combine in this challenging piece of contemporary theatre exploring the zeitgeist of global anxieties. Sydney Theatre, October 4-18 The Suit An apartheid era fable about the consequences of adultery, based on the popular novel by South African author Can Themba. Adelaide Festival Centre, October 1-12 The 39 Steps A speedy whodunit based on Hitchcock’s 1935 spy thriller, featuring four actors and over 100 characters, all in 100 minutes. Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne, October 2-4…

IS IT A BIRD, IS IT A PLANE? VISUAL ARTS A pristine edition of Action Comics No. 1, which first introduced the character of Superman, Clark Kent and Lois Lane, has sold for $3.2 million in an eBay auction. Bidding for the collectible comic book, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and published in June 1938, began at $1 million. A portion of the final price went to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. DANCING NAKED FOR LOVE DANCE A troupe of brave dancers have appeared completely starkers in an advertisement for the new American show Dating Naked. Advertisement agency Mistress is behind the racy promotion, which features professional dancers spontaneously stripping down to boogie amongst shoppers in Los Angeles. A bunch of ordinary bystanders also join in on…

FICTION The Drop By Dennis Lehane Harper Collins, HB, 224pp, $25 ISBN 9780062377173 After rescuing an unfortunate abused puppy, a reclusive bartender becomes hopelessly tangled up in a complex tale of love and crime involving the Chechen mafia, a deeply damaged woman and the man who simply wants to get his dog back. NON-FICTION Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies By Nick Bostrom Oxford University Press, HB, 352pp, $29.95 ISBN 9780199678112 An ambitious and original look at the future of humanity and intelligent life. Bostrum asks the questions: what happens when machines surpass humans in general intelligence, and will artificial intelligence save or destroy us? FICTION The Children Act By Ian McEwan Doubleday Publishing, HB, 240pp, $25 ISBN 9780385540018 An emotionally charged contemporary drama about a London High Court judge confronted with…

In 2009 Gwynn Roberts prepared a four-part series to celebrate the 80th birthday of Peter Sculthorpe. Peter took part in the original production, providing commentary to each work in the program. In October, Fine Music 102.5 repeat this series as a tribute to the great Australian composer. In the first episode, A Man for all Seasons, highlights include Sculthorpe’s Irkanda I performed by violinist Marina Marsden, the Goldner String Quartet play his Ninth Quartet and the Australian Chamber Orchestra tackle Port Essington. Synergy Percussion also appear in Sculthorpe’s How the Stars were Made. The second episode, titled Memorials, features the Australian Chamber Orchestra with cellist Cameron Retchford in Lament for Strings. They will also be heard performing the String Sonata No 2 with Richard Tognetti. Pianist Anthony Fogg appears as…

MONDAY - FRIDAY 6am Classic Breakfast with Emma Ayres 9am Mornings with Christopher Lawrence 12pm Midday with Margaret Throsby 1pm Afternoons Monday to Wednesday with Damien Beaumont, Thursday to Friday with Mairi Nicolson 4pm Classic Drive with Julia Lester 7pm Evenings Mon - Tues Simon Healy Wed - Fri Julie Howard. Includes the evening concert which generally begins at 8pm. However some live broadcasts may be earlier or later. 10.30pm Friday only Jazz Up Late With Gerry Koster ABC Classic FM Digital Radio and streaming online New Music Up Late with Julian Day 12.30am All Night Classics SATURDAY 6am Weekend Breakfast with Colin Fox 9am Saturday Morning with Marian Arnold 12pm Music Makers with Mairi Nicolson 1pm Saturday Afternoon Concert with Mairi Nicolson 4pm The Opera Show with Mairi Nicolson…

FINE MUSIC FM In July 2012, 2MBS-FM was re-branded as Fine Music – broadcasting the same music under the new call sign. The station broadcasts a mix of classical, jazz and contemporary music to the greater Sydney region. To listen, tune in to 102.5FM or stream online at www.finemusicfm.com 3MBS 3MBS is a fine music community radio station in Melbourne. 3MBS passionately supports fine music, especially Melbourne musicians and composers, and is the only locally-based classical music radio station in Victoria. To listen, tune in to 103.5FM or stream online at www.3mbs.org.au 4MBS One of Australia’s premier classical radio stations, 4MBS has received many awards for the promotion of young and emerging artists in Australia. Based in Brisbane, tune in to 103.7FM to listen or stream online at www.4mbs.com.au 5MBS…

ABC YOUNG PERFORMER A 16 year old Sydney violinist, Grace Clifford, has wowed judges at this year’s Young Performers Award with an accomplished performance of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. Clifford beat fellow finalists, 16-year-old oboist Andrew Kawai and 18-year-old violinist Anna Da Silva Chen, to claim Australia’s most prestigious prize for young musicians. Clifford was also victorious in two of the competition’s other rounds including the awards for Best Recital and Best Chamber Music Performance. MSO WOWS BBC PROMS The MSO’s debut at the BBC Proms went down a treat to judge by comments on social media. “@MelbSymphony were incredible... possibly the best concert I’ve ever seen,” tweeted Tom Warcaba-Wood. Conductor Sir Andrew Davis led the orchestra through Strauss’ Don Juan and Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique. Norwegian Truls Mørk’s performance of Elgar’s…

The great Russian pianist shares some of his musical inspirations Bach The Art of Fugue Helmuth Walcha DG ARKIV 4776508 (2CD) Johann Sebastian Bach’s mighty Art of Fugue is the absolute summation of his musical career. In the expert hands of a master such as Helmut Walcha, this is the music that I could listen to non-stop for the rest of my life. Chopin Piano Concerto in F Minor Josef Hofmann p , BBC Symphony Orchestra/Sir Hamilton Harty VAI VAIA1002 Josef Hofmann offers a complete masterclass on how a pianist should play the music of Frédéric Chopin – and not just Chopin, Romantic music more generally. Sibelius Violin Concerto Christian Ferras v , Orchestre National de ORTF/Mehta EMI 4904449 (DVD) An astonishing example of…

PETER SCULTHORPE 1919 – 2014 Peter Sculthorpe, who died at the age of 84 last month, was widely considered the father of Australian contemporary music. He rose to fame through a series of imaginative orchestral works in the 1960s, notably the Irkanda and Sun Music series, which were written to embody aspects of the Australian landscape. Born in a suburb of Launceston, Sculthorpe was taken to his first piano lesson at the age of eight. After the lesson, he spent the next week composing his own works, believing this was what was required of him. At the next lesson he was caned by his teacher, who told him “all composers are dead”. Unperturbed, Sculthorpe took to composing furtively under his bedcovers. Sculthorpe’s dedication to becoming a composer scarcely wavered from…

COMING UP THIS OCT/NOV TCHAIKOVSKY 5 James Ehnes plays Prokofiev Soaring Russian music - pure Prokofiev and triumphant Tchaikovsky. With the brilliant violinist James Ehnes. A concert to love! STENHAMMAR Excelsior! - Concert Overture PROKOFIEV Violin Concerto No.2 TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No.5 Thomas Søndergård conductor Sydney Opera House WEST SIDE STORY On stage & screen Verona meets New York City meets the Sydney Opera House in this special screening of West Side Story. Join us for the timeless cinematic love story, remastered in high definition and projected onto the big screen while the SSO play Bernstein’s magical score live below. Benjamin Northey conductor Sydney Opera House BOOK NOW! TICKETS FROM $39^ NO BOOKING FEES WHEN YOU BOOK ONLINE AT SYDNEYSYMPHONY.COM PHONE 8215 4600^…

As I write this I am sitting in the Mount Isa. I’ve never been to Mount Isa before and I’ve certainly never conducted an opera here. For the past four weeks we have been touring a production of La Bohème for Opera Queensland’s Project Puccini. The principals are all professional as are the 12 members of the Queensland Symphony who play the reduced score so beautifully, but our choruses along the way are all local community members who auditioned and rehearsed for 10 weeks to learn the Italian tongue-twisters in Acts Two and Three There was no way Opera Queensland could tour a chorus as well as stage management, mechs, orchestra and singers, so this was a brave leap by artistic director Lindy Hume into a new touring model. The…

Soon after I moved to London from Scotland in 1977, I joined the committees of a number of composer organisations, among them the recently formed Alkan Society. So it wasn’t long before I met Ronald Smith, then virtually the only pianist of international standing who was flying the flag for Alkan. Acquaintance with Ronald and enthusiasm for Alkan made sure I was in the Wigmore Hall in (I think) 1980 for Stephanie McCallum’s debut recital there (she was in London to study with Ronald). It included Alkan’s Trois Grandes Études, Op. 76 – their London premiere, I seem to recall, and certainly the first time I had heard them live. Fast forward 20-odd years. I had launched my CD label, Toccata Classics, in 2005 (on the evening of my 50th…

PETER ABLINGER Voices And Piano (ongoing) The premise is simple: a song cycle for piano and voice. The catch is that, as the composer puts it,“nobody is singing”. In each piece you hear a famous voices of the 20th century, from Chairman Mao and Marcel Duchamp to Billie Holiday and Mother Theresa. Each vocal sample has been mapped onto the piano part so that the live pianist shadows the celebrities. Peter Ablinger is an Austrian composer whose work is highly conceptual yet approachable. He’s fascinated by the idea of transcribing noise, so that“music analyses reality”. Another project involves a piano that, through a complex system of mechanics, replicates the human voice with astonishing clarity. Ablinger’s Voices And Piano cycle began in the 1990s, but is still evolving and will eventually…

TUESDAY 5AM: The unwelcome alarm goes off signalling the start of an outback odyssey. My mission, to boldly go where Opera Australia’s Indiana Jones-inspired production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute might lead. As I set off bleary-eyed to join the tour I feel like a proper embedded journalist, ready for anything... 9AM: TOUCH DOWN WAGGA. That was my only piece of pre-trip advice – never say Wagga twice, the locals won’t respect you. Flying in over the lush misty valleys it seems an honest, idyllic spot, a far cry from the surface sophistication of the Sydney Opera House experience. It’s a bit nippy too. OA cast and crew call this the cold tour. The hot tour takes in Darwin, Uluru, that kind of thing. Have I drawn the short straw…?…

1871 He is born in Moscow on Christmas Day. His pianist mother dies when he is just a year old and his father soon moves abroad as a diplomatic interpreter so he is brought up mostly by a doting aunt. 1882 He joins the Moscow cadet corps where he charms fellow pupils with his excellent piano playing. He takes private lessons, alongside Rachmaninov, with Nicolai Zverev. 1889 While studying with Taneyev at the Moscow Conservatory he makes his recital debut and composes the F Minor Piano Sonata. 1894 Now sporting an aristocratic moustache he tours around Europe, writes his Piano Concerto and makes a hasty marriage to pianist Vera Isakovich before returning to the Conservatory to teach. 1904 While composing his epic Third Symphony (known as The Divine Poem) he…

As a classical pianist, I would rather gouge out my eyes with a pitchfork than read about classical music... But that said, if I have to, I read Limelight. Why? Here are a few key reasons: Firstly, it’s a magazine that, in recent years, has returned to ‘art’ music, in the truest sense of the word. Secondly, the articles are not too long and are generally written with a great deal of skill – especially the ones by me. Lastly, as the famous Chinese violinist Sun Tzu said: “know thy enemies.”…

Congratulations on winning Gramophone Label of the Year 2014! What made you decide to start your own record label back in 2000? A late night conversation at a student dinner party encouraged me to approach potential sponsors. Glasgow had Linn – why shouldn’t Scotland’s capital have its own art label? I was flattered by the responses – the following week three cheques landed on my doorstop allowing me to make my first commercial recordings. What made you decide to record The Triumph of Time and Truth ? We’ve developed a special relationship with Ludus Baroque and their director Richard Neville-Towle. I sit on their board, and it was during one meeting (not normally terribly exciting evenings) that a fellow board-member revealed an earlier…

A French Baroque Diva Carolyn Sampson s, Ex Cathedra/Jeffrey Skidmore HYPERION CDA68035 Carolyn Sampson has long avoided the harsh glare of stardom but become a favourite singer for “those in the know” – and if you are not one of those it is about time you were. She has graced an extensive array of fine recordings over the last decade or so, standing out amongst some starry casts with her impeccable technique and musicality. A few years ago she gave us a superb recital of Rameau arias, Regne Amour, in collaboration with Jeffrey Skidmore’s group Ex Cathedra and follows up with this delightful gem. The program is a tribute to Marie Fel who was the superstar soprano of the French Baroque, captivating the Paris Opera and Concert Spirituel in a…

FIIO X5 PRICE $399 The X5 is a big machine. Bigger in every way than a 160GB iPod Classic (itself no waif) – and, with precisely 0GB of on-board memory, without much of an excuse for its Rubenesque 114 x 68 x 16mm dimensions. The X5 does at least have a spec as big as its body, though – if you overlook the disappointing lack of on-board storage. File support is all-encompassing, with DSD, APE, FLAC, ALAC and all the other, less headline-making formats dealt with. There are headphone-, line-level and digital coaxial outputs (all 3.5mm sockets) as well as a micro-USB socket and two microSD card slots (currently limited to 64GB cards, but firmware updates are planned to allow up to 256GB cards in each microSD slot). The FiiO…

Obscura / Byron Perry Natural light and live audio streams are used to create a unique new solo work from an Australian choreographer and performer. Carriageworks, Sydney, October 14-18 Kinship A bold dance theatre work celebrating the resilience of Australian Aboriginal culture in both its traditional and contemporary forms. Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide, October 22-25 Kostroma Direct from Russia, this grand-scale dance event explores ancient Russian culture using 45 elite dancers and 600 lavish costumes. State Theatre, Sydney, October 31-November 1…

VISUAL ART Robert Jacks, one of Australia’s most significant abstract artists, recently passed away after a long illness. As the first large-scale retrospective of his work, Order & Variation celebrates the artist’s output, from his first solo exhibition at Gallery A in Melbourne in 1966, through to his ongoing exploration of abstraction in painting, sculpture, drawing and printmaking. Born in 1943, Jacks studied sculpture at Prahran Technical College and painting at RMIT. Jacks expressed his belief that his work “has always been minimal and abstract because when I was being taught sculpture, it was expressed in abstract terms. Form in space, mass and volume – that sort of thing. Painting, for me, is an extension of sculptural ideas.” An exhibition highlight, Timbrel and harp soothe (1966) is an early example…

VISUAL ART The dynamic relationship between humans and the natural world is presented in this exhibition and art sale from photographer Stephanie Valentin. Through her use of the electron microscope and scientific knowledge in focused ion-beam technology at the University of New South Wales, Valentin depicts small and fragile insects up close. Valentin utilises her science technology expertise to incorporate photogram techniques to capture and physically alter the appearance of her subjects. Enlarged to the scale of human bodies, the creatures appear both familiar and confronting, while challenging human’s own presence as fellow species. In her images Valentin also integrates fantasy elements exploring accelerated morphological changes within species. Through the overlapping of reality and fiction, these images send a disquieting and powerful message of human impact on evolution. Also presented…

Force Majeure Opens: October 16 Genre: Drama Duration: 118 minutes Family holiday where emotional avalanche tops the real thing An apparently happy family on a skiing holiday cracks and threatens to disintegrate after a brief but catastrophic life-threatening event in Force Majeure, a masterful study of human behaviour by Swedish writer-director Ruben Östlund. Fans of Austria’s Michael Haneke should take note. Tomas and Ebba along with their young son and daughter are enjoying a meal on a restaurant terrace perched high on a French Alpine mountainside when a supposedly controlled avalanche spins out of control. As the wall of snow speeds towards the holidaymakers, panic breaks out and in the blink of an eye Tomas joins a mass rush for safety while his wife stays behind and tries to shelter…

Nine community radio stations from across the country have jumped aboard this project, spearheaded by 3MBS Fine Music Melbourne, to produce a ten-part radio series that brings local contemporary classical music scenes onto the national stage. Each episode of the series will explore local perspectives and insights from a participating station, featuring recordings exclusively created for the series as well as interviews with musicians and composers. "This important project addresses a specific need,” says John Davis of the Australian Music Centre. “It engages with a diverse range of creators who make music that reflects the aspirations and concerns of contemporary Australia. It enables us to highlight the relevance of this creative practice across the local, the regional, to the national contexts, and thereby provide for audiences a window into this…

ABC CLASSIC FM MELBOURNE FESTIVAL October 13-27 Some of Australia’s finest string quartets will perform at this year’s Melbourne Festival. The Debussy String Quartet, Orava String Quartet, Flinders Quartet, Auric Quartet, Australian String Quartet and Ironwood will all perform, and the composer linking the lot will be Joseph Haydn. Each concert will feature a string quartet from the prolific string quartet composer, alongside works ranging from Shostakovich and Ravel, to Schuloff and Bartók. Repertoire listings and broadcast times can be found on pages 106-107. 4MBS RADIOTHON 35 October 11, 12, 18 & 19 Over two weekends in October, 4MBS are giving way to their normal programming to celebrate 35 years on air. Over these four days the team at 4MBS will give away 35 boxed sets of CDs, including The…

ABC CLASSIC FM WEST AUSTRALIAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Saturday October 11, 8pm Michael Collins joins the West Australian Symphony Orchestra for Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto, one of the most popular works in the orchestral repertoire and voted No 4 in the ABC Classic 100: 10 Years On. Collins' artistry of his instrument will reveal all the eloquence and sublime beauty of Mozart’s much-loved concerto. The Orchestra will also celebrate the 60th birthday of acclaimed Australian composer Carl Vine with the World Premiere of his Concerto for Orchestra. This work has been commissioned for WASO by philanthropist Geoff Stearn. To complete this program, Michael Stern unleashes the virtuosity and brilliance of WASO in Rachmaninov’s intoxicating Symphonic Dances. All broadcast information is correct as of publish date and is subject to change. Limelight…

Star soprano Anna Netrebko delivers her searing portrayal of Lady Macbeth, the mad and murderous mate of ›eljko Lucic’s doomed Macbeth, for the first time at New York’s Metropolitan Opera. Adrian Noble’s chilling production of Verdi’s masterful adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy also stars Joseph Calleja as the noble Macduff and René Pape as Banquo. Fabio Luisi conducts. Macbeth streams live online at 12.55pm (New York time), October 11. To watch, visit www.metopera.org Metropolitan Opera Music Director James Levine conducts a spirited new production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, directed by Richard Eyre, who sets the action of this classic domestic comedy in an 18th-century manor house in Seville during the 1930s. Bass-baritone Ildar Abdrazakov leads the cast in the title role of the clever servant,…

Helen McCrory returns to the National Theatre of Great Britain to take the title role in Medea, Euripides’ powerful tragedy. This new version by Ben Power, directed by Carrie Cracknell, features music written by Will Gregory and Alison Goldfrapp. Medea screens from October 4 at Palace Cinemas and October 4-6 at Dendy Cinemas Gounod’s ultra-sensual interpretation of Shakespeare’s Roméo et Juliette at New York’s Metropolitan Opera is an ideal vehicle for star soprano Anna Netrebko and tenor Roberto Alagna. The irresistible Nathan Gunn is Mercutio and Plácido Domingo presides on the podium. Roméo et Juliette screens October 11-12 at Palace Cinemas and October 11-16 at Dendy Cinemas Bill Nighy and Carey Mulligan star in the highly anticipated West End production of David Hare’s Skylight, broadcast live…

USAGE When ‘Prime Minister’ is used adjectivally, it should not be capitalised: ‘prime ministerial’. A bit of a mess in Ukraine The leader of the Ukrainian separatist movement, Denis Pushilin, has called for the two Ukrainian regions to be absorbed into Russia. Speaking after the independence referendums he said while he wasn’t calling for Russian military intervention – peacekeepers may be needed, as Europe Correspondent Philip Williams reports from Donetsk. The first sentence is good – clear and simple. The second sentence needs brutal attention. We could begin by putting commas where they are logically required (and getting rid of that unwarranted dash!): Speaking after the independence referendums, he said that, while he wasn’t calling for Russian military intervention, peacekeepers might be needed, as Europe Correspondent Philip Williams reports from…

Perhaps not surprisingly for someone of my generation, I associate music with a turntable, a piece of apparatus I recently revived and have decided to stick with. In childhood, it sat beside a vast shelf of square albums, to which my father had sticky-taped numbers which, combined with a handwritten index in an exercise book, allowed for completely unnecessary but easy selection. That was very much my father. He liked timesaving order, as well as music. I grew into myself by the bay in a rambling timber house with plate glass windows looking into a vast, magnificent garden. Between the Ti-Trees and amongst the wattles, the garden had hosted events to fuel the career of any prospective dramatist: marriage breakups, love affairs, no doubt impregnations (though not mine) and definitely…