Innehållsförteckning för December 206 från Limelight

As I write this Editor’s letter, I’m watching the electoral victory that will propel Donald J. Trump into the White House. It’s been a tough year for those of us who believe in shared ideals, a brother or sisterhood of man and great art. On every side we seem beset with fear, bullying, gracelessness and anger. What will it take to turn things around? At times like this, is pulling the duvet over your head, putting on some Chopin and turning up the volume a good enough answer? Seeking consolation in music simply serves to throw the current state of affairs into even more gloomy relief. Compiling a list of US Presidents in music, you need look no further than Aaron Copland’s dignified Lincoln Portrait, setting the powerful oratory of…

RACING VS PACING In his “always interesting” column, Guy Noble claims that as the world has sped up, compositional speed has slowed down. He quotes the case of Rossini who wrote about two operas every year for 19 years, and in some years created four! No one produces major works nowadays at such a pace. Could it be that the world has become such a complicated place that our minds have become so full of things to worry about, and the brain, (the left side of it anyway) simply can’t focus long enough on one subject. Rossini or Mozart, for that matter, didn’t have global warming, the world refugee problem or the ever present possibility of nuclear war to worry about. As for speed of composing amongst contemporary composers, I…

Canada’s Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal has premiered its brand new instrument – an octobass – in a performance of Richard Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben. The massive instrument, the lowest in the string family, is 3.6 metres tall and weighs in at a hefty 131kg. In fact, the instrument is so large that the performer must use a system of levers and pedals to access the three gut strings, which are over two metres long. One of only three known octobasses in the world, it is the only one that is fully functional. Invented in Paris in 1849 by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, the octobass appears in Hector Berlioz’s treatise on orchestration. In fact, the composer wrote that he wished to include the octobass in all his works for large orchestra. The instrument acquired…

“Randy Newman turned it back on me with all the finesse of Roger Federer” I was watching a doco recently called The Science of Hypnosis, investigating the power of suggestion. A woman underwent root canal without anaesthetic, others used hypnosis to change their smoking or drinking habits. Whatever is going on it is a powerful tool. One Canadian researcher put it in a nutshell: “The words of another person are able to change what is going on in our brain and profoundly affect our physiology.” I experienced this on a tiny level when I was in Melbourne recently, rushing to the local Officeworks to print parts for an imminent series of concerts while also carrying scores to the MSO to conduct their Gala fundraiser with cabaret feline Meow Meow. I…

You say the Paris attacks triggered your new album. What affected you so personally? I think when you’re reading Twitter and Facebook, and you see fans and people that are close to you in panic, or when they’re writing“I’m safe in Paris”, then that strikes very close to home. These things all seem to be piling on top of each other at the moment. Each time one happens, you think “I can’t take anymore”or“when is it going to end?”and then another one comes. Paris is meant to be one of the safe places, but if they get to Paris, then Lyon, then Brussels, it just feels closer and closer to home. You hope that the album might help tip the scales toward peace, and you believe that ability lies within…

“OF COURSE, THE VOICE, WITH THE AGE, LOSES CERTAIN ELASTICITY, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, YOUR INTERPRETATION BECOMES, IN MY OPINION, MORE MATURE AND DEEPER” José Carreras turns 70 on December 5, but if he is at all perturbed about the impending milestone he isn’t letting on. Asked how he feels about becoming a septuagenarian, he says simply: “Oh, it’s great!” As his birthday approaches, the legendary tenor has been doing what he has always loved to do best – sing for his fans. Critics may carp that the voice has lost its famous lustre but adoring audiences have been turning up in droves on his current world tour, which, over the course of two years, is taking him through Europe, Asia, the Middle East and America. Billed as the…

Mozart, like Shakespeare, is as popular as ever. Since their respective deaths in 1616 and 1791, each has enjoyed a long, relatively unadulterated seat at the table of Western art, with expanded complete editions of their works materialising every few decades. The audience’s desire to consume the entire output of great creators is only dampened by the publisher’s ability to add anything new. Our reason for surrounding ourselves with everything Mozart or Shakespeare ever penned is simple, as David Cairns has aptly put it: “The better we know their universes – the more we explore its heights and depths – the more marvellous it becomes.” The difference between Mozart and Shakespeare, however, is the manner in which their complete works have come down to us. Since the 1623 printing of…

FOR THE CLASSICAL MUSIC NEWBIE… Shaping The Century: 50 essential works by 50 composers Vol. 1 DECCA 4830458 (28CD) $180 Decca and DG’s 20C series is devoted to the defining orchestral masterpieces of an often-turbulent era, providing a balanced overview of 20th-century composition. Volume 1 presents 26 essential works by 26 composers covering the years 1900-1949. These are works you must know to understand the music of the first half of the 20th century. Each album includes a timeline of musical premieres and repertoire notes by leading musicologist Nigel Simeone, which introduce the composers and the works. The perfect compilation for both the aspiring aficionado and the classical connoisseur. ALSO CONSIDER… The Noise of Time Julian Barnes Vintage Publishing, HB, 192pp ISBN 9781910702604 $32.99 Absolutely on Music: Conversations with Seiji…

LIVED 1824 – 1896 MOSTLY IN VIENNA BEST KNOWN FOR SYMPHONIES, MASSES, TE DEUM SIMILAR TO BEETHOVEN, BRAHMS, WAGNER, POSSIBLY MAHLER Few composers divide listeners like Anton Bruckner. For many, as for his contemporary Johannes Brahms, he is the creator of “symphonic boa-constrictors”. The critic Peter Stadlen earned plaudits and an entry in Private Eye’s ‘Pseuds Corner’ for asserting the “right to be bored by Bruckner”. For others there is something almost priest-like about this composer. In the words of his biographer Max Auer, “Bruckner may be the lay apostle who... may touch the hearts of those whose ears are closed to the preaching of the churches. He can become the mediator leading from materialism to spirituality, from disbelief to true religion.” Even Ludwig Wittgenstein, ruthlessly critical of metaphysical language,…

JOYCE DIDONATO IN WAR & PEACE: HARMONY THROUGH MUSIC “Perhaps my most personal project to date,” is how superstar American mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato describes In War & Peace: Harmony through Music. Her ambitions for her stunning new collection of arias from Baroque operas are substantial. She hopes it will help us find an answer to a vitally important question: “In the midst of chaos, how do you find peace?” The album was recorded with Il Pomo d’Oro under its principal conductor Maxim Emelyanychev. The programme comprises 15 arias divided into two sections: ‘War’ and ‘Peace’. YEHUDI MENUHIN THE MENUHIN CENTURY Comprising a total of 80 CDs across five themed boxes, 11 DVDs and a 250 page hardback book, The Menuhin Century marks the 100th anniversary of the great violinist Yehudi…

 There have been several recordings of the Haydn Symphonies since the initial complete set from Antal Doráti and Philharmonia Hungarica appeared in the mid-1970s. Decca has now issued the first set played on original instruments (or recreations) using historically informed practice. Many, mostly the early symphonies, involve the Academy of Ancient Music conducted by the late Christopher Hogwood. Recorded in the 1980s and ‘90s, these were supposed to form the basis of a complete survey but funding dried up. The Sturm und Drang, Paris and London Symphonies are conducted by the late Frans Brüggen, leading the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment or the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century. To complete this set, new recordings have been made featuring Accademia Bizantina under Ottavio Dantone (Symphonies 78-81). All 104 numbered symphonies…

Relatively Speaking In his comedy of misunderstandings, Alan Ayckbourn weaves an exquisite entanglement that will keep you guessing to the last. Ensemble Theatre, Sydney, until January 14 Girl Asleep Heroism and gender implode in a gaudy and gawky rite-of-passage story like you’ve never seen in Matthew Whittet’s play for young people aged 14+. Belvoir, Sydney, December 2-4 The Odd Couple Shaun Micallef and Francis Greenslade play the famous mismatched duo in this comedy classic, directed by Peter Houghton. Melbourne Theatre Company, until December 17 Kinky Boots Set in a floundering shoe factory in Northern England, this joyous musical with songs by Cyndi Lauper has a huge heart. Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne, until February 26 The Listies Ruin Xmas This uproarious take on a holiday panto for the whole family, by…

Time, light, Japan Interact with Japanese art exploring time and light through video, photography, sound and installation from the 1990s to now. Art Gallery of New South Wales, December 17-April 30 Artists of the Great War The horrors of World War I, palpably expressed in the work of Australia’s official war artists and their peers. National Gallery of Australia, until June 2017 Who’s Afraid Of Colour? Brings together rpresentations of work by a broad range of Indigenous women artists, unbounded by convention. National Gallery of Victoria, December 16-April 2017…

I, Daniel Blake Genre: Drama Opens: November 17 Duration: 100 minutes Ken Loach goes out with a terrifying bureaucratic bang If this ends up being veteran UK director Ken Loach’s final film (he had announced his retirement before deciding to make it), then he’s going out with a bang. Some UK critics questioned the Cannes jury decision to give him the top prize, the Palme d’Or, for this excoriating tale about the cruelty of the British welfare state bureaucracy, with its web of senseless regulations designed seemingly to prevent the unemployed, sick and homeless from getting any benefits (and is it really so different here in Australia?). Those reviewers complained the film didn’t make any stylistic step forward for Loach. That’s missing the point. This story about a joiner named…

FINE MUSIC 102.5 Fine Music 102.5 (previously 2MBS) is Australia’s first FM radio station, broadcasting a mix of classical, jazz and contemporary music. To listen, tune in to 102.5FM or stream online at 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 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. To listen, tune in to 103.7FM to listen or stream online at 4mbs.com.au 5MBS While mainly a classical station, Adelaide’s 5MBS also broadcasts a wide selection of…

ALEXANDRA COGHLAN DICKENS Alexandra Coghlan is the classical music critic for the New Statesman, and also writes for The Independent, The Times, Opera, Prospect, Gramophone and The Monthly. She was formerly performing arts editor at Time Out Sydney and editor of Sinfini. TOM FORD MOZART Tom Ford had the great fortune of being born to Mozart-listening, cricket-watching parents. After dreaming of a Neville Cardus-like career for far too long, Tom completed his PhD in music history. He now works at Universal Music Australia in Sydney. He tweets at @tomford83. TIM MUNRO PATTER SONGS Tim Munro is a Brisbane-born, Chicago-based flautist, music writer, speaker and teacher. For nine years he was a core member of the American contemporary music ensemble eighth blackbird, during which time he won three Grammy Awards.…

WANG’S AMERICAN WIN Pianist Yuja Wang has been named Musical America’s 2017 Artist of the Year. The Chinese virtuoso joins a distinguished list of previous winners, including Leonard Bernstein and Martha Argerich. Wang studied in Beijing and Canada. She made her Carnegie Hall recital debut in 2011, just three years after graduating from the Curtis Institute of Music. Musical America said “her career soars above that of any pianist before the public today.” HASSALL QUITS AS OA CEO Craig Hassall has resigned as CEO of Opera Australia, having been appointed Chief Executive at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Australian-born Hassall, who has been CEO at OA for three years, is no stranger to London. He was Managing Director of English National Ballet for seven years from 2005 and then spent a…

1. You’re about to play the priestess Irene in Handel’s Theodora. How dramatic do you see the part compared to the title role? It is true that Theodora is a more dynamic character and she moves the action forward. Irene remains static, but then it is her resolute faith that makes her so steadfast. She faces her dangers in a more fatalistic way, interpreting the situation as God’s will in some larger plan. This is my initial impression of Irene, but I look forward to rehearsing with Lindy Hume to explore the character further in relation to other decisions about the piece. 2. Musically the work is now recognised as one of the composer’s masterpieces. What are the highlights for you? I’ve read that Theodora was one of Handel’s own…

Barrie Kosky has made his Covent Garden debut with a wild take on Shostakovich’s The Nose. Based on a short story by Gogol about a bureaucrat and his missing proboscis, Kosky’s production included a manic, mustachioed police force, cross-dressing vaudevillians and a chorus of tap-dancing noses. The Guardian felt the “mostly brilliant staging” tried too hard at times but Limelight, in a five-star review, found it “sublime” and the dancing noses “sheer bliss”. The Opera Australia co-production is slated to come here in 2018.…

My new chamber opera Biographica has been part of my life for a long time – almost two decades in fact; but it’s not as if I’ve been working on it constantly. I like having a large-scale piece in the background while I’m working on other projects. This enables me to compose different works, drawing on the same research. Being fascinated by ancient history and mythology, I’d long been playing with the idea of an opera based on the concept of the Ancient Greek practice of palaestra, or wrestling, which can also be a wrestling of thoughts and ideas. What I needed was a story on which to hang the idea. The question was, what were we going to see on stage? In the library one day, I came across…

How do you celebrate Christmas? Perhaps with a big family gathering and a table laden with food? Are there presents, stockings and crackers, a large Christmas tree? What about a turkey, a ham or a Christmas pudding? Maybe you sing some carols, or play party games, or even swap all of this for a day of volunteering at a homeless shelter or a soup kitchen? If you do just one of these things, then your Christmas would be very different without the intervention of one particular man. Were it not for him, Christmas as we know it today simply wouldn’t exist, and the festival itself might have all but died out, celebrated very quietly by simpy a religious few. The man? Charles Dickens – the author who virtually invented Christmas.…

In late 1790, as Mozart entered what would be the final 12 months of his life, a series of promising financial opportunities led him to declare that he “stood at the gateway to his fortune”. After a few lean years, he looked on 1791 as the year the Viennese would finally embrace the genius he knew that he had. He began by completing his last piano concerto – in B Flat: an inward masterpiece unlike any he’d written to that point. His E Flat string quintet, completed in April, pays cheeky homage to Haydn, reversing a simple motif for the rondo Haydn had written for a string quartet dedicated to the same patron. A series of small commissions followed, including some underrated German dances and a tinkly little piece for…

Syllables fly, fast and furious, pushing verbal dexterity to its limit. Enunciation-pyrotechnics give us, the audience, a thrill both physiological and intellectual, delighting us, helping us see a character through a different lens. Welcome to the wonderful world of the patter song. This fiendish tradition dates back to the 16th century, but its ancient roots lie in Greek drama, in which an actor would dispatch reams of text at great speed in a single breath. A triumph of technique over the body, this form was known as “pnigos”, meaning “choking” or “suffocating”. The modern patter song, however, gets its name from “Pater”, a sly nod to church congregants who would hurry their way through the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer (Pater Noster), hoping to make a hasty post-service exit. And…

NEBULAE Many of Bruckner’s symphonies begin with a hushed string tremolo, or a similar mysterious pulsation on a sustained harmony or single note. From this a distinctive main theme emerges, as though born from this quiet but potent ‘natural’ sound. Beethoven’s Ninth may be the model, but Bruckner makes the device his own. BLOCKS Sometimes Bruckner’s music flows like a slow river, or proceeds at a steady Schubert-like walking pace. But often contrasted ideas are opposed in blocks, sometimes separated by silences. The effect can be like choirs placed in different parts of a church, or the alternations of different registrations on an organ. The choral music itself abounds in similar effects. DISLOCATION Bruckner seems to delight in thwarting our expectations. What seems a promising crescendo or a moderate allegro…

Bach Goldberg Variations Angela Hewitt p HYPERION CDA68146 Angela Hewitt wouldn’t be the first Canadian pianist to record Bach’s Goldberg Variations twice and, like Glenn Gould’s second performance, Hewitt takes longer over her remake. Her first, recorded in 1999, had critics throwing superlatives around like confetti: “If you only buy one Bach album in this anniversary year, let it be this one. A desert-island disc!” said the man in London’s Sunday Times. But my tropical island might not seem the perfect paradise if Hewitt’s was the only set of Goldbergs on offer. In a world where John Butt exists and Mahan Esfahani has just recorded an exceptionally nuanced performance on harpsichord, complete with an appropriately juicy tuning temperament, it feels like Hewitt is trying to catch an argument that has…

“Christopher Purves gives a dramatically unnerving and restlessly physical performance” Handel Saul Glyndebourne Opera/Ivor Bolton OPUS ARTE OA1216D The curtain rises on a large severed head sitting on a sea of crumbly black ash. As the camera pans in tightly, we see blood encrusted in the corner of the eyes and mouth, while one eye socket is smashed. It is the head of Goliath after his defeat by the triumphant young warrior David, now hero of the Israelites. Behind, an enormous table is heaped with floral arrangements, fruit, animal carcasses and an elegant swan. Clustered around the rather macabre banquet, the cast gleam in brightly coloured 18th-century costumes with extravagant wigs and make-up lending them a slightly crazed air. Bathed in Joachim Klein’s sickly lighting, the extravagant tableau looks…

“Every person in Britain is drinking more than six gallons of gin every year” In 1741, a series of unexplained fires breaks out across New York. A wave of hysteria spreads, as rumours gain traction that slaves are plotting rebellion. At the time, slaves make up one fifth of the city’s population of 10,000. In flagrantly unjust trials, 30 people are sentenced to death and 70 more are sent to the Caribbean. No evidence of any conspiracy is ever uncovered. Meanwhile England is in the grip of something barely less destructive: the “Gin Craze”. The low cost of corn has made gin cheap, and the public – particularly the poor – are swilling it in huge quantities. On average, every person in Britain is drinking more than six gallons every…

The Nutcracker Ben Stevenson’s gorgeous production is a seasonal tradition in Brisbane. Performed to Tchaikovsky’s music, it makes for a perfect festive ballet. Queensland Ballet, December 9-23 The Snow Queen With choreography by Petal Miller-Ashmole, music by Jules Massenet and design by Hugh Colman, it’s a treat The Australian Ballet School, Melbourne, December 9-10 Genée International Ballet Competition Talented young ballet dancers from around the world compete for the coveted gold medal in the Final. Sydney Opera House, December 11…

Stills Gallery presents White Sheet Series by the celebrated Australian photographer Stephen Dupont. Over the past two decades, Dupont has produced a remarkable body of photographic work that captures his subjects with great dignity and intimacy, often in some of the world’s most dangerous regions. His images have received acclaim for their invaluable insight into traditional cultures and communities that are fast disappearing from our world. The exhibition presents a great diversity of people including Saddhus spiritual men in India, tribal members in remote Papua New Guinea and school children in Cuba. All are in front of a simple white sheet – Dupont’s travelling, makeshift studio. As collaborations with entire communities and with proud individuals, these images reveal not just one perspective or one person, but an ethos, an era…

MONDAY - FRIDAY 6am Classic Breakfast There is no better way to start your day. Music from Scarlatti to Sculthorpe and everything in-between 9am Mornings New releases, classic performances plus the latest news and stories from the world of music 12pm Midday Interview guests share their stories and choice of music 1pm Afternoons Featuring major classical performers and highlights from our exclusive collection of Australian concerts 4pm Classic Drive A journey through classical sounds to relax your mind and soothe your soul 7pm Evenings Concerts from Australian and international ensembles 12am Overnight Featuring Australia’s finest musicians, all night long SATURDAY 6am Weekend Breakfast The relaxing way to wake up to your weekend 9am Saturday Morning Three hours of wonderful music to accompany your Saturday morning 12pm Music Makers Exploring the…

GROUPMUSE A new service in the USA connects musicians with audiences in a kind of Uber (or Tinder) for ensembles. Dubbed Groupmuse, the app and site allows classical music fans to book on-demand performances by local musicians. The business was started by Sam Bodkin along with trumpet player Ezra Weller and web designer Kyle Schmolze. The story began in the apartment of pianist Cristian Budu, in the Boston suburb of Allston. Musicians from the New England Conservatory would gather in the apartment for chamber music house parties – Bodkin attended one of these in 2008 and by 2013 Groupmuse was born. Users host concerts in their own living rooms with friends or strangers and audience members can find a concert in their city. Each user pays a $3 fee to…

1. Which planet did Gustav Holst omit? 2. A 20,000 gift from which great violinist enabled Berlioz to compose Romeo et Juliette? 3. The English Cat is an opera by which German composer? 4. Who composed The Four Temperaments and the Pittsburgh Symphony? 5. Who composed The Philosopher, The Schoolmaster and, for Marie Antoinette (pictured), The Queen? 6. A century dead this year, who said:“I am sitting in the smallest room of my house. I have your review before me. In a moment it will be behind me.” 7. Which 20th-century cellist enlarged the repertoire more than any before him giving the premiere of 117 compositions? 8. Whose notorious orchestral build-ups earned him the popular nickname of “Signor Crescendo”? 9. Which Elgar choral work did Sir Adrian Boult, consider greater…

The Australian Festival of Chamber Music, held annually in Townsville, North Queensland, has announced that Kathryn Stott will be the new Artistic Director for three Festivals from 2018 to 2020. Stott will takeover the role from Piers Lane who will end his highly successful 11-year tenure as Artistic Director after the 2017 Festival. British-born Stott, who has an international reputation as a piano soloist, chamber musician, Artistic Director and educator, has been an AFCM guest on three occasions. Commenting on the announcement, Lane said: “Though my time at the helm of the AFCM is coming to an end, my association with the city and the Festival certainly won’t. And I’m thrilled Kathy Stott will succeed me – there isn’t a more suitable Artistic Director on the planet! She is a…

Vaughan Williams Symphony No 5 LPO/Ralph Vaughan Williams SOMM SOMM071 Preparing for my first Vaughan Williams symphony, I spent a lot of time in the English sound world establishing what makes a piece like the Fifth Symphony glow. RVW’s own recording shows the vitality and drama inherent in the musical argument. Bruckner Symphony No 4 Vienna Philharmonic/ Furtwängler ORFEO C559022I It’s always daunting for a conductor to tackle a Bruckner symphony – especially for the first time! My first Fourth will be next year with ASO. From Furtwängler you learn glorious structure. This is a performance which is vital and majestic. Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique Boston SO/Munch RCA 0828766789959 So much can be done with this music, and in Munch you hear it all. It’s not polished or refined where it’s…

ZOLTÁN KOCSIS 1952 – 2016 Leading Hungarian pianist and respected conductor Zoltán Kocsis has died aged 64. Kocsis, who had been the Music Director of Hungary’s National Philharmonic Orchestra since 1997, passed away on November 6. Born in Budapest in 1952, Kocsis studied at the Liszt Academy of Music, graduating in 1973. He rose to prominence at age 18 when he won the Hungarian Radio Beethoven Piano Competition. He toured to the USA the following year and soon built an impressive international career. He was appointed to teach at the Liszt Academy in 1976 and co-founded the Budapest Festival Orchestra with fellow maestro Iván Fischer in 1983. A passionate exponent of contemporary music and Hungarian music, he recorded a benchmark set of the complete piano works of Béla Bartók on…

Throughout his career, many opposed Hector Berlioz and his revolutionary music, but none more so than composer and crusty Paris Conservatoire Director Luigi Cherubini. The first meeting between the two musicians was anything but cordial. In his memoirs Berlioz recounts visiting the Conservatoire library one morning to study some scores by Gluck. He was unaware, however, that Cherubini had instated a new rule forbidding men and women to use the same entrance. Berlioz accordingly entered the Conservatoire through the Rue Bergère door, as he was accustomed. He was quickly stopped by a servant who instructed him to leave the building and re-enter via the male door on Faubourg-Poissonnière. Never easily intimidated, Berlioz laughed off the command as preposterous. The affronted servant refused to admit defeat, however, and departed to report…

BORN MELBOURNE, 1988 STUDIED ANAM, HANNS EISLER HOCHSCHULE, BERLIN LIKES CHAMBER MUSIC, TOURING, YOGA DISLIKES EGOS, SMALL TALK, ANYTHING COLD What drew you to the viola? I grew up learning the violin but somehow I think deep down I knew it was only a matter of time before the viola and I would choose each other. I fell in love with the viola when I started listening to string quartets. To me there is nothing more sublime! The charm of the viola lies in its sound, and I believe it’s one of the most beautiful ways of expressing the human soul. It was through the viola that I was able to find my own voice. What is the most important piece of advice you were given when you were studying?…

CHRISTMAS CARDS The first Christmas cards were made and sent in 1843 by civil servant Henry Cole. His invention caught on, largely thanks to the newly affordable Penny Post. Nativity scenes, robins and wintery landscapes were popular choices in England, while many German cards preferred to show Krampus, the Christmas demon, whipping, spanking or even murdering children. CHRISTMAS TREES Think Christmas trees were first popularised by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert? Think again. That honour goes to Queen Charlotte, George III’s German wife. Missing home, she set up the first Christmas tree at Queen’s Lodge in Windsor in December 1800 – almost 50 years before Victoria and Albert would get around to it. BOXING DAY The name of the day after Christmas is a mysterious one – no one really…

Mozart’s final illness and death remain a great unknown, as very little was documented at the time. Reading his own correspondence from those last few months, we sense a man very much on the up, prospering and full of hope. Thus, much of the circumstances will never be known for certain – though it’s fairly certain that Salieri played no part in it! It is assumed that around November 20, 1791, Mozart took to his bed with an illness. On the 28th, his doctors Thomas Closset and Matthia von Sallaba met to discuss his condition. On December 3, he improved somewhat. On the 4th, there was a small rehearsal at Mozart’s bedside of the Requiem in its unfinished state. That evening, Dr Closset was called, to which he replied he…

The histories are still less well known than the great tragedies and comedies. Do you think there’s any reason for that? Partly they’re expensive and difficult to do and partly the Henry VI plays are complex and tricky to make work. Richard III has such an immediacy because the central character is so compelling and recognisable. Henry V has patriotism and war and all that universal stuff, but I think Henry VI raises more complex questions. It’s an oddball piece and doesn’t really have a classic leading character. And obviously there are three plays and it’s hard to produce without doing all three. We’ve turned those three plays into two films, so we’re dealing with a slightly different beast, but I think that’s partly to do with it. Did Shakespeare…

Complete Symphonies Staatskapelle Dresden/ Eugen Jochum WARNER CLASSICS 9845832 (9CD) All nine of Bruckner’s symphonies conducted by one of the most celebrated conductors of the 20th century. Symphony No 8 Australian World Orchestra/Simon Rattle ABC CLASSICS ABC4814532 Bruckner’s mighty Eighth Symphony recorded live at the Sydney Opera House. Symphony No 9 Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/Giulini DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON DG 4273452 An expansive, earth-shattering and insightful reading of Bruckner’s Ninth from Giulini and the Vienna Philharmonic Mass No 2 in E Minor, Motets Polyphony, Britten Sinfonia/Stephen Layton HYPERION CDA67629 Ranked today as an outstanding example of vocal polyphony, Stephen Layton’s recording features superb choral singing.…

Your previous series of the Sibelius Symphonies with the Lahti Symphony was greatly praised. What inspired you to re-record the works? The request came from BIS and I didn’t realise how many years ago those Lahti recordings were completed. Time flies and I am not the same person as I was during my years in Lahti, so hopefully my musical ideas have been growing as well. The Minnesota Orchestra has had a great history since 1903 with many top conductors and recordings too, so it was a very interesting chance for me to start working with such a glorious orchestra. Every Sibelius symphony seems to have something very different to say. The final volume here covers Nos 3, 6 and 7. What are their essential qualities from your perspective? These…

“Florian Boesch makes an excellent travel guide, his rich baritone easy on the ear” Krenek • Zemlinsky Reisebuch aus den Österreichischen Alpen Florian Boesch bar, Roger Vignoles p HYPERION CDA68158 Ernst Krenek’s resumé reads like a pro forma template of Austro-Germany’s forgotten composers sent into exile by the political climate of the 1930s. Studying with Franz Schreker and a short-lived marriage to Mahler’s daughter Anna ensured a thorough grounding in heady Late Romantic expressionism, dabbling with atonality before embracing Hindemithian democratic craft and making a big splash in 1927 with Jonny Spielt Auf; a key example of Zeitoper. Staged in over 100 European theatres, the pseudo-jazz inflected score and Jonny’s ethnicity would bring fame and notoriety but aroused the ire of the racial purifiers waiting to seize power. Krenek’s…

PREVIEW In a partnership between Tate, London and the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney, Nude: art from the Tate collection will present over 100 major representations of the nude, including paintings, sculptures, photographs and prints by renowned artists such as Pablo Picasso, Lucian Freud, Henri Matisse, Louise Bourgeois, Marlene Dumas and Sarah Lucas. Each artist in the exhibition offers a different way of looking at the naked human body. Some look tenderly; some idealise it; some look anxiously or politically. Together they show how the nude in art has persisted yet changed, shifting shape and acquiring new meanings in the hands of successive generations, from the idealising painters of the Victorian era to the artist-provocateurs of our time. Auguste Rodin’s The Kiss (1901-1904) is an exhibition highlight. The marble…

GOING DUTCH IN SYDNEY VISUAL ART There are only 36 Vermeers in the world, and one of them will be coming to Sydney as part of the Art Gallery of NSW’s summer blockbuster, Rembrandt and the Dutch Golden Age. The collaboration with Amsterdam’s famous Rijksmuseum will see Vermeer’s iconic Woman in Blue Reading a Letter hang alongside seven Rembrandt paintings and works by other Dutch artists. The exhibition sheds light on all aspects of Dutch society in an era of unparalleled wealth, maritime power and cultural confidence. SCARLETT FEVER AT QB DANCE Internationally sought-after British choreographer Liam Scarlett is to join Queensland Ballet as Artistic Associate in 2017. He will also continue in his role as Artist in Residence at London’s Royal Ballet. Earlier this year, Scarlett created a popular…

“Ashkenazy here was able to extract a precise and exquisite sound from the orchestra” Looking for a soundtrack to the holiday season? Between Christmas and New Year’s, ABC Classic FM will be reliving former Sydney Symphony Orchestra Artistic Director Vladimir Ashkenazy’s 2016 Beethoven cycle. ABC Classic FM launches the series with Beethoven Alive on Boxing Day. Recorded in February, the concert opened with Beethoven’s First Symphony in a magisterial performance that Limelight’s Editor Clive Paget described in his review as “less a farewell to the Classical and more of a hello to the Romantic.” The concert continued with a “fleet of foot” rendering of the Eighth and a “supersized” Seventh, with an expanded string section featuring eight double basses. The cycle continues on December 27 with Beethoven Triumphant, opening with…

FINE MUSIC 102.5 LIVE AND LOCAL December 1, 8pm Australian String Quartet Haydn Quartet in E Flat Mozart Prussian Quartet Dvorÿák American Quartet Haydn Sonata No 2 from The Seven Last Words From the Cross December 15, 8pm Australian Chamber Orchestra/ Nils-Erik Sparf Bach Brandenburg Concerto No 3 Roman Lord God, Heavenly King; We Praise Thee Kraus Your Life Was But a Chain Handel Dove Sei? from Rodelinda; Sento Brillar from Il Pastor Fido Grieg Holberg Suite December 22, 8pm Australia Ensemble Mozart Kegelstatt Trio Brahms Hungarian dance suite Schubert Introduction and Variations on Trock’ne Blumen Bruch Four pieces December 29, 8pm Rachel Valler p, Warrawee Ensemble, Donald Hazelwood v, Peter Pfuhl vla Mozart Quartet in G Minor Fauré…

Anastastia Natalia Osipova dances the title role in Kenneth MacMillan’s compelling exploration of identity in the turbulent wake of the Russian Revolution. When WWI is declared, events overtake the young Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov and her family and the Russian Revolution brings their privileged lives to an end. Afterwards a young woman appears – apparently the surviving royal princess. December 2-7 The Marriage of Figaro For the 225th anniversary of Mozart’s death, Teatro alla Scala presents a new staging of his comic opera. The music will be steered by Franz Welser-Möst, who will be appearing for the first time during an important new production at La Scala. Diana Damrau as the Countess heads an excellent cast, including Marianne Crebassa, Golda Schultz, Markus Werba and Carlos Álvarez in the role of…

“Childhood dreams do come true sometimes, but often in unimaginable ways” Some dreams come true, others don’t. I spent my childhood in a picturesque village in Germany, and all I wanted was to own a beautiful violin. My earliest memories of music are from my first day of school – we had a teacher who had just come from college who loved and understood music. He gathered us all in a circle in front of the classroom and we started to sing. From then on, every day throughout my primary school years, we sang. But he also wanted me to play the violin and ended up convincing my parents to buy one so that I could take lessons. I had some wonderful violin teachers who introduced me to the depths…