Music reviews
Mozart & Birchall: Clarinet Concertos
It is an interesting concept writing a new, contemporary work for an old instrument. One such instrument – an instrument that has fallen out of favour and indeed could be called ‘Mozart’s lost clarin…
Metamorphosen: Works by R. Strauss, Korngold & Schreker
When you think of Richard Strauss you think of lush Romantic works, big orchestral moments and dramatic opera. While his work, Metamorphosen, uses all those skills, it is something else – a strangely…
Matthew Locke: The Flat Consort
Children love writing their names on things, and eight-year-old budding classical composers are no exception. Mathew Lock was training as a chorister, composer and musical theorist at Exeter Cathedra…
Ross Edwards: Frog and Star Cycle & Symphonies Nos. 2 & 3
Ross Edwards holds a special place in the hearts and minds of Australian classical music lovers. For myself, I relish any opportunity to play his music, and listening to this album was such an enjoya…
Women of Note: Celebrating Australian Composers, Volume 4
I have had men in my life comment, ‘surely everything’s equal now’, but when a new release album has a world-premiere recording of an important 1956 piece by a prominent female composer, it reminds m…
Brahms: Viola Sonatas and Sonatensatz & Schumann: Adagio and Allegro by Philip Dukes & Peter Donohoe
While the violin has frequently hogged the spotlight, I have always had a soft spot for the viola: the resonant tone, singing melodic lines and technical prowess that is particularly impressive when …
Underwater by Ludovico Einaudi
Ludovico Einaudi is one of the most streamed classical artists worldwide, and I will admit to considerably adding to those numbers. When I’m not sure what to listen to, when I’m feeling a bit out of …
Pyrotechnia: Fire and Fury from 18th-Century Italy by Bojan Čičić & The Illyria Consort
Vivaldi’s music has been played around the world for hundreds of years, and yet still I am astounded with the beauty and technical proficiency required by musicians to truly make this music jump off …
Debussy: Pelléas et Mélisande Suite & Schoenberg: Pelléas und Mélisande, Op. 5 by Orchestre de la Suisse Romande & Jonathan Nott
The love story of Pelléas and Mélisande is the classic story of wife, husband and lover. While it’s full of drama and everyone important dies in the end, Maeterlinck’s play has had a lasting impact u…
Schumann Cello by Zoe Knighton & Amir Farid
Clara Schumann was a giant in the world of music in the 1800s. Strong in personality, technically proficient and musically brilliant as both a pianist and composer, in her 76 years she changed the fa…
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