Music reviews
Breakdown on 20th Ave. South by Buddy & Julie Miller
Husband-and-wife team Buddy and Julie Miller have released their first album in ten years – their third as a couple in nearly twenty years of recording together. Even they find it a little strange th…
Mozart: Le Testament Symphonique by Le Concert Des Nations
During the summer of 1788, aged only thirty-two, Mozart achieved a monumental feat of compositional greatness: in just one and a half months, he completed symphonies 39, 40 and 41, to which he referr…
Rise by Jess Gillam
Last year was a historic year for the BBC Young Musician awards. They had their first ever saxophonist in the finals. Now to those who don’t know, this is a bigger deal than you might think. It’s his…
Sir John Tavener: The Protecting Veil by Matthew Barley and Sinfonietta Riga
When the first thing you see, as a performer, is the phrase ‘Transcendent With Awesome Majesty’, you know you’re going to be in for something epic. John Tavener wrote those words over the top of the …
I Am Easy to Find by The National
For the first time in their storied career, The National is bringing new voices into the fold. This, their eighth album, marries singer Matt Berninger’s distinctive baritone with collaborators includ…
Liszt’s Italian Pilgrimage by Tristan Lee
Melbourne’s own Tristan Lee recently emerged from a PhD, for which he was researching the music of Beethoven and Liszt. His recording of Liszt’s Années de pèlerinage: Deuxième année: Italie (Years of…
Gounod: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2 Iceland Symphony Orchestra & Yan Pascal Tortelier
Being so opera-centric as I am, it was not until this CD fell into my hands that I discovered Gounod was in fact a great symphonist. Under the baton of Yan Pascal Tortelier, the Iceland Symphony Orch…
Il Giardino Dei Sospiri by Magdalena Kozena, Collegium 1704 and Václav Luks
Magdalena Kožená’s silvery mezzo soprano voice is a fascinating one: she possesses a bright upper register befitting a coloratura soprano, and a rich, penetrative depth throughout her range which all…
Florence Beatrice Price: Symphonies 1 & 4 by John Jeter & Fort Smith Symphony
Florence Price, the first African American woman to gain recognition as a symphonic composer, was remarkable. Celebrated contralto Marian Anderson championed and recorded Price’s vocal music, and, in…
In Circles by Amy Dickson
I used to have little interest in classical saxophone repertoire, until one day, in Paris, I was walking through a deserted passageway, and I heard a most beautiful, soulful sound reverberating aroun…
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