Music reviews
Baroque: Music for Viola by Nils Mönkemeyer
Finally after all these years of reviews, I have a virtuosic viola album to review! The ‘King of Instruments’ (as it has been dubbed in certain circles), is often the considered the poor cousin to th…
Wayfaring by Umberto Clerici & Karin Schaupp
Wayfaring, a collaboration between Italian-Australian cellist Umberto Clerici and German-Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp, traces a path ‘from birth to death, with everything in between’. Consideri…
Djarimirri by Gurrumul
Djarimirri was four years in the making. It features twelve beautifully harmonised chants and traditional songs. The dynamic, modern, orchestral arrangements remind me of the work of Philip Glass and…
Vocalise by Nuria Rial
Heitor Villa-Lobos dreamt up the imaginative combination of eight cellos and soprano soloist. His famous composition for such an ensemble is Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 – part vocalise and part lamen…
After Bach by Brad Mehldau
I come to Brad Mehldau’s latest album After Bach with classical rather than jazz ears. The album is structured around excerpts from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Books I and II, and each alternate tr…
Whistle Down the Wind by Joan Baez
Joan Baez has emerged from a 10-year hiatus with a powerful new studio album. Her voice has a different range, earthier and more contemporary. Many of the songs on Whistle Down the Wind are reflectio…
The Verdi Album by Sonya Yoncheva
Sonya Yoncheva’s voice is big and bold and soars above the orchestra like a gloriously voluptuous bird of prey. This young Bulgarian soprano is a principal artist at the Metropolitan Opera in New Yor…
Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov & Shostakovich by the Orava Quartet
Did we need yet another string quartet album in the world? I didn’t think so, until I listened to the latest release from Deutsche Grammophon of an Australian group, the Orava Quartet. What is most a…
Make Way for Love by Marlon Williams
Many moons ago, I was privileged enough to witness a very intimate gig at the sorely missed Pure Pop records in St Kilda by a then unknown, fresh-faced Kiwi ex-pat by the name of Marlon Williams. Th…
Reich: Pulse/Quartet by International Contemporary Ensemble & Colin Currie Group
People often remark that Steve Reich’s music can be an acquired taste, one only for those serious, modern-classical music listeners wanting to expand their horizons. As someone who has been firmly en…
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