Music

The Chopin Album by Sol Gabetta & Bertrand Chamayou

Reviewed by Alexandra Mathew

At only 34, Sol Gabetta has made more acclaimed recordings than many cellists could dream of producing in a lifetime. Thankfully, Gabetta offers us quality along with quantity. Her recording of the Elgar cello concerto rivals that of Jacqueline Du…

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Melbourne’s Women Of Soul

Reviewed by Declan Murphy

To celebrate what will be the fifth anniversary of their annual concerts this year, the Melbourne Women of Soul collective have put together a fantastic album of all original tracks written exclusively for this release. What began life in 2010…

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Deeper South by Shane Howard

Reviewed by Paul Barr

Deeper South is Shane Howard’s latest album and a beautifully recorded, crowd-funded affair. This album is a high water mark for Howard, combining poetry, blues, country, celtic and folk with rich acoustic textures. It’s apparent from the first few bars…

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Schubert: Fantaisie by David Fray

Reviewed by Alexandra Mathew

When first approached to review this Schubert recording I thought, how boring, how predictable. How wrong, and how pleasantly surprised I was. I’ve long been a fan of Murray Perahia and Radu Lupu’s recording of the Fantasia in F…

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Revolution by Emmanuel Pahud

Reviewed by Kate Rockstrom

It’s always very interesting to see what Emmanuel Pahud chooses for the repertoire on his solo recordings. Considered one of the best, if not the best, flautists in the world, he has nothing to prove. He has demonstrated his superiority…

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The Complete Recitals by Emma Kirkby

Reviewed by Alexandra Mathew

It is said Emma Kirkby possesses the voice of an angel. As an early music specialist she has been delighting listeners with her recordings since the 70s, and her brand of pure, predominantly vibrato-less singing has become synonymous with ‘historically…

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Steffani: Niobe, Regina di Tebe by Karina Gauvin & Philippe Jaroussky

Reviewed by Alexandra Mathew

Just another Baroque opera? Agostino Steffani’s Niobe, Regina di Tebe, based on Ovid’s Metamorphoses, offers a complex plot involving gods, mortals, jealousy, and revenge. Niobe, Queen of Thebes, declares herself superior to the goddess Latona because she has…

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Vestiges and Claws by José González

Reviewed by Emily Harms

Indie folk singer–songwriter and guitarist José González’s dulcet tones first drifted over me in the back of Readings Carlton in 2007 as he was performing a few beautiful songs from his then recently released album, In Our Nature. González…

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Koehne: Time is a River by the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra

Reviewed by Kate Rockstrom

I was in a terribly bad mood when I sat down to listen to this recording. Not the best way to experience new repertoire, but as the first track, ‘Forty Reasons to Be Cheerful’, evolved, it was like the sun…

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Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas

Reviewed by Lisa MacKinney

Winning the 1960 International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw at the age of 18 kicked off an extraordinary career for Italian pianist Maurizio Pollini. His recording of Beethoven’s piano sonatas began in the mid-1970s with an award-winning reading of the…

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