26th March 2017
by harryfiddler
1 Comment
It feels eerily like things have come full circle. From Stokowski’s Bach, lush and lugubrious, to the so-called cobweb brigade, blowing the dust off old scores and treatises to let the music speak for itself. And now the HIPsters, restoring the mud of … Continue reading
13th March 2017
by harryfiddler
0 comments
I’ve heard Katherine Selby play Dvorak’s Dumky Trio (Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor, Op. 90) so many times, in so many different incarnations. It’s a bit of a signature piece, and I thought that I had a definitive idea of … Continue reading
9th February 2017
by harryfiddler
1 Comment
Gush alert. Not really a review. More a colourful account. Image: Sam Amidon. Photo by Ferguson With Richard Tognetti ‘in residence’ at the Barbican in London, the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s first tour is directed by Finnish fiddle player and long … Continue reading
24th January 2017
by harryfiddler
3 Comments
So, Kennedy’s back in town. Back for more larking about and kicking footballs and making bad jokes. Back for more talking like a fishwife and playing like a dream. Brix Smith, Ex-Fall guitarist and ex-wife of Nigel Kennedy describes him … Continue reading
4th January 2017
by harryfiddler
1 Comment
dartington-international-summer-school-festival-course-brochure-2017 I’ve been taking a blogbreak over the silly season but I just received the link to the 2017 Dartington International Summer School of Music brochure and this has spurred me into action. I’ve been working closely with Dartington Arts … Continue reading
29th December 2016
by harryfiddler
2 Comments
Just catching up with Scott Hicks documentary Highly Strung, which opened the Adelaide Film Festival earlier this year. Hicks has musical form, including the 1996 portrait of David Helfgott, Shine, and the acclaimed 2007 doco on Philip Glass, A Portrait of Philip … Continue reading
20th December 2016
by harryfiddler
0 comments
Sorry. I couldn’t resist it. Silly Season. It’s just that every time I go to see an Australian Haydn Ensemble concert — and it’s getting more regular as I get more hooked on their particular brand of bounce — my … Continue reading
23rd November 2016
by harryfiddler
2 Comments
Last week I interviewed Lorenza Borrani, leader of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and co-founder of Spira Mirabilis. Yesterday I heard her play. It was a bit good*. Borrani is in Australia as guest leader of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, … Continue reading
10th November 2016
by harryfiddler
0 comments
The night before Tony Abbott was elected prime minister I went to the Sydney Opera House to hear Lior and the Sydney Symphony. And the night of the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States, I find … Continue reading
24th October 2016
by harryfiddler
2 Comments
I first encountered the music of Frederic Septimus Kelly (29 May 1881 – 13 Nov 1916) a few years ago, when writing some copy for an orchestra putting on one of the many Anzac-flavoured concerts in 2014. I was very … Continue reading