portrait of North America’s vibrant and diverse classical music culture, with works for cello, with and without piano, performed by brothers Paul and Huw Watkins. Both eminent musicians, Paul has played with the Emerson Quartet and manages a career as a conductor, while Huw is also a notable composer. Both bring technical refinement and a keen musical touch to their performances. Both Samuel Barber and Leonard Bernstein’s works are appealing, thanks to an attractive lyricism in the former’s case, and jazzy, eclectic beats and rhythms in that of the latter. Paul’s playing is full of passion, but also nuanced in capturing the lighter shades of both works. Elliott Carter’s Sonata for Cello and Piano was an important work for the composer, marking a crucial change away from a lyrical neoclassicism, to melodic angularity and radical rhythmic and metric invention. The pair’s performance here is as fresh and articulate as the work.  George Crumb’s Sonata for Solo Cello is an invigorating experience. The work is a masterpiece – expertly paced, passionate, with beautiful harmonic language and an authentic approach to virtuosity. It is the best demonstration of Paul’s expert musicality.  Finishing with music from Aaron Copland’s old-school American classic Billy the…

Bohuslav Martinů is surely one of the most underrated composers of the 20th century. His unique brand of neoclassicism is addictive: a vivid celebration of folk dance and classical tradition, spiced with pungent harmonies and rhythmic verve. It’s a wonder his music is not performed more. Kudos then to the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, whose recent release of the composer’s two suites from his ballet Špalíček bursts onto the scene with breathtaking élan. A testament to Martinů’s innovative approach to genre, Špalíček was conceived as a hybrid work: a ballet with operatic elements. Translated as ‘Chapbook’, a collection of literary subjects in pamphlet form, Špalíček is a charming conglomeration of fairytales. Familiar characters like Puss in Boots cavort with lions, mice and sparrow hawks, while a princess is rescued (with the aid of a butterfly) by a cobbler from the grips of a terrible giant. There are magicians and mysterious shadows, enchanted castles and even a catchy waltz at Cinderella’s palace ball. And the music is just as imaginative as the stories. The vibrant orchestration shows an early 20th-century predilection for woodwind and brass, with plenty of percussion and piano punctuating the bubbly score. Martinů’s musical subjects are mostly of Bohemian…

Many consider it the great Australian novel. So will George Palmer’s adaptation be the next great Australian opera? Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

★★★★★ Chutzpah aplenty in outstanding evening of gutsy chamber music.

First the soft piano enters, then the words: “once upon a, once a, once upon a time…” It’s a familiar introduction to a not-so-familiar story. The Light Princess is an imaginative new musical adapted by Adelaide-born writer Samuel Adamson from a Scottish fairytale about a princess whose view of the world is so light, she floats. It’s a fabulous fable, and it’s got a few modern twists that’ll definitely delight contemporary audiences.  The music is by singer-songwriter Tori Amos and her score is vibrant, fun and upbeat. Lyrics have a sweet, storybook vibe. The original cast recording sparkles with excellent vocal performances that won’t fail to enchant, particularly that of Rosalie Craig, who sings the titular role. The two bonus tracks, sung by Amos herself, Highness in the Sky and Darkest Hour, are a dreamy treat. Amos’s pedigree as a songwriter is the strongest influence on this musical’s stylistic direction, and tellingly the piano is a ubiquitous presence throughout. The score has a strong momentum, and while there are moments of repose and introspection, they’re a little too scarce in this forward-moving musical fantasy. The story is a strange one (not at all a bad thing), and with a hell of…

This CD marks the recording debut for Australian performer/composer collective, Sideband. The brainchild of composers Tristan Coelho, Brad Gill and Peter McNamara, it features visceral performances by high calibre musicians. The Sideband composers are joined by emerging composer Chris Williams, and guest Slovenian-Australian Bozidar Kos. In Kos’s Modulations, solo flute is set twisting and writhing in a turbulent sea of percussion, at the same time being warped and transposed by live electronics. Brad Gill conjures a haunting atmosphere in Crickets for baritone and small ensemble, while his complex piano solo, Light, Snow, Suicide, presents a restless tapestry of melodic and chordal fragments. Chris Williams’ work for soprano and percussion, of silence into silence has a strong dramatic presence.  Tristan Coelho commands attention: his 2011 As the Dust Settles for bass recorder and vibraphone presents one of the most engaging soundworlds in the programme. Alicia Crossley’s playing is wildly virtuosic, engaging in erratic dialogue with Gill’s vibraphone. In The Writer’s Hand, Coelho fragments three female voices, creating a maddening counterpoint that pits spitting consonants against a strange lyricism. Peter McNamara’s Cadenza II for cello is another highlight, Julia Ryder deftly managing the complex demands, while his percussion solo, Voltage, features Claire…

French pianistic powerhouses Jean-Efflam Bavouzet and François-Frédéric Guy have teamed up to deliver a mega programme of works originally intended for orchestra. First premiered in 1913, all three are heard in piano form, with the shift in perspective providing new insights into the music while testing pianistic skills.  The first of Bartók’s Two Pictures sees washes of lush, whole-tone harmony and strangely winding melodies, conjuring a gorgeous, almost Debussian dream world.  The reverie is over in the second picture, Village Dance. Here, Bartók indulges in heavy harmonic dissonance and exuberant folk-like melody, delivered with full force.  The tone colour of Debussy’s Jeux comes as a soothing and gentle contrast. Bavouzet and Guy manage to make their instruments sound as colourful as Debussy’s orchestra. The opening is so delicately rendered you’re left questioning if it is indeed a piano you’re hearing. Bavouzet’s transcription is an intelligent and elegant reimagining of the original.  Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring is the best-known work on the disc, and hence its transcription is perhaps the hardest sell. Piano four hands necessarily restrains the score’s savagery and contrapuntal melodic webs. While it might not best the original, the composer’s own transcription is the perfect vehicle for this…

A seasonal opera with temporal jiggery-pokery makes a wonderful find for the end of any year. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

We meet the writer, composer and stars of Australia's first ever TV 'Soap' Opera.

★★★★½ Plenty of highpoints as AWO heads south for chamber festival.

Speak Percussion (plus 100 friends) make a quietly epic splash at the Melbourne Festival. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

★★★½☆ Nodding off to Max Richter’s soporific epic is easier said than done.