You know that New York’s Met has made it into the 21st century when it starts putting on operas with cyber-thriller plots. Manhattan-based Nico Muhly (The Reader, Kill Your Darlings) has all the audacity you’d expect from a composer in his thirties, and to call this recent production daring would be a glaring understatement. The opera, with libretto by Craig Lucas, is based on true events: a teenage boy is stabbed in the heart and lies comatose in a hospital bed. An older boy is the main suspect. Detective Anne Strawson must discover how an online friendship could wind up in attempted murder. The investigation leads to a mysterious and sordid world of online chat rooms. Muhly’s music has a modern edge and his orchestration glows like the virtual colour-world of cyberspace. The score is full of fascinating textures, including a disturbing polyphony of chat room addicts: mums and miscreants chanting in fragmented cyberspeak. It underscores the drama well and is highly engaging, though there’s the unmistakable suggestion of John Adams’ operatic style and language at play. The leads are strong. In particular, Paul Appleby’s sensitive turn as the confused and tormented older boy, Brian, as well as Alice Coote’s…

Lyle Chan's string quartet is affecting music and a unique and powerful means of relating a terrible history.

Gutsy violinist lays everything bare in ripper recital.

William Barton is well known for his cross-genre collaborations and adventurous performance style. We see both on this disc that features his famous didgeridoo playing, married with his talents as a composer. He’s joined here by a formidable line-up of musos, including the Kurilpa String Quartet, vocalist Delmae Barton (William’s mother) and violinist John Rodgers, in a stunning album that sees a blending of classically notated, popular and Indigenous Australian musical styles. Barton explores the full range and virtuosity of his instrument, with rumbling drones and colourful animal calls – we’re even treated to the expressively plaintive voice of Barton himself. The title track Birdsong at Dusk opens with him singing over rich murmurs in the cello that build to encompass the full quartet. There’s a haunting beauty in this free, open music, before it is transformed into a vibrant dance through the rhythmic spirit of the didgeridoo and clapping sticks. Petrichore features an impossibly fast dialogue between violin and didgeridoo, with the rapid, bullet- like staccato in the didge answering the busy passagework of John Rodgers’ impressive violin playing. 7/8 not too late is a fascinating, improvisatory didgeridoo solo that at one point breaks out into a sort of pop-inspired beatboxing. Here Barton is…

Cameron Carpenter is one of those classical music anomalies: he plays the music, but his approach is anything but classical. He’ll play anything, from Bach to Bacharach, plus his own daring inventions thrown in for good measure, with a questionable (and frequently controversial) sense of style. This debut disc features his mighty digital touring organ, and begins with the famous Prelude from Bach’s Cello Suite No 1, played only on the foot pedals (why use hands?). This mutates into a monstrous elaboration that barrels and snarls with echoes of Bach blended with circus kitsch. Think Wurlitzer gone wild.  Next is a transcription of Bernstein’s raucous Candide Overture. It’s a brilliant work, which then jumps to the serene Rachmaninov Vocalise. Then one of his own compositions, followed by Piazzolla’s Oblivion. Not to mention his paraphrases of songs like Bacharach’s Alfie and Newley and Bricusse’s Pure Imagination. The program on the whole is baffling. Carpenter says each work “offers a different taste of ecstasy”, and while he does show off the colour range of the touring organ (and his own reckless brand of virtuosity), it’s a bit of a mess that misses out on the visual magic of his live shows. There…

Simon Tedeschi has become something of a household name here in Australia. Known for thinking outside the classical box, he’s shown himself to be an artist of expert ability with some impressively diverse tastes. He collaborated with Australian jazz great James Morrison on his previous album with ABC Classics, Gershwin: Take Two, and this, his most recent release on the label continues his foray into the world of jazz. This compilation of local piano music has been chosen specially by Tedeschi, in what he calls a musical “self-portrait”. There’s something refreshing about the collection – it’s the perfect soundtrack for a lazy afternoon. You’ll find it has a soothing warmness, and at times an irresistible groove that instills it with a playful energy. Tedeschi’s performance is nuanced and sensitive, and perfectly suits the demands of the piano writing. The disc opens with a Barcarolle by pianist-composer Mark Isaacs, whose music adds a calming touch to the album. He has five miniatures peppered throughout the collection, including the title track, Tender Earth – a stunningly gentle soliloquy brought to life through Tedeschi’s thoughtful approach and delicate touch. Mike Nock’s music offers some welcome contrasts. The cutely named… Continue reading Get unlimited digital…

John Casken’s orchestral music is monumental in breadth and vision, and makes for enjoyable listening. 

Tickets on sale now for Bryn, Renée, Yuja and many more, plus a Golden Opportunity revealed.

International guests join Melbourne’s recently returned orchestral heroes.

Winners announced at Australian Art Music’s annual night of celebration. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

It’s always a burning question. When the performer walks back on stage, what encore will she play? Something slow and meditative, like Bach, or maybe flashy Paganini at breakneck speed? Encore pieces are a revered repertory, which according to Hilary Hahn were “shaped by the performers who preceded us”. So, this stellar violin virtuoso has asked a different question: what should today’s encores sound like? Her answer came in an ambitious project: commissioning 26 composers to write encore pieces, plus holding an open competition to find a 27th. The result is a ripper, two-disc compilation with one of the most profoundly contrasting arrays of compositional style and language you could imagine. You’ll find older, more established writers, like Finnish master Einojuhani Rautavaara, with newer voices thrown into the mix. Each piece explores a different sound world, and posits a unique idea of what an encore should do. Some works are slow, lyrical and open, others fast, dissonant, and impossibly demanding when it comes to technique and flair. Everyone will have a favourite, but Israeli composer Avner Dorman’s Memory Games is an outright thrill to listen to.  Hahn’s performance is stunning in every encore. She is often lauded for her rich tone…

Australian masters lead future music-makers in an inspiring night of passionate music making. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in