I have to make a confession before we start...I had never seen the movie released in 1961, and I had never seen the musical itself before last night's performance at the Sydney Opera House...
However, I have a great recording on the latest version of the Musical played on Broadway in 2009. and choreographed by Jerome Robbins, the original choreographer of the 1961 movie.

The original movie was filmed in Technicolor on 70mm film and 6 tracks audio Westrex optical technology. The orchestral original score was lost and it had to be recreated by first separating the voices and effects on one side and the music on the other side using French technology from Audionamix. Then using some documents found in various archives and many hours of work and rehearsal to get to the point where any orchestra could play it with the help on some other electronic wizardry to synchronise their performance with the action on the screen which is mostly behind them. Well, let me tell you, the SSO is not ANY orchestra! They are a wonderful crew who did get a standing ovation at the end of almost three hours of playing this complex piece of music. There was only a 20 minutes interval!
This is probably one of the top live musical experiences of my life, up there with Carmina Burana in the same venue about ten years ago, Nigel Kennedy, Anne Sophie Mutter more recently, Rod Stewart in Versailles in 1983, Eurythmics in Paris in 1989 and Sydney in 1999. Not a small feast!
About the film itself, I can say that I was very impressed by the dancers and the choreography, as most american productions are near perfect in their timing and the fluidity of the movements.
The best example could well be the Blu-Ray recording of the last and unfinished Michael Jackson's production, "This is it", that I have watched at least a dozen times and still get the same pleasure and excitement listening and watching it each time. I think it will be the same if this performance were to be recorded. I will still buy the 50th anniversary Blu-Ray and report!

Beautiful sunny day in Sydney this week-end, so I could take this contraption out for a listen to my favourite records on the beach! Just kidding! Although I did go to the beach, Palm Beach that is, an hour north of Sydney.
So I missed the event entirely, and I am not even ashamed of it!
Instead I though I would give you a picture of four of my favourite (and maybe a little bit out of mainstream...) records as well as a few shots of that beautiful beach as well. And my latest discovery of a vinyl/restaurant combo in Glebe, called The Record Crate, just across from the (in)famous Badde Manors cafe and serving good fare and generous glasses of wine for a very decent price and feeding you with good music as well via a very decent pair of English Vintage speakers. Enjoy!

I went to the Marrickville Organic Food Markets on Sunday in search of news and photos for my other blog, and I bumped into these great guys doing a jam to an attentive audience. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Then I found a place called "Reverse Garbage" where you can find all sorts of second or third or more hand "objects", not to say rubbish, but like anything, there are great collections of vinyl and CDs and VHS tapes, totally uncurated, so I will have to go back just for that. There was nothing of interest in terms of vintage hifi gear, though...Maybe I should start a stall there...Let me have your thoughts and see if you would be willing to lend me your stuff to sell on consignment. We could sell them on our new store as well. Feedback welcome!

You will be forgiven if you don't know the connection between Jacques Lousier and Chateau Miraval Clara Lua 2011. I didn't know either a few weeks back!
Jacques Loussier is a famous French musician who made his name "jazzeifying" classical music and he is very good at it. The recording featured is one of my favourite pieces of music and I listen to it often.
It is also regularly featured on our local ABC Classic FM radio.
Until quite recently, he was the proud owner of Chateau Miraval in Correns, Var, in Provence, where he was one of the first to have a so-called "Residential" recording studio. Sting and Pink Floyd recorded there, the later recorded The Wall album.
A rosé is named after them and has won numerous accolades as one of the best "Rosé de Provence".
I found their white wine Clara Lua researching a very unknown grape varietal, Rollé, also called Vermentino by the Italians, which is the basis of the "Bellet" AOC, a small appellation of about 15 wineries around Nice. Clara Lua is made of that same grape, although technically outside of the Bellet territory as well as some Grenache Blanc. Correns is the only village in France where all the grapes are certified organic.

Tasting notes courtesy of www.vintagegrape.net:
"Citrus fruits flavors of white flowers and roasted almonds; Uncommonly full body leaves an extremely long lasting flavor. Serve chilled with fish courses, pastries, or Foie Gras"

Today I had it with Smoked Salmon and a mixed salad of green leaves, fennel, cherry tomatoes, bocconcinis and poached egg. It was not bad either with the goat cheese from Willowbrae Cheese.

And a final note: Angelina and Brad are the current owners...

Beautiful red dress, a full house and exquisite music were the hallmarks of Annne Sophie Mutter's second visit to the Sydney Opera House and her fabulous performance of three Mozart Violin Concerti. Her elegance and the silkiness of her playing as well as her conducting of the smallish ensemble of 28 musicians made it for an exceptional performance and a most memorable and enjoyable evening. She graced us with two encores, one with the orchestra, and a final solo which commanded a complete silence of the House, a rare treat! Not a cough in sight nor in sound. We were sitting a bit too far away though to enjoy all the intricacies of her playing but had the unexpected advantage to force our attention. 
After such an amazing performance, Anne Sophie Mutter was gracious enough to sign a god 400 to 500 CDS and DVDs that Universal Music Australia was selling on the spot. And guess what? I did get a copy of her first ever recording in a stunning rendition on CD by Deutsche Grammophon, a treat!

Anne-Sophie Mutter is in Sydney for a few concerts playing Mozart, a composer she has played for her first recording in 1978, at the tender age of 15 for Deutsche Grammophon. I own her third recording a few years later in 1980 - Beethoven, and 1983 - Bach - see photo above.
I missed her visit to Sydney in 2012, so I am quite excited to go to her concert tomorrow night at the Sydney Opera House. Now, I need to find this first record, don't I? I will keep you posted...
You can read an article on a recent interview with Margaret Throsby on ABC Classic FM, and listen to the recording of the interview for another three weeks.

The CDs and DVD-As - 1969/2004/2013

My original vinyls of this emblematic piece of music is still in fairly good condition and certainly plays very well!
However, when my daughter asked me what I would like for Christmas, I had no hesitation in suggesting this new edition. Although I still have to go through the 4 CDs coming with the book, I have rushed to listen to the 2 DVD-As sold separately. I believe the main disc is actually a duplicate of one in the box set - labeled at the 5.1 hi-fidelity pure audio Blu-Ray, and disc 2 is not worth much - in my humble opinion - as it is mainly outtakes and demos, some of them at least also included in the box set, and certainly more of a historical interest that purely musical.. So, you could probably save 20$ by not ordering the separate DVD-As.
The DVD-As are recorded at 96kHz/24bits and it is very close to the vinyl rendition - minus the noise and dust accumulated over the years...Why not gone for 192/24 is a bit of a mystery, but might just be disc space limitation. If anybody out there knows, I would be keen to know and update this post accordingly.

The movie - 1975

I was lucky enough at the time to view a 35mm copy on a friend's own projector, who lived at the time in the servant's quarter of a castle in Sologne, a remote part of France south of the Loire and Orleans, famous for growing asparagus, sprinkled with extraordinary "restaurants gastronomiques" and hiding a munition depot and armoury for the French Army.
We were both working for a subsidiary of Thomson - now Thales - which was involved in refurbishing and upgrading nukes for NATO, hence the use of this highly secured facility. Telling you more would probably getting me into trouble - my name is neither Assange nor Snowden, lol...
It was a full moon night and one had to drive about 5 kms from the gate of the property to the castle through moors, lakes and forests, with the wild rabbits crossing the gravel road in front of us - lucky they were not deers also roaming the countryside and a highly prized target for hunters who come from all over the World. So the mood was certainly set for a film that I thought of at the time as more horror movie than cinema masterpiece. Hence the reason why I would be very keen to see it again. This castle is actually for sale for about 1 MUSD
You can buy a Blu-Ray version on Amazon, and I will very soon, indeed...

The Book - 2013

The accompanying book is riveting to read and contains 60 pages of photos, memorabilia and the history of the genesis of the opera and the recordings. It is an "Amazing Journey" into the evolution of one of the most famous english bands of the time and certainly worth the money on its own.

I first met Elodie Sablier at the Langham Hotel in Sydney, where I stopped with my wife for a night cap during the Vivid Festival, where she is the resident "cocktail pianist" on week-end nights and we met again at the QVB recently where she plays occasionally but currently every Thursdays and Saturdays where she plays live her new compositions from her first album: Vertigo.
I knew Elodie was French, or at least very versed in French music, when she improvised very successfully on Debussy and Satie - not your average cocktail pianist's choice, indeed...
So, you won't be surprise to find Debussy and Satie lingering beggaring be hid Elodie's compositions. It is subtle and it is more their spirit than their music you can feel. I particularly like "Black Flowers" for its intensely romantic sonic landscape, something underlaying most of the disc, almost harrowing in "Lighthouse" and playfully experimental in the last track "Theseus".
Elodie is launching her first album on Tuesday December 3rd at the Foundry in Ultimo.

Amid the heritage-listed structures of the old locomotive workshop in Sydney, now home of hi-tech companies, and wrought iron experts Wrought Artworks on one side and bars and happening spaces on the other side, renamed CarriageWorks, and home on Saturdays of the Everleigh Growers Market, vinyl enthusiasts, specialised retailers, and DJs filled up the space yesterday with crates after crates of vinyls for sale and interesting music.
You could also spot the odd turntable here and there, and maybe the next edition should incorporate a "vintage hardware" section. I have interviewed a few visitors and asked them what equipment they see, and, particularly in the younger crowd - and it was a crowd by the way, the direct drive Technics SL1200 was the favourite, as most people there were linked to DJeing of sort. Most had no idea of which amps or speakers they were using apart from one, would would name NAD and Tannoy to extract music from his vinyls spinning on a...Technics 1200, bien sur! Even the media were there to catch a glimpse of this nostalgic revival. I found only one box of classical music, Everything else was Beatlemania, Metal, Funk, Hard Rock and everything in between - not really my cup of tea - but I manage to buy a decent copy of "Love over Gold" from Dire Straits, and a recent reissue of "Yellow Submarine", which I never had a copy of. The side 2 is very good as it is mainly instrumental and film scores from George Harrison.

I don't think I need to introduce Adele...and, although I have heard some of her songs before and was certainly curious to hear more, I had so far not bought any CD from her.
A recent browse into a JB Hifi store while my car was being washed drew me to my favourite section of this gigantic music emporium, the Blu-Ray concerts. I have said before than I can't find a better soind quality than a well recorded Blu-Ray disc and this one is no exception. But  a big surprise was in store for me, as I didn't waste any time to listen - and watch - this amazing performance as soon as I got back home. My wife dropped everything to be with me and we were soon like two teenagers at their first live performance!
This girl is amazing! Not only is sheextremely pretty, but funny, witty, vivacious and can she sings!
She draws you into her emotions and lyrics and manage to make you feel that she sings just for you and she achieves this monumental performance barely moving on stage! A far cry from Madonna or Michael Jackson, but a stunning piece of music nevertheless. She is certainly helped by a great team of musicians and back singers. Her pianist in particular, specially when playing solo, plays the perfect counterpoint or support to Adele's stories, from the most delicate ballad to the jazziest beat. The filming is quite good too, with maybe 20 cameras - I like the close-up on the hands of the pianist or the top shot on the drums and the close-ups on the supporting singers!
Great entertainment, great sound, great photography and obviously fabulous songs by a very talented Adele!