This was a magnificent performance and the first time I had a chance to see Charles Dutoit conducting and the Organ at the SOH playing in a significant capacity. Our seats were quite high up which gave us a good way to see the articulation of the different sections of the orchestra playing Mozart, Frank Martin - an interesting modern surprise for me, and Saint-Saens. I have a recording of the Organ Symphony conducted by Zubin Mehta on DECCA and play it regularly. Hearing it in the flesh and brilliantly conducted by Charles Dutoit, it was certainly one of the best concerts I had a chance to attend in Sydney. David Drury gave the Organ a great workout, in turn subtle and fierce, at times only providing a base for the orchestra's musings, but otherwise providing the appropriate thunder! all in all, it was a Went to the Sydney Opera House last night to listen to three of Ashkenazy's favourite pieces of music. And he conducted them in great style and energy:
* Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy Overture * Richard Strauss: Oboe Concerto * Walton: Symphony No1 This last piece was new to ne and is quite complex, but Ashkenazy very structured and limpid direction make it almost obvious to understand and certainly fascinating to listen too. The Sydney Symphony Orchestra is very energetic at most times, but the musicians seemed particularly inspired and gave us a mind blowing performance. The program advertised a new box set from Decca and decided today to order it for my upcoming birthday. Given the fact that I still have to listen to a few records from my previous Decca purchase, it will certainly give months of listening pleasure! Feel free to send me your own musical gifts - you can find shipping details on my "contact us' page. Many thanks in advance for your generous support! Red Eye Records - 143 York Street - Sydney You have probably heard that the sales of vinyl records are actually up, so it was appropriate to spend some time on Saturday to visit a few record stores in the Sydney CBD (I didn't venture any further as we had like 60mm of rain that day...) to celebrate World Record Store Day. And it is certainly true that the number of physical record stores are down, but the ones that are left are obviously the ones that are specialists in a niche market, have evolved with an online presence and finally have knowledgeable staff! 22 shops in Sydney participated in the event. Two of the stores I visited, Fish Fine Music and Birland Records (where I bought Cafe Blue from Patricia Barber in a HDCD Collector version) are primarily stocked with CDs and DVDs/BluRay. Birland Records also stock a rare collection of XRCDs, a specially mastered format invented by JVC, and a large selection of SACDs. I also shop occasionally at the Mojo Record Bar who are primarily vinyl stockists, new and second-hand. My surprise came from Red Eye Records which i pass by often driving but never had a chance to visit properly ...until then. Well, this was certainly a very busy place, where the cash registers were ticking red hot. The crowd was diverse in age, sex and all alleys were busy with shoppers wandering mainly in the vinyl sections, but also DVD and music BluRay had their fans (me included...) Granted, the weather was on our side, and it was touch and go until early afternoon, but it is difficult to beat the location! With the backdrop of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Opera House and the CBD and the Southern Cross as our ceiling, it was a beautiful show and an amazing performance from the singers. The sound system was certainly playing too loud, but was of reasonable quality and it was certainly a technical feast to have all these wireless microphones working together without a hint of interference. Gone are the days when I was selling a top of the range brand in the 70s and it was a miracle to have TWO mikes working in the same space! There were a bit of inconsistensies in the set and the costumes, I thought, as the director decided to set the opera in 1959, which was still under Franco dictatorship and a very conservative society, which didn't go well in my opinion with all flesh out of the female cast, more a Sydney summer sight than Seville in the 50s! But, hey, who am I to comment? I did enjoy the vocal performance of Rinat Shaham as Carmen, Dmytro Popov as Don Jose, Andrew Jones as Escamillo and Nicole Carr as Micaela, certainly the purest voice on the set. I also enjoyed the performance of the orchestra conducted by Brian Castles-Onion, an appropriate name for a Spanish sounding piece of music! Where the musicians were is still a mystery, but the conductor was visible to the performers from the stage on a giant screen behind the audience. All in all, a lovely evening in a grand setting with even some fireworks to pepper the Show! It is still playing tonight at 7.30 as well as tomorrow and Sunday night. You can book your tickets and find more info by clicking the button below. Enjoy! Although not a Blu-Ray, the quality of this combo CD/DVD is amazing. Recorded live in Broadway by engineer extraordinaire David Hewitt and son Ryan, it is an amazing performance. Harry Connick Jr is the ultimate crooner and performer, knowing when and how to give the spotlight to each and everyone of his talented musician. He is himself a great piano player primarily, but not afraid to pick a trumpet or a saxophone to duo with his residents wind players. And these are the most entertaining parts of the DVD. Obviously his voice and the mastering of the emotions he manages to convey with it are the hallmark of his own talent and the reasons behind his extraordinary and enduring success. It was one of my Christmas presents and I have watched and listened to it half a dozen times already, and I think I might leave you now to watch again before calling my Mum back in France as it is her 93rd birthday! Below a quick video to wet tour appetite and some photos of the mobile recording studio used to produce these records. Enjoy! Our local Classic FM radio on ABC just finished a wonderful program running over the last two weeks and culminating today with the announcement of the top 8 choices from us, faithful listeners... We had to choose from a list of 800 pieces, some famous, some obscure, some light, some very dark and deep indeed, like the Quartet for the end of time by Messiaen (#24) or Faure's Requiem(#3!). I challenged myself in casting a vote, and my five choices made it to the final list. Here it is: at #71: Boieldieu Concerto for harp and orchestra at #16 : Saint-Saens Danse Macabre at #11 : Debussy Suite bergamasque at # 7 : Berlioz Symphonie fantastique at # 5 : Eric Satie Gymnopedies The top 3 were: Faure Requiem Saint-Saens "Organ" Symphonie Bizet Carmen Here is the link to the complete list and listening extracts: I bought this record in LA earlier this year on my way to the CES in Las Vegas, among others. When I got back home, I listened quickly to all my new vinyls, and some just got a quick attention span, like this one. But some time this week, I had a chance to sit down and listen to it properly and it is a gem. Not only it is in great condition, but also, it includes some of my favourite pieces from Debussy smartly rearranged by this moonlighting quartet of saxophonists whose day jobs were to record in the big orchestras of the major film studios like the 20th Century Fox Orchestra and playing their individual parts in famous scores like West Side Story, The Flinstones and This Is Your Life to name a few. And you can hear they are having fun playing together, and it becomes infectious quite quickly... If you click on the cover, you will be taken to the excellent website put together by one of their children, Ellen. Ellen has done a great job as an historian of the group, collating sheet music, mp3 of rehearsal tapes (from a resident Ampex 350, no less...) and all sort of memorabilia! Angel Place - Sydney Last Thursday, I went to concert of chamber music at Angel Place, a venue purposedly built for this type of small formations. It is a lot less famous than the Sydney Opera House, but is said to have a much better acoustic. Quoting their website: <<"Science and art combine in Sydney's new recital hall to create an acoustic and aesthetic triumph" – The Bulletin Architects Peddle Thorp and Walker(PTW) designed the 1,238 seat Hall in a shoebox shape, proven worldwide as the ideal shape for hearing western classical music. Based on the classical configuration of the 19th century European concert hall, the design includes gently raking stalls and two galleries that wrap around both sides and rear of the auditorium creating a sense of intimacy between audience and performer. The elegant decor of French grey, gold leaf, light timber panelling and plum coloured upholstery provides a sense of occasion, enhanced by the white marble grand staircase that sweeps up from the entry foyer to the three seating level foyers, each with their own bar.>> To the risk of alienating my friends at PTW (who also designed the Water Cube for the Beijing Olympics - a real architectural icon), this is more corporate Australia than French elegance, but it is comfortable, intimate and well-suited to a smaller group of musicians, hence fitting the brief perfectly. And when the sound reinforcement system is switched off, then you can really appreciate the acoustic properties of the venue.Anyway, I came to listen to Simon Tedeschi who is to piano what Richard Tognetti is to the violin. (can't beat Anne-Sophie though...)It is my first chance to listen to him live, and it is certainly worth it. An added bonus was that the first piece from Strauss featured the son of my ex-employer, Ben Ward, a talented young musician, as well as his three other brothers (and Harry Ward in particular already had an international career from a very young age...)We were also treated to Brahms - Trio for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano in A minor, Op. 114 - and Mozart - Quintet for piano and Winds in E flat major, K 452. All beautifully played and enjoyable.The surprise came with Carl Vine, an Australian composer famous for composing the Australian National anthem, the music for the closing ceremony of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, announcing Sydney as the venue of the Olympics in 2000, and also for being the Artistic Director of Musica Viva Australia, and the Huntington Estate Festival in Mudgee, both major events on the Classical Music Agenda in Australia.We were treated to his String Quartet no. 3, an amazing piece of only 15mns.I have recently received a long email from Terry, a Brisbane born expat to South Korea, in which he shared my opinion on the necessity to be exposed to Modern Classical Music as a LIVE performance first, if you want to have any chance of understanding a recorded version of it later on.The sheer physicality and complexity of most of that music I had a chance to be exposed to at the SOH or here at Angel Place, make me absolutely convinced that you would have a hard time understanding any of these sometime haunting, often surprisingly beautiful and evocative - I was going to say romantic... - complex music. Seeing the interaction and non-verbal communication between the musicians is key to get a grasp on a music which often comes from the brain before connecting with the heart (Messiaen being the ultimate measure, as his compositions are based on pure mathematics...). Thanks again to Terry for sharing his thoughts. Here is a relevant extract of our conversation: JML: I was at a concert last night in Angel Place and heard Simon Tedeschi live for the first time,. We heard music from Strauss, Brahms, Mozart and Carl Vine, this being quite a revelation, and certainly way beyond my normal range of sonic interests. However, my experience of LIVE modern classical music over the last five years or so have given me a total new perspective on the genre. I actually think you cannot appreciate it from a recording, as the live experience brings you into the structure of the piece in a visual way that makes you appreciate it from the musician's point of view. Terry replies: I must agree with you about the live experience. At times I've found myself enjoying performances of various forms of music which I would never normally consider listening to. Something about the palpability of the actual performer being right there with you. Plus the shared experience with other members of the audience. Not to mention a drink or two to lubricate the event. Oddly, when I listen to music at home I usually don't drink alcoholic beverages of any sort. Maybe I should... And, BTW, I don't think wine consumption has anything to do with the experience, as I often do drink wine when listening to recorded (should I say bottled...) music! You can buy this piece of music from iTunes as part of an album called: Carl Vine, Chamber Music 2 - I just did... I bought myself a tablet before going to the USA and I have used far beyond the 600$ I paid for it. Mind you, I didn't buy an iPad2, as it was public knowledge it would be obsolete by the time I got back from Vegas. (And it did!) Instead I bought a Motorola Xoom ( I know, it just became obsolete too a few days ago, but at least the Xoom 2 runs ICS, as well as the Xoom 1, so no drama!). And it is a beautiful machine...and it got even better since I installed TunedIn, an internet-radio app (or should I say THE internet-radio app?) and I got in on my iPhone 4S as well. And then, I discovered the last grandchildren of my friend Ivor Tifenburn: Linn Radio and its three avatars, Linn Radio, Linn Classical (the one I am listening to as I type...) and Linn Jazz, that I will try later. As far as I know, it is the only radio steaming in 320kbs MP3, and gosh, what difference does it make! It is quite extraordinary that I could get all this beautiful music, all the way from Glasgow, and with none of the usual "baratin" found even on my beloved ABC Classic FM. Great for a lazy Easter Sunday afternoon... Update 21/04: BBC3 streams in 320kbps as well Also, as my Xoom is gone walkabout to France, I got myself one of these new iPads and installed TunedIn Pro on it. The good news: it seems to sound better than the Xoom - I will have to do a proper A_B test when the Xoom comes back... The bad news: you can't play older streams, unless previously recorded in TunedIn, as you need either the radio station own player (not compatible...) or WMP (not compatible either...) Apparently you can use "Flip4Mac" on a Mac, but you can't install it on a tablet! Anybody out there more familiar than me with the Mac environment will be welcome to leave a comment. Picture: Alan Pryke Source: The Australian I am a total idiot! I am a subscriber to the Sydney Symphony Newsletter. As proof I just posted about a recent concert I attended. And, I missed the announcement for the first ever concert of Anne-Sophie Mutter playing the Beethoven's Violin Concerto conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy! Not that I was busy doing something else (probably watched "The Straits" on ABC - a very immoral and thrilling TV series on the life of a "fictitious" crime family in the Torres Straits), no I just missed it - I feel so stupid, you have no idea!!! As a (small...) consolation, Sydney Symphony just sent me a link to this video of her rehearsing at the SOH and a following interview. I thought the least I could do is to share it with you...Enjoy! PS: My wife just promised me to fly me to Anne-Sophie's next concert, wherever it is on the Planet...
Now you know why we have stayed married for 25 years... |
AuthorBorn in France, well travelled, relocated to Sydney in 1997. Archives
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