Fine Music Magazine Archives - Page 6 of 13

Sophie Hutchings: In a natural way

Classical Fine Music Magazine

Lyndon Pike talks to the Australian neoclassical composer I first encountered the music of Australian pianist Sophie Hutchings back in 2010 via her album Becalmed, which served as the soothing soundtrack on my car’s stereo as I drove laps of my suburb late at night to lull my first-born child, a notoriously difficult sleeper, to rest. I told Sophie he’s heard that album more than most. I also connected with Sophie to discuss the healing power of music, her new album A World Outside, her upcoming show at the City Recital Hall and more.

Maria Callas: incomparable voice and stage presence

Classical Fine Music Magazine

Derek Parker celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of Maria Callas It was during the Second World War, in German occupied Athens, that Maria Callas began her career as a professional singer. Born in New York in 1923, she had been brought to Greece by her domineering mother after her parents’ divorce, and at fourteen was enrolled in the Greek National Conservatoire. In 1939 she sang in public for the first time at a students’ concert – choosing for her début an aria from Tosca.

The talent of Cécile McLorin Salvant

Barry O'Sullivan Fine Music Magazine

Barry O’Sullivan reviews her headline performance at the Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival There is no doubt that Cécile McLorin Salvant has been blessed with a unique vocal instrument. Commencing classical piano lessons at the age of five and then singing in a children’s choir at age eight, she began classical voice lessons as a teenager and progressed to university level in France, where she studied baroque and jazz music (as well as law) at the Darius Milhaud Conservatory in Aix-en-Provence. Salvant then went on to win the Thelonious Monk Vocal Competition in 2010 and has received three Grammy Awards for Best Vocal Album. Since then, her international reputation and live performance career has skyrocketed.

The World of a Symphony: Popov and Shostakovich

Classical Fine Music Magazine

Imagine living in an age where in a stroke, your life could be erased from the pages of history while being forced to rejoice through clenched teeth and a bitter heart. A world whose very social fabric was being ripped apart at the seams and replaced with fear, betrayal, lies, and above all, terror.

Sir Eugene Goossens: Symphonies, Sorcery and Secrets

Classical Fine Music Magazine

For over four decades, speculation and theories have swirled around Goossens’ disgrace. Some speculated conspiracy and blackmail, while others even connected it to the Petrov spy scandal. However, evidence came to light that began to unravel the mystery, exposing a tale of the conductor’s reckless sexual obsessions and a connection to a mysterious paganist and witchcraft circle in Kings Cross, Sydney.

Dale Barlow: A Remarkable Saxophonist & Jazz Composer

Contemporary Music Fine Music Magazine Jazz

Dale Barlow, the renowned Australian jazz saxophonist and composer, was born on December 25, 1959, in Sydney, New South Wales. His musical journey began with the piano, but it was his transition to classical flute and clarinet during his teenage years, alongside jazz courses at the New South Wales Conservatorium, that unveiled his true calling.

Don Banks: remembered at 100

Classical Contemporary Music Fine Music Magazine James Nightingale

Born in October 1923, Don Banks grew up in a family surrounded by musical instruments and jazz. His father played in bands with jazz legends Roger and Graeme Bell, the same bands that he would himself play in as he grew up. This beginning to his musical education established the pattern of curiosity and experimentation that would be central to his work.

Passion, perseverance, precision: Celebrating Pablo Casals

Classical Fine Music Magazine

My father was a keen photographer, and our family used to enjoy slide nights where we would relive earlier times. Years later, he scanned a selection of these slides and put them on a disc for me. Mostly they were of the family, either at home or on holidays. But there was one which was a real anomaly: a photograph of Pablo Casals, not taken in the flesh but during a television program. What was that doing among the family snaps?

Sydney International Women’s Jazz Festival

Barry O'Sullivan Events Fine Music Magazine Jazz Upcoming concerts

The future of jazz will soon be heard at eighteen ear-opening concerts from 25 October through to 5 November in Sydney. The festival has everything, from the finest soul and jazz singers to cutting-edge instrumental jazz and anthemic alt-pop album launches, showcasing the most talented, inspiring, and creative musicians from home and abroad.

The poetry of Die schöne Müllerin

Classical Fine Music Magazine

As we celebrate the 200th anniversary of Die schöne Müllerin, the collaboration between the poet Wilhelm Müller and composer Franz Schubert, we should recognize that every German schoolboy knows the enchanted opening line by heart: ‘Das Wandern ist des Müllers Lust!’ (Roving is the miller’s delight!).