Soloists Charles Hudson, Veronica Thwaites-Brown, Colin Milner and Jade McFaul. Photo: Peter Hislop.
IN presenting a program of English Choral Music, Llewellyn Choir attempted a demanding program of eight works from composers Samuel S Wesley, John Tavener, Herbert Howells, Cecilia McDowall, Gerald Finzi, Charles Villers Stanford, Penelope Thwaites and Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Soloists Jade McFaul, Veronica Thwaites-Brown, Charles Hudson and Colin Milner contributed to many of these and were all excellent and really lifted the evening during their performances.
In addition Anthony Smith who accompanied on both organ and piano, played superbly. The Wesley organ is sounding magnificent, plus his pianistic skills were so supportive - a golden tone, stylishly played and simpatico.
The choir handled the Finzi quite well.His “Magnificat” includes a great deal of unison singing which they were able to project powerfully and in tune with suitable dynamic shadings.
“Lead, Kindly Light” by British / Australian composer Penelope Thwaites was performed well, with a particularly nice entry from the tenors and basses in the second verse.
Finally, some of “Lord, thou hast been our refuge”, a setting of Psalm 90 by Ralph Vaughan Williams, was performed well, particularly when reprised in unison.
The rest of the program, which was most of it, was disappointing.
The standard of the Llewellyn Choir has dropped significantly.
FOLLOWING in the footsteps of Leopold Stokowski and Isaiah Jackson, guest conductor Benjamin Bayl abandoned the traditional “baton” and instead used both hands to cajole and seduce some of the finest music making from the Canberra Symphony Orchestra I’ve heard in years.
Unlike his predecesors however, Bayl conducts with clipped precision. Each hand movement elicits from the players precise and distinct combinations of sweeping dynamics, diminuendos, gentle phrases, joyous climaxes and much more.
Opening with a Suite from Rameau’s opera “Plataea”, the orchestra adopted a style of French Baroque ornamentation by approaching trills and mordents from above. It was a most expressive performance of this charming and delightful work.
The “Flute Concerto in D minor, Wq. 22” by CPE Bach featured soloist Emma Sholl, whose tone production was rich and sonorous. The finale, marked “Allegro” hinted at “Winter” from Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” at times.
In this, Sholl played the many lyrical and fast moving passages in a beautifully crafted manner. Conductor Bayl contributed to the continuo section of the orchestra from the harpsichord, the entire ensemble creating a rich and commanding accompaniment to this masterful work.
Australian composer Richard Meale (1932 - 2009) composed “Cantilena Pacifica” in memory of his dear friend Stephen Wilson. Featuring Kirsten Williams on solo violin, the orchestra played a gentle rhythmic ostinato, wavering between major and minor chords, sometimes also ones with oblique harmonies.
Williams played her part with great expression and feeling, capturing this gentle homage to the departed with respect and grace.
The final three symphonies of Mozart - no’s 39, 40 and 41 - define the Classical Symphony at its height.
Music scholars around the world have established there are at least another twenty symphonies “probably” by Mozart which have never been numbered in that group, although they have been assigned Köchel numbers.
In addition three of the “established” 41 are now known to be by other composers - no’s 2, 3 and 37.
CSO captured the opening to “Symphony No. 39 in E-flat, K. 543” with curtain-raising grandeur. Bold timpani accompanied by majestic chords from the full orchestra gave way to a delightful melody in triple time, followed by a fiery and compelling “Allegro”.
Slightly marred by some ragged entrance points, the orchestra settled down to play this piece superbly, delivering a wide dynamic range.
The third movement featured wonderful clarinet duet work, an instrument Mozart was keen to show off, following years of vast improvements over its relatively primitive predecessor of the Renaissance and Baroque, the chalumeau.
Throughout the evening, it was clear the players felt very comfortable under the direction of Benjamin Bayl, responding instantaneously to his very clear and precise gestures. The entire concert was something to be treasured and adored.
Borodin’s “String Quartet No. 2” is famous in its own right, but made even more so by having two of its themes borrowed for use in the musical “Kismet”.
A loving gift for his wife, it contrasted dramatically with Shostakovich’s “String Quartet No. 8” which is dedicated to the victims of war.
In a brilliant piece of programming, these two major Russian works were linked with “Dancing in St Petersburg” by American / Australian composer Jessica Wells, whose piece captures and re-imagines themes from other works by Borodin and Shostakovich.
The Borodin opened with a playful melody from Anna Martin-Scrase on cello, taken over by Lisa Stewart on first violin, then Doreen Cumming on 2nd violin and sweetened into phrases of pure delight.
With excellent intonation and wonderful dynamic shadings, the quartet captured the warmth, happiness and love that drips from the pages of this melodic and charming work.
The oft neglected viola came through with many shining moments of beautiful melody, played with sensitivity and style by Stefan Duwe.
In fact, beautiful melodic phrasing combined with excellent intonation were time and again the features of this wonderful performance, which finished with a passionate sustained final note from 1st violin.
“Dancing in St Petersburg” begins with a pastiche of musical ideas referencing Borodin’s “Prince Igor”, before delving into traditional Turkish “makim” scales which include quarter tones and odd-metered rhythms.
The second movement entitled “The Bolt’ musically explores a mechanical factory scene, a slow drunken waltz, a tango, a Charleston, a polka and a Communist march.
The players delivered edgy, in-your-face bold and dramatic lines, contrasted with beautiful viola melody set against pizzicato accompaniment from the other strings.
Shostakovich completed his “String Quartet No. 8” in 1960, whilst visiting Communist East Germany. His dedication, “In Remembrance of the Victims of Fascism and War” refers specifically to the destruction of Dresden in 1945.
The five movements alternating as “Largo” or “Allegro”, are contrasted with sections marked “attacca”. The musical boldness and timely reminder of current world events was not lost on the audience.
Throughout the performance, one could feel the despair, heartache, pain and suffering as the players lived and breathed every moment, their bodies almost shaking with grief.
No-one can know exactly what Shostakovich was thinking when he penned the final “Largo” movement, but the Acacia Quartet spoke to me deeply, of a solder, mortally wounded, struggling to breath, trying to crawl his way to some kind of relative safety - life ebbing away, his strength failing, his final thoughts turning to a family he will never see again.
On my way home in the car, trying to recover from the shocking revelations of the Shostakovich, I found myself reminiscing about the late Canberra based jazz and cabaret diva, Gery Scott.
She had a piece she absolutely loved singing, which would sometimes just occur to her on the spur of the moment during a performance. Gery would turn to me and say “Are you ready darling? Right, here we go.A-one, two three, four: ‘Baubles, bangles, hear how they jing, jing-a-ling-a…’”
WITH the death announced on May 17 of Greek composer Vangelis, memories came flooding back to me of the launch in Canberra of the Compact Disc digital audio format in December 1982.
Composer Vangelis has died, aged 79
How many CD titles were available at that time? Just two! Billy Joel “52nd Street” and the “Chariots of Fire” movie soundtrack by Vangelis, for which he won the Academy Award for best original score in 1981, the piece being performed by Liberace at the Oscars ceremony the following year.
My boss, owner and founder of Kent Hi-Fi Canberra, Rudi Langeveld, sensing that CD was going to take the world by storm and wanting to be fully prepared as a retailer, flew to Japan for the Tokyo launch a few months earlier in October.
Sony co-founder and president Akio Morita had secured the services of the famous Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan as his star musical guest.
With Karajan’s weight behind this new audio concept - digital audio combined with laser technology - Sony hoped to secure consumer confidence amongst the world’s music listening public, which they did.
Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan (centre) with Sony president Akio Morita messing with the two prototype players - Philips (left) and Sony (right) in Salzburg, 1981
Rudi brought back to Canberra a 110 volt Japanese sample model Sony player, plus the Vangelis and Billy Joel discs.
We then commenced after-hours demonstrations in the shop from December 1982, six months before the actual Australian release.
On opening night, aged 23, I boldly walked out in front of the amassed crowd and said “Good evening ladies and gentlemen, this is Compact Disc!’
I held up the shiny new disc, all glittering and sparkling under the lights. People gasped.
Then I pressed the open button on the front of the Sony CDP-101 - the world’s first CD player - and the drawer slid out.
Hundreds of people surged forward.
As “Chariots of Fire” burst forth, we were able to switch between both the CD and the LP record equivalent, so that guests could hear what ever audio differences they were able to perceive. In some cases, it was more definitely a case of the differences they wanted to perceive.
CD was regarded with some considerable scepticism by the audio elite.
Shrieks of delight would ensue from CD supporters, amazed by the new technology and sound, contrasted by howls of derision from some other quarters.
These after-hours demonstrations for the general public continued through January and February of 1983.
Then in May, Rudi teamed up with Ross Gengos, owner of Abels Music Canberra, who had just received his first shipment of the Philips player, the CD-200.
Together, they hired Rehearsal Room 3 (now the Larry Sitsky Recital Room) at the Canberra School of Music and put on a show.
People could wander in and out over a weekend period and hear the new players, through a range of different speakers, amplifiers and cabling.
It was also an opportunity for Ross to demonstrate a new range of speakers from Audiosphere, manufactured at a small factory in Gundaroo by locals Michael Brown and David Jones.
Using hollow concrete spheres of various sizes as the acoustic enclosure, the Audiosphere speakers were highly successful and there are many still in use today.
The world's first CD player, Sony CDP-101. Launched in Tokyo October 1982 and Australia, June 1983
As for the original Sony CD player? Well, I still have one, which I purchased brand new in 1984 whilst still a student.
Its 16 bit, single DAC technology seems a bit primitive by today’s standards.
Tonight however, I shall haul it out of retirement, dig out my copy of the “Chariots of Fire” soundtrack and remember with fondness and admiration the incredible compositional talent that was Evángelos Odysséas Papathanassíou (1943 - 2022).
NEWS broke over the weekend of the death on May 13 of organist Simon Preston, renowned as both a choir director and a recitalist, with a particular reputation for performing the organ works of Messiaen.
It is, of course, in the nature of obituaries that they are often written at short notice; Preston’s first solo recording was itself made under similar though far more daunting conditions, with him receiving just one week’s warning that he was to record the formidable L’Ascension. His prior studies had prepared him well for this unexpected solo debut, working with C H Trevor at the London’s Royal Academy of Music and with David Willcocks at King’s College Cambridge, as well as appearing on a recording of sacred music by Gibbons, and it proved to be the first of many highly successful recordings.
Preston conquered numerous peaks of the Romantic organ repertoire; Reubke’s Sonata on the 94th Psalm, Liszt’s Ad nos, ad salutarem undam, Poulenc’s organ concerto and of course Saint-Saëns’ ever-popular Organ Symphony, which he recorded with the Berliner Philharmoniker in 1986. His complete survey of Bach’s organ works, begun the following year and concluded in 2000, was described by the Penguin Guide simply as “first class in every way” and alongside his complete recordings of Handel’s organ concertos shows his deeply scholarly approach to earlier repertoire – drawing on the best musicological thinking available.
He also made his mark as a conductor, leading the choir at Christ Church Oxford in the 1970s and Westminster Abbey in the 1980s, both of which tenures resulted in rich crops of recordings of early choral music. While interpretative tastes have evolved over the ensuing decades, Preston’s approach continues to be revered to this day. After leaving Westminster in 1987, conducting started to feature more prominently in his musical life, particularly of larger-scale choral and oratorio works and again often favouring Handel.
Given Preston’s impressive command of several arenas of music-making, the fact that he composed much of Salieri’s music for the 1984 film Amadeus - music intended, in the film, to demonstrate the composer’s second-rate gifts and inability to compete with true genius – seems rather ironic. As a lynchpin of both the organ and choral worlds, there was absolutely nothing second-rate about Preston himself; his extensive recorded legacy as a performer speaks for itself, but just as important (if less visible) is the impact he had on generations of younger musicians as an educator at Christ Church, Westminster and elsewhere.
Richard Connolly composed extensively for ABC radio and TV programs, as well as Australian documentaries and film.(ABC)
Richard Connolly, one of Australia's most prolific composers, has died aged 94.
Connolly is best known for writing the theme song for the children's show Play School, as well as an internationally renowned collection of hymns.
His iconic tune to the long-running series was written overnight while Connolly was working for ABC Education.
Connolly's version, in which he also sang the lyrics by early childhood educator Dr Rosemary Milne, debuted on July 18, 1966.
There's a Bear in There has been re-recorded several times, most recently in 2016 as part of a triple j competition to mark the TV show's 50th anniversary.
But Connolly's original tune remains at the heart of the song, making it one of Australia's best known anthems.
A legacy created in one night
Born on November 10, 1927 in the Western Sydney suburb of Granville, Connolly was the eldest of eight children.
A talented young boy who spoke Latin, he was earmarked early on to become a Catholic priest.
In 1946, he left the shores of New South Wales to study at the prestigious seminary Propaganda Fide in Rome.
He returned four years later unordained, instead choosing to study arts at the University of Sydney.
Connolly's passion for theology led him to his career at the ABC, where he started work in religious broadcasts in 1956.
There he became a go-to man for music, composing extensively for radio and TV programs, as well as Australian documentaries and film.
His daughter, Polly Connolly, said one afternoon he was asked to write the theme song for a new kids TV show, Play School.
"He basically came home and banged it out and had to record it the next day," she told the ABC.
"When I was a little girl, my mum would call me and my little sister inside and say 'come and listen to daddy sing'."
Play School debuted on ABC TV on the morning of Monday, July 18, 1966 with presenters Alister Smart and Diane Dorgan.
The show has outlived the BBC version it was based on, and is now the second-longest-running English-language children's show worldwide.
Dr Milne, the lyricist for There's a Bear in There, also wrote the show's first scripts.
She died of cancer in 2010 aged 83.
Her and Connolly's song was inducted into the National Film and Sound Archive Sounds of Australia collection in 2017.
The collection represents audio that has "cultural, historical and aesthetic significance and relevance, which inform or reflect life in Australia".
Connolly last performed the song for ABC TV show Gruen in 2020.
Libbie Doherty, ABC Head of Children's Production, said Connolly left behind a legacy "like no other".
"Over the past 57 years, countless generations of Australian children have heard and sung Connolly's Play School theme song There's a Bear in There that continues to inspire preschoolers for years to come," Doherty said.
Songs for a new era
Despite its notoriety, the Play School theme was not the music Connolly was most proud of creating.
In the late 1950s, Connolly partnered with Tasmanian poet James McAuley to create a collection of hymns in English.
At the time, the Catholic church was struggling to transition away from singing exclusively in Latin as the new music did not sit well with parishioners.
"There was literally, for about 20 years, a worldwide shortage of suitable music for the Catholic mass," said Noel Debien, family friend and ABC Religion and Ethics senior specialist producer.
"It was pop music basically, and there were a lot of people who didn't want pop music in church, they thought that belonged in concerts.
"And Richard and James gave them a way to have something that was in English — they could go to the new music, but the new music was quality."
The songs, which went on to be sold as the Living Parish Hymn Book, took off across the country and overseas.
Daughter Polly said other than his nine children, her father felt the hymns were his greatest work.
"Anybody who went to Catholic school in the 70s, 80s, 90s, has sung dad's hymns," she said.
"There are many of dad's kids that aren't practising Catholics anymore, but we're so proud of his music; some of them are really beautiful."
Connolly also composed the music for the 1970 visit of Pope Paul VI, the first Pope to visit Australia, and again for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI in 2008.
'Lived and breathed the ABC'
The Catholic church was not the only institution Connolly helped navigate through difficult times.
In 1967, he joined Radio Drama and Features at the ABC at a time when audiences were switching off.
Having studied broadcasters in France, Italy and Germany as part of the Churchill Fellowship in 1971, Connolly returned to transform the department into a "creative powerhouse", friend and former colleague Roz Cheney said.
"One of Dick's great legacies is that he turned ABC Radio, at that time, towards Europe and away from the Anglo-domination of the BBC," she said.
"New ways were found to broadcast wonderful programs that acknowledged other languages and other cultures.
"We were hired by Dick to go into the future."
Richard Connolly, right, working at the ABC in 1960.(ABC)
As head of the department, Connolly oversaw the broadcast of radio plays and book reviews, as well as the reading of epic poems including Aeneid and Beowulf.
"There was not the dead hand of serious dullness on them — they were very lively and energetic," Ms Cheney said.
"He was an inspiring producer."
Polly said her father "lived and breathed the ABC" — and rugby league team the Western Suburbs Magpies.
"It really was an amazing thing to be at Lidcombe Oval with my dad in the '70s, all us kids, while he'd be roaring for the Magpies," she said.
"Literally the next week he'd be in the old radio Forbes Street studios recording the finest international radio programs in Latin."
Connolly retired in 1988 and spent the last few years of his life at Alexander Aged Care in Brookvale, NSW.
He died on May 4, and is survived by his wife Cynthia and his nine children.
His funeral will be held at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney on May 19.
Polish pianist Lucas Krupinski… left the audience breathless with delight, receiving thunderous applause. Photo: Peter Hislop.
SUBTITLED “A Polish Gala Concert”,Ambassador of the Republic of Poland Mr. Michał Kołodziejski in welcoming guests to this 12th concert in the Canberra International Music Festival, mentioned that it was a special time for Poland and Australia.
2022 celebrates 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In addition, Poland is commemorating the 231st anniversary of the formation of its Constitution - the first in the world - conceived and written down on May 3, 1791.
In addition, Ambassador Kołodziejski welcomed the Ambassador of Ukraine, Mr Vasyl Myroshnychenko, who was present in the audience, ratifying that Poland and Ukraine stand united in solidarity.
Polish pianist Lucas Krupinski is a graduate of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw with further studies in Hannover and London. Taking out 1st prize at the 7th San Marino International Piano Competition, he has also won international competitions in Hannover, Aachen and Goerlitz. His concert schedule sees him regularly performing throughout Europe and the UK.
Krupinski’s solo piano set comprised seven of Chopin’s finest and most beloved works.
Opening with the “Polonaise-Fantaisie in A flat major, Op. 61” his performance was commanding and definitive. Displaying many hallmarks of his Eastern European training, those being a cantabile tone production, high lifting of the fingers, a liquid, weight technique, the bringing out of inner voices and a slight breaking of hands, the young pianist was captivating in his performance.
Many of these qualities are more aligned with 19th century practice and missing from many of today’s pianists. It is gratifying to hear a modern young artist paying such attention to these essential, but now somewhat forgotten, foundations of quality piano artistry.
The short “Waltz in C sharp minor, Op. 64, No. 2” is simple in construction and relatively easy to play which means easy to perform. Right? Perhaps not. My criticism is that he glossed over the fast running passages slightly. Detail was missing where every note should count, somewhat exacerbated by overuse of the sustain pedal.
Concluding with Chopin’s “Polonaise in A flat major, Op. 53”, the performance was electric and thrilling. It was real “on-the-edge-of-the-seat” stuff and brought the house down.
Lucas Krupinski established himself last night as a poet of the piano, leaving the audience breathless with delight, receiving thunderous applause and a partial standing ovation.
Brisbane-based Orava String Quartet joins pianist Lucas Krupinski. Photo: Peter Hislop.
Brisbane based Orava String Quartet are in their 8th year of performing together and have toured throughout the USA and Canada as well as Asia, the UAE and NZ. In 2018 they were selected by German recording giant Deutsche Grammophon for its historic first Australian recording release.
Taking to the stage and joined by Krupinski at the piano, Polish brothers Daniel Kowalik on 1st violin, Karol Kowalik on cello, with David Dalseno on 2nd violin and Thomas Chawner on viola, performed the “Piano Quintet No. 1” by Polish composer Grazyna Bacewicz (1909-1969).
Orava played with incredible passion, fire and intensity, combined with assurity and conviction. The first movement, marked “Moderato molto espressivo” began with a tentative, pianissimo opening which exploded into massive dynamics.
The “Scherzo” movement was a triple time romp, with the piano moving from an accompanying role into a forte feature, taken over by a mournful and exquisitely played viola solo. Colourful pizzicato work from the strings was also a feature.
The “Grave” was solemn but intensely rich in sound. The final “Con Passione” revealed an eerie high treble wash of sound from the violins with the viola, cello and piano offering a foreboding rumble underneath, bringing this tremendous work to a close.
Throughout the work, balance between the quartet and the piano was excellent.
Once again, the audience erupted in thunderous applause and cheers. It was an electric and enthralling evening of the finest music making.
