| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 17-May-2013 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | Tchaikovsky, Strauss and Walton: Ashkenazy's favourites with Sydney Symphony |
 A concert entitled “Askenazy’s Favourites” is always going to be intriguing, but perhaps more intriguing are his choices. If asked to pick what symphony Ashkenazy would choose to go in this concert, I would have thought that most people would have chosen a large-scale Romantic symphony, maybe Brahms, Rachmaninov or Mahler. How many people would have thought that Ashkenazy would have chosen Walton’s First Symphony?Read full review... | |
| 10-May-2013 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | Expertly crafted Beethoven by Ashkenzy and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra |
 There are only a handful of composers whose music can provide enough variety to last a whole program. Beethoven is one of those composers. Not only that, but even today, some 200 years after his lifetime, his music continues to inspire, delight and challenge modern audiences. That is part of Beethoven’s enduring genius and legacy.
Read full review... | |
| 22-Mar-2013 Handa Opera, Sydney Harbour | Opera Australia's Carmen lights up Sydney's harbour |
 There can be fewer more idyllic places in the world to see an opera. Behind the floating stage was Sydney’s harbour bridge and opera house; to the left, the lights of the central business district; and to the right, the glittering lights of the Northern Shore and the occasional ferry making its way to Circular Quay. With last year’s Handa Opera on the Harbour, Verdi’s La Traviata having been named 2012 Australian event of the year, this year’s opera – Bizet’s Carmen – was highly anticipated.Read full review... | |
| 15-Mar-2013 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | Fate and festivals with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra |
 Fate and Festivals was the rather bold title given to the latest Sydney Symphony Orchestra concert at Sydney Opera House in an evening which provided a great showcase for the full orchestra, demonstrating their great virtuosity, versatility and sensitivity as an ensemble. With such a demanding program, it must have been somewhat daunting for the guest conductor, Canadian-born Charles Olivieri-Munroe. However, he conducted with flair, clearly wanting to impress on his Australian debut.Read full review... | |
| 7-Mar-2013 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | Jazz trumpet meets the orchestra with the Sydney Symphony |
 For a composer who embraces the “popular” in music, using the subtitle High Art for his trumpet concerto is clearly a provocative but bold statement. Australian composer Graham Koehne has quoted Noël Coward’s play Private Lives, commenting: “Extraordinary how potent cheap music is”. However, despite the “popular” musical inspiration behind Koehne’s composition, few could claim that it is not “high art”.Read full review... | |
| 28-Feb-2013 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Opera Australia serve up a comically modern Orpheus in the Underworld in Sydney |
 In his director’s note, Jonathan Biggins writes, ‘All I can hope for is that you go out of the theatre feeling a bit more cheerful than when you came in’. If that was the opera’s aim, then few could claim that it was not successful in achieving it. The ABC’s Limelight magazine describes the production as ‘a razor sharp, satirical romp that’s camper than a row of tents and twice as funny’.Read full review... | |
| 15-Feb-2013 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | A Finnish Epic with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra |
 B Ealovega.jpg) Continuing with Sibelius, the Sydney Symphony presented another Finnish epic in their latest concert, this time Sibelius’ Kullervo Symphony. However, first of all we were treated to a Ravel masterpiece, his Piano Concerto in D for the left hand.
Read full review... | |
| 8-Feb-2013 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | Legends by the Sea with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra |
 The latest Sydney Symphony Orchestra concert, entitled Legends by the Sea, was an intriguing mix of contrasting works by Sibelius, Fauré and Debussy.
Read full review... | |
| 8-Dec-2012 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | Totally Tchaikovsky with Garrick Ohlsson and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra |
 Wojciech Grzedzinski.jpg) The Sydney Symphony concluded their mini Russian series with an all-Tchaikovsky concert featuring one of his lesser-known concertos and a most beloved symphony.
Read full review... | |
| 1-Dec-2012 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | The Sydney Symphony and a star cast perform The Queen of Spades |
 I have always been skeptical of concert performances of operas. Operas are written to be acted, and the staging is needed to complement the music. This is what I thought before I saw this performance of Ashkenazy conducting the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and Sydney Children’s Choir in Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades. Tchaikovsky’s opera is so intensely lyrical and so well written that it stands the test of being heard alone without any staging.Read full review... | |
| 23-Nov-2012 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | Russian masters with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra |
 All things Russian are the flavour of the month in Sydney at the moment. Last night, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under chief conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy embarked upon a mini-series of three Russian concerts to end the year. Recently returned from their highly successful tour of China, the orchestra was in sparkling form and played with freshness and vitality all evening.
Read full review... | |
| 17-Nov-2012 City Recital Hall Angel Place | Russian visions with the ACO in Sydney |
 A feast of Russian chamber music was what was on offer for the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s latest concert. Featuring music by Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky in a program entitled Russian Visions, the ACO with guest soloists Steven Osborne and David Elton provided an evening of music which was visionary, electrifying and intense in equal measures. The ACO’s programs are always carefully constructed and innovative, and tonight’s was no exception, beginning with an extremely effective reworking of Prokofiev’s Visions Fugitives.Read full review... | |
| 17-Oct-2012 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | A world-class Madama Butterfly from Opera Australia |
 There is nowhere to hide in Madama Butterfly. It is a well-known opera, contains very little in terms of stage action and changing scenery, is intensely lyrical in its vocal writing, and its orchestral writing is exposed. None of these factors bothered Opera Australia in their latest production, which was superb from beginning to end in every respect.
Read full review... | |
| 21-Sep-2012 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | Mystery and motion with Angela Hewitt at Sydney Opera House |
 Beethoven, Mozart, Angela Hewitt are all much loved names in the world of classical music. The promise of a Mozart piano concerto played by Angela Hewitt and a Beethoven symphony is enough to whet any music lover’s appetite. However, as in so many Sydney Symphony concerts, there was another work thrown in, which one could have been forgiven for glossing over in the evening’s publicity. Once more, this extra work showcased the orchestra’s innovative programming and delighted us with a rather compelling surprise.Read full review... | |
| 7-Sep-2012 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | Debussy, Takemitsu and Copland from Sydney Symphony and Spano |
 Upon entering the concert hall of Sydney Opera House, I was greeted by a plethora of percussion instruments positioned in all corners of the stage, along with multi-coloured ribbons, which were hanging down from the ceiling. They were in place for a performance of Toru Takemitsu’s From me flows what you call Time, for five percussionists and orchestra. However, before that, we were treated to Debussy’s much-loved Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune.Read full review... | |
| 22-Aug-2012 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | A Romantic Symphony at Sydney Opera House |
| The latest Sydney Symphony Orchestra concert had everything from French impressionism to a world premiere, to a performance of a much-loved Romantic Symphony.
Read full review... | |
| 10-Aug-2012 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | Sydney Symphony perform Wagner under the sails |
 On 29th September 1973, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra performed an all-Wagner program in Sydney’s Opera House. This was the first concert ever heard in this most iconic of concert halls. Now celebrating its 80th anniversary season, the SSO recreated this concert from 39 years ago, which marked such an important milestone in the orchestra’s history – when the orchestra moved from Sydney’s Town Hall to take up residence in the newly constructed Sydney Opera House. It is hard to imagine Sydney without that glorious building adorning its harbour.Read full review... | |
| 7-Aug-2012 City Recital Hall Angel Place | Thrilling Beethoven from the ACO and Clare College, Cambridge in Sydney |
.jpg) Any performance of Beethoven’s Symphony no. 9 is always eagerly awaited, but this one was especially, featuring the Australian Chamber Orchestra performing on period instruments, directed from the lead violin by their artistic director Richard Tognetti, with one of the best English collegiate choirs, the choir of Clare College, Cambridge.Read full review... | |
| 1-Aug-2012 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | Symphonic Dances from the Sydney Symphony at the Opera House |
 Last night’s program with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra was one of those to really get your teeth into, with substantial, complex works by Brahms and Rachmaninov, and only a short amount of respite provided by Dvořák. This was serious music in the form of the heavyweight Brahms Piano Concerto no. 1, which contains almost too much music to comprehend in one sitting. The Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances too are substantial in their form and structure.Read full review... | |
| 18-Jul-2012 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Opera Australia pushes boundaries with Korngold's Die tote Stadt |
 Korngold’s Die tote Stadt is an extraordinary opera, an often underrated masterpiece of the 20th century. On the face of it, it has a simple plot – the protagonist Paul, unable to overcome the death of his wife, falls in love with another woman, Marietta, similar to his dead wife in many ways. Overcome with feelings of guilt and betrayal, he eventual kills Marietta, only to wake up and discover it was all a dream. This is, however, a simple plot with deep contemporary resonances.
Read full review... | |
| 17-Jul-2012 City Recital Hall Angel Place | Australian Chamber Orchestra soloists play music by Schubert and Messiaen |
 Pairing together Schubert and Messiaen at first glance may appear slightly far-fetched. However, there are more similarities between the two composers, and indeed the two pieces in this evening’s program, than one might at first realise. Schubert and Messiaen were in many ways both experimental composers, especially the latter. Olivier Messiaen was heavily influenced by birdsong and his Roman Catholic faith and pushed the boundaries of tonal possibilities.Read full review... | |
| 9-Jul-2012 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Opera Australia's Pearl Fishers at Sydney Opera House |
 with Henry Choo as Nadir and Nicole Car as Leila..jpg) Georges Bizet's The Pearl Fishers, written some ten years before Carmen, does not enjoy as much recognition as the latter opera. Composed at the age of 25, the opera received harsh criticism from many contemporary critics, although not from Hector Berlioz, who clearly recognised something of Bizet's genius in the work. Many people know the celebrated Pearl Fishers' Duet from Act I; however, the rest of the opera is also a treasure trove of lyrical writing, endearing melodies and simply beautiful music.Read full review... | |
| 6-Jul-2012 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | David Robertson and the SSO provide an aural feast at the Sydney Opera House |
 At this concert we were treated to three completely different works which showcased the orchestra in a variety of styles and colours. From the lush strings of the Vaughan Williams, to the more ethereal sound world of Thomas Adès, through to what was termed as Tchaikovsky’s “Impassioned Masterpiece”, we were treated to a wide aural spectrum in a vastly contrasting program of works, but one in which the pieces seemed to complement each other in an intriguingly pleasing way.Read full review... | |
| 6-Jun-2012 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | Majestic Brahms: Sydney Symphony perform Brahms and Shostakovich |
 Friday night's concert, entitled Majestic Brahms, was a concert of two very different halves, with Brahms' Second Piano Concerto comprising the first half and Shostakovich's Sixth Symphony the second. The Brahms is a Herculean piece with one of the most challenging solo parts in the repertoire. Lasting approximately fifty minutes, it is a concerto on a symphonic scale. Shostakovich's Sixth Symphony is in many ways a concerto for orchestra, with the composer using the scope of the orchestra to the full.Read full review... | |
| 19-May-2012 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | A Gershwin Tribute at Sydney Opera House |
 Friday evening’s concert in Sydney was one of the most entertaining concerts I have been to in a long time. The concert was entitled A Gershwin Tribute, but might just as well have been called A Gershwin Celebration, or perhaps evening A Gershwin Party. The Sydney Symphony Orchestra was on sparkling form under British guest conductor and pianist Bramwell Tovey.Read full review... | |
| 20-Apr-2012 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | Tchaikovsky at the Ballet with the Sydney Symphony |
 It was an evening of contrasts in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s latest concert. The program was subtitled Tchaikovsky at the Ballet, referring to the second half of the concert, which comprised highlights from the Nutcracker and Swan Lake; however, the first half was every bit as intriguing.
Read full review... | |
| 15-Apr-2012 Handa Opera, Sydney Harbour | La Traviata performed by Opera Australia in Sydney Harbour |
 I could not have asked for a more magical setting in which to watch Verdi's La Traviata. In front of me was the floating stage, surrounded by gently rippling water glistening in the evening moonlight. On the left rose the buildings of Sydney's central business district, while on my right was the beautiful harbour bridge and opera house.
Read full review... | |
| 23-Mar-2012 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | Fireworks and Fantasy from the Sydney Symphony |
 Friday's concert from the Sydney Symphony, "Fireworks and Fantasy", most certainly lived up to its title. It was a concert which showed considerable talent in all three pieces, from the world première of a piece by local composer Elliott Gyger, to the extraordinary display of visiting pianist Behzod Abduraimov, and the considerable ability of the orchestra's own principal viola player, Roger Benedict, who was the soloist in Berlioz's Harold in Italy.
Read full review... | |
| 20-Mar-2012 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Così fan tutte at Sydney Opera House |
 Another Mozart opera and another intriguing modern production from Opera Australia. The whole opera was presented as entertainment for a wedding reception, with a bride and bridegroom sitting at two corners of the stage, their sole purpose for the production to observe the unfolding comedy on stage. With their backs to the audience, it was almost as if we were their invited wedding guests, enjoying the entertainment with them.
Read full review... | |
| 17-Mar-2012 City Recital Hall Angel Place | The Hilliard Ensemble and the Australian Chamber Orchestra in Sydney |
 Saturday evening’s concert saw the coming together of two world-class ensembles from opposite ends of the world: Australia’s national orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and the world-renowned British vocal group the Hilliard Ensemble. They presented a program which both delighted and challenged players and audience alike, containing music ranging from the medieval period to the 21st century.
Read full review... | |
| 28-Feb-2012 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Opera Australia: The Marriage of Figaro with a difference |
 From the opening bars of the Overture of Opera Australia’s production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro it was clear that this was going to be a production with a difference. As the orchestra began, the curtain raised to reveal a room, painted in brilliant white, with clothes rails at either end containing maids’ costumes. Gradually the maids entered in their modern clothing and began undressing and putting on their maids’ uniforms, hanging up their jeans and t-shirts on the coat hangers.Read full review... | |
| 24-Feb-2012 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | Thus Spake Zarathustra: A thrilling evening from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra |
 The Sydney Symphony Orchestra continued their pairing of Beethoven and Strauss with two works based on different types of heros – the tragic hero of Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture and the more Romantic, all-conquering hero of Strauss’ Thus Spake Zarathustra, based on Nietzsche’s book. Sandwiched in between these two works was Brahms’ sublime Violin Concerto, featuring guest soloist Lisa Batiashvili.
Read full review... | |
| 17-Feb-2012 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | Scaling the heights: Sydney Symphony play Beethoven and Strauss |
 Beethoven was certainly not afraid of breaking traditions. He broke several long-held Classical traditions in his Piano Concerto no. 4, and no break was more revolutionary than beginning a concerto with the solo instrument. It was in this way that the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under Vladimir Ashkenazy opened their latest musical offering at Sydney Opera House. The pianist who opened the concert with the quiet G major chords of Beethoven's masterwork was one of the older statesmen of the piano, Stephen Kovacevich, who celebrated his seventieth birthday in 2010.Read full review... | |
| 14-Feb-2012 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | The power of love: Opera Australia's Turandot |
 in Opera Australias Turandot SS12 ©Branco Gaica (121).jpg) Opera Australia pulled out all the stops for their latest production of Puccini’s Turandot: an excellent cast, fabulous choreography, amazing costumes and a great sense of drama all combined to make it a wonderful production at Sydney Opera House. The Opera Theatre is comparatively small by modern standards and is a very intimate venue in which to see an opera. It has the effect of enveloping the audience and drawing them right into the action.Read full review... | |
| 10-Feb-2012 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | Beethoven's triumphant spirit shines through with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra |
 The concert to open the Sydney Symphony Orchestra's 80th Anniversary Series was very much one of contrasts. With the promise of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the season seemed to be opening in celebratory style. However, the entire first half was devoted to Richard Strauss' Metamorphosen, a piece which is a far cry from the triumphant finale of the Beethoven.
Read full review... | |
| 27-Jan-2012 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Mozart meets the pantomime in Sydney |
 Opera Australia's production of The Magic Flute was advertised as a family-friendly production, and at times felt more like a pantomime than an opera. The English translation attempted to bring the libretto more in line with a modern-day drama, not remaining overly faithful to the original; it thus avoided those sometimes rather forced, awkward translations often associated with operas performed in English. This version of the opera was first performed by the Metropolitan Opera in New York and was directed by Julie Taymor, who had previously done The Lion King.Read full review... | |
| 9-Dec-2011 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | An heroic evening from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra |
| 'Hero / Antihero' was how the Sydney Symphony Orchestra entitled their latest musical offering at Sydney Opera House. The title, of course, was referring to the anti-hero in Tchaikovsky's Voyevoda and the musical hero of Beethoven in his Eroica Symphony, which needs no introduction. However, 'Hero' might also have referred to solo cellist Alisa Weilerstein and guest conductor Osmo Vänskä. I would challenge anyone who claims to have seen a more thrilling display of cello virtuosity than that displayed by Weilsterstein in Prokofiev's Symphony-Concerto. Read full review... | |
| 25-Nov-2011 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | Mahler's Resurrection Symphony in Sydney |
| Mahler's Second Symphony is most certainly epic and needs an epic performance to do it justice. The Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs went some way to achieving this on Friday night. The symphony deals with weighty themes of life, death and resurrection and contains Mahler's own vision of immortality in its triumphant conclusion.
Read full review... | |
| 15-Nov-2011 City Recital Hall Angel Place | Revelatory Beethoven from the Australian Chamber Orchestra |
| It takes a special orchestra to perform standard repertoire in a completely revelatory way. Having heard Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony performed by the Australian Chamber Orchestra, I almost feel like I do not want to hear it performed in any other way again. There were several unique aspects to their performance. The whole orchestra played standing up, without conductor; instead it was directed by their leader, Richard Tognetti. The brass and woodwind played on period instruments. Read full review... | |
| 25-Oct-2011 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Don Giovanni sung by a superlative cast at Sydney Opera House |
 The older I get, the more convinced I become that the heart of Mozart’s genius is to be found in his operas. This is no truer than in Don Giovanni, especially when performed by such a talented cast as it was last night in Sydney Opera House, three hours of the most sublime music. I have always believed that great music does not need any gimmicks and should be able to stand on its own. Maybe that was why last night’s production was so refreshing. There was not one scene change in the whole production.Read full review... | |
| 14-Oct-2011 Sydney Opera House: Concert Hall | New Horizons with the Sydney Symphony |
| Some musicians have criticised Mozart’s music for being facile, almost too perfect, some even claiming that it lacks emotional depth. However it is difficult to accept this when listening to Mozart performed by pianist Stephen Hough. It is music which sparkles and glistens much like the water in the harbour surrounding Sydney Opera House, or that is usually the case. As if responding to Mozart’s critics, the weather in Sydney was uncharacteristically damp and dreary – maybe total perfection is a bad thing and not possible.
Read full review... | |
| 20-Sep-2011 Sydney Opera House: Opera Theatre | Verdi's early Shakespearian drama |
 As the curtain rises at the beginning of Act I, we are greeted with violent flashes of light, rocks strewn across the stage and the witches almost slithering among the rocks, as they make their prophecies to Macbeth that he will eventually become King, prompting him and Lady Macbeth in their murderous, Machiavellian pursuit of power.Read full review... | |
| 19-Aug-2011 Concertgebouw: Main Hall | Seoul Philharmonic in Amsterdam |
 I confess to having known little about the Seoul Philharmonic before this evening's concert. However I did know something of tonight's conductor, Myung-Whung Chung, having seen him conduct one of his other orchestras, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France last month at the Proms in London. He is a wonderful musician who coaxes the music out of his players. He guides rather than dictates, allowing his orchestras the freedom to express themselves in a wonderfully organic way. Such was his manner again last night when conducting this relatively unknown orchestra.
Read full review... | |
| 20-Jul-2011 Royal Albert Hall | Two Czech Masterpieces |
 Tonight's Prom gave the chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Jiří Bělohlávek, the chance to showcase two masterpieces from his homeland, with the first half comprising the ever-popular Cello Concerto No. 2 by Dvořák and the second half, Smetana's epic cycle of symphonic poems, Má Vlast. The latter work, surprisingly, received its first complete Proms' performance this evening.
Read full review... | |
