BY CUTCOMMON
You might’ve had a big month last April, especially if you rocked up to the Melbourne Recital Centre’s New Music Days festival. But what’s on the cards for May?
We’ve put together a guide to the five gigs you probably won’t want to miss. They’re all presented by the Melbourne Recital Centre this month, and they all feature Australian talent and world leaders in classical and new music. There are works from past composers like Clara Schumann, and present composers including a world premiere from percussionist Aditya Bhat.
We asked MRC director of programming Marshall McGuire to give us some deeper insights into what’s happening in the Melbourne music scene right now, and why these five concerts are worth attending.
1. Ensemble Liaison & Tim Munro
Melbourne Recital Centre touts this concert as having “hyperactive virtuosity” and “relentless rhythmic energy”. Why else would you hear live music, if not to feel alive?
This whirlwind of a program will start with Christopher Cerrone’s New Addresses, composed back in 2020 and “inspired by the emotional immediacy” of poetry from America’s Kenneth Koch. You’ll hear Db from the late Martin Wesley-Smith AM – an early leader in the field of electronic music in Australia. The title of his work pays homage to composer-saxophonist Don Banks.
Clara Schumann composed Three Romances in 1853, one year before her BFF Johannes Brahms finished his Piano Trio No. 1. Ensemble Liaison will perform them both in this “fabulously energetic concert”, as Marshall describes.
“Grammy Award-winning Tim Munro is a great performer, and the combination of these instruments and this program is a winner.”
2. Nexas Quartet – Child’s Play
Put four saxophonists together in a room, and you’re bound to have a party. In this instance, it’s a party that could rival the ones you had when you were a kid. Michael Duke (soprano), Andrew Smith (alto), Nathan Henshaw (tenor), and Jay Byrnes (bari) are keen to engage your “sensibilities of fun, silliness and charm” according to the MRC listing – and Marshall reckons it’s going to be a blast.
“Four saxophones together is a most extraordinary, unique, and wonderful sound – kind of like a pipe organ, or a marching band, or a baroque quartet,” he says.
“Hard to define, but enormously attractive, in the hands of these musicians you’re hearing this combination at its very best.”
You’ll hear some older works on the program; Debussy wrote Children’s Corner for his three-year-old daughter Claude-Emma. Ravel’s Ma mère l’Oye was composed for a couple of kids to play at the piano, and was later orchestrated (and now arranged for these four wind instruments). Its title refers to Mother Goose, and the works in the suite explore familiar tales of Sleeping Beauty, Tom Thumb, and more.
American jazz pianist Chick Corea created Children’s Songs; he wanted to “convey simplicity as beauty as represented in the spirit of a child”. (Though, the music achieves this through relatively complex techniques inspired by Bartok, which you might appreciate as an adult listener.) Martin Goes to School is from Polish-born Australian composer Tomasz Spiewak. Bring your kids to hear it, or just bring yourself.
3. Sophia Kirsanova – Blossoming World
Marshall hits all the right notes when he says this program boasts “works written by original and compelling composers”. Yes, he’s talking about Bach and Beethoven — but he’s also talking about Lili Boulanger, the first woman to win the Prix de Rome. She wrote D’un matin du printemps – a work so magnificent, it was adapted for multiple configurations of instruments. (You’ll hear its original form: a duet for violin and piano.)
Marshall is also talking about the world premiere of Empatia by Dr Rosalind Page, who is a veterinary surgeon-turned-award-winning composer. This one was inspired by 2017 painting The Blossoming Tree; its artist Imants Tillers was born in Australia to Latvian refugees, a theme of identity that underpins much of his work.
Sophia Kirsanova – a Latvian violinist and advocate for the composers of her country – will play you these works, along with some other special pieces.
“Sophia is a young violinist of considerable talent and always performs with great energy, and presents repertoire that is appealing and intriguing,” Marshall says.
Timothy Young will join Sophia on stage. He’s head of piano at the Australian National Academy of Music (read on to see what those young musicians have in store for you, too).
4. La Compañia – Baroque of Mexico
Just because you’ve heard a bit of Handel and Vivaldi, it doesn’t mean you’ve heard it all. Grow more familiar with the world of baroque when you venture beyond the music of these commonly performed composers, and listen to pieces from the Americas composed between 1566-1780. Gaspar Fernandes, Geronimo Gonzalez, and Francisco de Vidales are a few names you should look out for – along with works from the Codex Martínez Compañón, a collection of thousands of historical artworks and scores that were compiled in the 18th Century.
“La Compañia creates a vivid sound world of the baroque – it’s triumphant and celebratory and moves the senses,” Marshall says.
“There’s also a bit of history to consider – tracing the musical influences from the old world to the new in the 16th Century. If you love music, and if you love history, this is one for you.”
5. ANAM Encounters: Inflections
You’re probably no stranger to the musicians of the Australian National Academy of Music (special shout-out to you if you’re one of them!). In the past few months, ANAM talent has performed 56 concerts in a portable timber cube, and showcased the massive ANAM Set project pairing local composers with performers to create original music.
Now, the class of 2022 (a group of resilient musicians choosing to launch their performance careers in the throes of a pandemic) will play in the Primrose Potter Salon. You’ll hear percussionist Aditya Bhat (pictured below), flautist Laura Cliff, pianist Reuben Johnson, and Nicola Robinson on horn (in our featured picture).
Inspired by their talent, Marshall says “any concert presented by ANAM is an opportunity to see and hear our next musical leaders in this intimate environment”.
“There’s an energy, a hunger, a drive that feeds into the experience of the audience, hearing these master musicians in a unique setting.” Hear hear.
Keep your ear out for Aditya’s own composition, which will be premiered at this event — it’s called …long awake in the wind-loud darkness.
For more classical and art music events this May, check out the Melbourne Recital Centre website.
Images supplied.
