BY CUTCOMMON
Here at CutCommon, we love showcasing live music and celebrating the extraordinary talent making it happen. And it’s going to be a bumper month this November with top-tier performers and collaborators taking to the Melbourne Recital Centre stage. These are some of our top picks of classical and art music events that we reckon you should check out — and we haven’t held back.
Kristian Chong & Friends – Sophie and Kristian play Sutherland and Franck
They’re two familiar faces in our music scene, but they’re performing a program of fairly unfamiliar works. Sophie Rowell is artistic director of Melbourne Chamber Orchestra — so it’s a treat to watch her perform in a solo capacity on the stage. She’ll join pianist Kristian Chong (above), who this year has been teaming up with his best mates to have fun and play music in his own Kristian Chong & Friends series at the Melbourne Recital Centre.
The program features two works: César Franck’s Sonata for Violin and Piano in A, and Australian composer Margaret Sutherland’s Sonata for Violin and Piano. Check out their musical chemistry in their Australian Digital Concert Hall performance for a preview.
Ensemble Liaison & The Australian Wind Quintet
Speaking of chemistry, Ensemble Liaison is all about it. Earlier this year, we caught up with clarinetist David Griffiths who told us “we are very good friends, and I think that’s the bottom line”. He and cellist Svetlana Bogosavljevic are also a married couple, which is something Timothy Young navigates with as much skill as his piano playing. (“Working so closely with a married couple is complicated,” Timothy said, adding that in their music friendship “we all know exactly what each other is going to do and, because we know each other’s parts so well, we can be spontaneous.”)
These chamber players will team up with the Australian Wind Quintet and together they’ll perform a fascinating program kicking off with Ligeti and featuring a concerto by Australia’s own Paul Dean. Expect Glinka, Poulenc, and Françaix in the mix, too.
Perolas Quartet
Few instruments are as atmospheric as a harp, but if you’re used to hearing it performed in a classical setting, you might like to hear something a little different. In this Perolas Quartet concert, Liana Perillo will play electroacoustic harp (and will sing!) to bring you transcriptions from female-identifying jazz harp composers.
Other electronic and acoustic instruments will also feature in this unique event with arrangements of works by Stevie Wonder and James Blake along with music from the Perolas ensemble itself. Here’s a reminder of the jazzy, vibrant, moody music they played at the Melbourne Recital Centre last year.
Accademia Arcadia – J.S. Bach’s Musical Offering
It’s hard to go wrong with Bach. And if you’re a next-level fan of the composer, you’ll probably be interested to hear his music performed on a super-rare instrument. John O’Donnell will play Bach’s Musical Offering on a Cristofori piano.
It’s okay if you’ve never heard of that instrument — after all, only one of them exists in the Southern Hemisphere, and this is it. It’s an 18th-Century design that boasts a little over half the number of keys than you’d find on your modern piano. Lucinda Moon will help conjure the era with baroque violin, Greg Dikmans with baroque flute, and Josephine Vains with baroque cello. Here’s a taste of what a Cristofori looks and sounds like (beautiful).
Alex Raineri – The Firebird
Alex Raineri is a leading Australian pianist of his generation and an advocate for new music. If you haven’t heard him play, now’s your chance (and if you have, no doubt you’ll be grabbing some front-row tickets to this one). This program opens with a Rachmaninov and then delves into a bunch of Australian works from standout composers of today: Michael Bakrnčev, Elliott Gyger, Lisa Cheney, and Liza Lim. Alex commissioned these himself to “reflect cultural identity, resulting in a celebration of the multiculturalism that pervades the Australian landscape”.
The concert wraps up with an arrangement of Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite. Each name on the program is worthy of their own event, so hearing them all within a single gig is sure to be special.
Duo Niels Bijl & Brian Chapman
Saxophone is far too rare in the world of classical music — so it’s events like this one that can help us catch up on our listening. Classical saxophonist Niels Bijl will perform music from composers you wouldn’t expect to hear on this instrument — Beethoven, Schubert, and Schumann — and it’ll make you think twice about what the versatile instrument is capable of.
Bringing it all together is Brian Chapman on piano. You’ve almost certainly heard him before (he has featured in more than 100 recordings with ABC), so have a listen to Niels.
Claire Patti Trio with Tony Gould – Dreams & Imaginings
Having performed a moving program of Scottish, Irish, and Australian music in September, this ensemble returns to the Melbourne Recital Centre for the next event in the series: Dreams & Imaginings. Claire specialises in harp and voice; Celtic music and jazz. And in this event, she will also play her own piece called Daisy’s Sunshine for her daughter. The program features The Garden from Tony Gould too, along with music ranging from Gershwin to Karine Polwart.
Tristan Lee – Between Heart & Head
In love and in life, these two powers rule — sometimes in conflict, other times in harmony. Pianist Tristan Lee has selected some Romantic music for piano that’ll get your mind and heart racing alike. First he will perform Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No.27 in E minor, which is said to reflect a “struggle between the heart and the head, and a conversation with the beloved”. Tristan will also play Chopin’s Scherzo No.3 in C-sharp minor, and Liszt’s Sonata in B minor. This pianist in the past has recorded a collection of Liszt works — specifically, his music inspired by the art and literature of Italy.
Syzygy Ensemble — Joy Ride
It was only September when Syzygy Ensemble encouraged you to contemplate the meaning of happiness and inner peace. This time, the players are taking you for a joy ride. Don’t lose any sleep over those important existential topics — now, it’s all about the hedonistic thrill.
Violinist Kyla Matsuura-Miller joins Syzygy co-artistic director and flautist Laila Engle, cellist Campbell Banks, pianist Leigh Harrold, and clarinetist Robin Henry for five exciting works. Australia’s own Holly Harrison features on the program with Slipstream; you’ll also hear Svante Henryson’s Suite Off Pist, Chasing Shadows by Su Min, and a bunch more. Here’s the hectic, adrenaline-inducing vibe:
For bookings and to check out more live music in the Melbourne Recital Centre, visit the November calendar online.
Images supplied. Kristian Chong by John Tsiavis. Alex Raineri by Israel Rivera.
