Latest news with #SchoolofMusic
ABC News
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Canberra Symphony Ochestra makes a bid to preserve ANU School of Music
Since she was little, Canberra-raised and internationally renowned trombonist Donna Parkes wanted to be a musician. She was identified early on as having what it took to be among the best, and started studying at the Australian National University (ANU) from a young age. "I was incredibly lucky to start at the School of Music as a scholarship student at the age of 12," she said. Parkes rose through the ranks and benefited from what she describes as a "world-class staff and faculty" at the school, and as a teenager began performing with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra (CSO). Parkes left Australia to fulfil her orchestral career and played across the world with renowned symphony orchestras. Decades on, she has returned to Canberra to teach and mentor the next generation of musical performers, and now works for the CSO. But the next generation faces an uncertain future in the capital region. That is because the ANU is proposing to absorb the School of Music into a single course, as part of a suite of planned changes to arts, sciences and humanities at the university. If the changes are confirmed, the specialist performance and composition teaching the School of Music is renowned for will be discontinued. It has prompted the CSO to write directly to the ANU's leadership and make a submission to the consultation phase of the draft changes. Rachel Thomas is the chief executive of the CSO and she is adamant that the draft changes to the School of Music "present a serious risk to the arts ecosystem, musical training pipeline and professional performance in Canberra". "It's been a symbiotic relationship where we have seen students and teachers performing in the orchestra, and that really has been magical from that perspective," Ms Thomas said. She says that the CSO wants to collaborate with the ANU and help find a solution, not simply criticise. Ms Thomas worries that if the proposed changes from the ANU are realised, there will be broader consequences for how everyone enjoys art in Canberra. "We encounter all art forms in many different aspects of our daily life, I think without even realising what joy it brings to us," she said. "Ultimately, if you have less professional musicians playing … the vibrancy of the orchestra diminishes, you attract less musicians to the city, you attract less students to the city." The ANU was not available for an interview about the CSO's concerns and ideas for the School of Music. In a statement, the Dean of the ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, Bronwyn Parry, said the University's "commitment to Canberra's cultural life remains strong and will continue". "Music is not under threat, we are investing in its future through a revitalised structure and a renewed curriculum that reflects more than two years of planning, research and consultation," Professor Parry said. Trombonist Donna Parkes is "100 per cent optimistic" that specialist music teaching can be retained at the School of Music. Ultimately, it is the ANU that will make the final decision about what the next generation receives.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Yahoo
Man dies after falling from car park outside Manchester Arndale
A man has died after falling from a car park outside the Manchester Arndale shopping centre. Emergency crews raced to the scene on High Street on Tuesday afternoon (July 29). Officers and paramedics responded to a call reporting the concern for welfare of a man. It's understood he fell from the car park and was later pronounced dead. High Street was taped off by emergency services in both directions amid the incident, with trams also suspended between Shudehill and Market Street stops. An air ambulance was also scrambled, landing behind Chetham's School of Music. Never miss a story with the MEN's daily Catch Up newsletter - get it in your inbox by signing up here An evidence screen was erected at the scene, with the pavement also cordoned off and officers seen stationed at either end of the cordon. It has since been confirmed by police that a man, aged in his 50s, has died. His family have been made aware of the development and are currently being supported. Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE There are no suspicious circumstances or third party involvement, police added. In a statement on social media following the incident, people were urged to avoid the area. A Greater Manchester Police spokesperson said: "We are currently responding to a concern for welfare incident outside the Arndale shopping centre. "There is no wider risk to the public and officers and colleagues from other emergency services are on the scene. Please avoid the area as this work is carried out." --- Day in day out, our reporters in the Manchester Evening News newsroom bring you remarkable stories from all aspects of Mancunian life. However, with the pace of life these days, the frenetic news agenda and social media algorithms, you might not be getting a chance to read it. That's why every week our Features and Perspectives editor Rob Williams brings you Unmissable, highlighting the best of what we do - bringing it to you directly from us. Make sure you don't miss out, and see what else we have to offer, by clicking here and signing up for MEN Daily News. And be sure to join our politics writer Jo Timan every Sunday for his essential commentary on what matters most to you in Greater Manchester each week in our newsletter Due North. You can also sign up for that here. You can also get all your favourite content from the Manchester Evening News on WhatsApp. Click here to see everything we offer, including everything from breaking news to Coronation Street. If you prefer reading our stories on your phone, consider downloading the Manchester Evening News app here, and our news desk will make sure every time an essential story breaks, you'll be the first to hear about it. And finally, if there is a story you think our journalists should be looking into, we want to hear from you. Email us on newsdesk@ or give us a ring on 0161 211 2920.
RTÉ News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Little Shop of Horrors opens for business in Dublin
With Little Shop of Horrors set to open at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in Dublin this weekend, Evelyn O'Rourke headed there to meet the creative team behind the theatre's first in-house production. In 1986 a movie called Little Shop of Horrors burst on to cinema screens, telling the story of a hapless florist called Seymour who stumbles upon a mysterious plant that grows into a monster. The American horror comedy musical film, directed by Frank Oz, was a big hit with cinema audiences at the time, subsequently transferring to stage version which has been a popular show for both amateur and professional productions over the years. This weekend sees a new stage production opening at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in Dublin and the excitement is building as the team there is producing its own in-house production for the first time. "The aim is to give Irish musical creative teams, both on and off stage, an opportunity to work on a home grown level production on a major scale," explained Stephen Faloon, General Manager of the theatre. The cast and creative team behind Little Shop of Horrors. Photo by Brian McEvoy Claire Tighe, director and choreographer for the show in Dublin, describes this production as a "statement of intent by investing in a fully Irish cast and creative team" and explained how it started with an open casting call where over 2,000 hopefuls auditioned. "The idea is to demonstrate the breadth of musical theatre talent, not just only on stage but also in supportive, and the off stage, creative side of things." She went on to explain how "most talented people, the people who want to work within the industry, have to go abroad to work elsewhere, because that is where the action is, so to bring it to Ireland is special." Musical director David Hayes also teaches at the School of Music in Cork and he said that young students are very interested in developing music related careers here. "There are a number of under graduate third level courses in Ireland, and now with the Leaving Cert rolling out the new theatre, drama, and film studies course too this year, it shows the on-going interest," he said. David O'Reilly as Seymour Krelborn. Photo by Cían O'Riain He is enthusiastic about this production, noting that "this is an important moment for musical theatre, it takes a step forward, that we don't have to go to the UK all the time anymore, or it isn't our default, that you have to go, to the UK, we can do it here." He added, "there's an opportunity, there is space, there's facility, there are resources and now there's a will which was the missing bit I guess." David O'Reilly, who is playing Seymour Krelborn in the show, said that he and his friends have always had to focus on the UK as a base for work explaining that "certainly when I went over in 2007, if you wanted to work in musicals, you had to go over and live in London and train in London and kind of carve out a career there, so think its going to really change the landscape of musical theatre in Ireland and I'm very proud to be part of it." Little Shop of Horrors is set to open in the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre on 25 July. Photo by Brian McEvoy Faloon said they have been building towards this production for many years, explaining that they are usually host touring West End productions and that "for 16 years I have watched, Irish talent come on and off stage as part of a tour of a brilliant West End or Broadway show, even like Kinky Boots last week, that we had two Irish stars in it, but they can't get work in Ireland." He added "they have to go to London and beyond in order to get work, and this is the chance to bring them back home." We need your consent to load this rte-player content We use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preferences Little Shop of Horrors opens at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre on 25 July and runs until 9 August 2025.
Scoop
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
The Amici Ensemble Provide A Master Class In Françaix, Fauré, & Brahms
Formed in 1988, the Amici Ensemble has been part of Aotearoa's classical music scene for over thirty-five years. Now under the magisterial leadership of NZSO Associate Concertmaster Donald Armstrong, its membership changes each year depending on the works being performed. Previously Principal Second Violin of the Denmark's Tivoli Sinfoniorkester, Concertmaster of the French Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice, and Music Director of the New Zealand Chamber Orchestra, Armstrong plays a 1754 Nicolò Gagliano violin. This year the Ensemble includes Monique Lapins, Second Violinist of the NZ String Quartet and a Lecturer at Victoria University's School of Music. She tours with the Ghost Piano Trio, performs regularly with leading orchestras and her delightful 2024 album, Notes From a Journey II, won Best Classical Artist at the Aotearoa Music Awards. Lapins played viola in this concert. Robert Ibell played cello in the NZSO from 1993 to 2019 and now teaches and performs widely across Aotearoa, also collaborating in the Aroha Quartet, the Papaioea Piano Trio, and Hammers & Horsehair. A Yale DMA graduate, Jian Liu is an internationally acclaimed pianist, chamber musician, and educator. He has performed at New York's Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and has recorded extensively. He is currently Programme Director of Classical Performance and Head of Piano Studies at Victoria University's School of Music. Last Sunday at St Andrew's, this formidable combination of top-flight musicians provided a master class in filigree technique with the three challenging chamber pieces. Aided and abetted by the intimate acoustics, their attentive and appreciative audience were treated to a superb recital tinged with virtuoso elements of stunning colouration and dynamic shading. It's a struggle to find sufficient superlatives to describe their performance. Full Disclosure: The following detailed analysis is intended largely for the edification of amateurs, students, and musical pedants. Others should probably skim or omit it entirely. It is indebted to Armstrong's insightful program notes, from which it was drawn, adapted, and expanded, with the invaluable assistance of Wikipedia. Working in reverse chronological order, the proceedings began with an effervescent rendition of Jean Françaix's String Trio. Françaix (1912-97) was a French neoclassical composer whose prolific output and vibrant style was at home in a wide variety of genres. Since he was also a virtuoso pianist, many of his most enduring scores consist of chamber pieces for piano. Maurice Ravel told the young musician's parents, "Among the child's gifts I observe above all the most fruitful an artist can possess, that of curiosity: you must not stifle these precious gifts now or ever, or risk letting this young sensibility wither.' Fortunately, they did not. Françaix went on to compose over two hundred pieces for nearly every orchestral instrument, including the saxophone. His arrangements are distinguished not only by their lightness and wit, but also by a conversational interplay between musical lines that changed little throughout his long career. Inspired by Stravinsky, Ravel, and Poulenc, he integrated their influence into his own extensive aesthetic palette of tone colours, while remaining an avowed neoclassicist who drew from literature for many of his vocal settings, rejected atonality and formless wanderings, and wrote ten movie scores for film director Sacha Guitry. Written in 1933 when he was just twenty-one, his String Trio sparkles with playful and elegant restraint, infusing classical forms with a distinctly modern sense of humour and rhythmic vitality. Armstrong's describes the opening Presto as a 'quicksilver movement that danced through shifting textures.' Françaix's interplay between the instruments was reminiscent of a lively café conversation - witty and mischievous, yet always graceful. The central Scherzo is puckish and ironic, its off-kilter rhythms and whimsical melodic lines highlighting his talent for inverting traditional dance forms and creating an irresistible atmosphere of charming surprise. The final Andante Rondo - Vivo, as rendered by the Ensemble, certainly went off with a burst of fizzing, frothy energy. Though not as frequently performed as his wind works, the String Trio displayed Françaix' exceptionally mature degree of melodic invention. Although it demands huge technical skill, its distinctively French neoclassical accent is impeccably bright, intricately clever, and gracefully crafted. Françaix himself commented, 'I am always told that my works are easy. Whoever says that has probably not played them.' Nevertheless, the Amici Ensemble's vivacious rendition made it seem almost effortless. Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) was a transitional figure in modern French music, spanning Romanticism to the kind of Fauvist colourations much favoured in the early twentieth century. Composed in 1885-86, his Piano Quartet No. 2 in G minor displays not only the elegance of Impressionism, but also Fauré's own refined musical language and poetic inspiration. Written during a time of personal turmoil that included a broken engagement and increasing deafness, yet at the height of his lyrical powers, his second Piano Quartet has a rich emotional depth that ranges from restless yearning to radiant beauty. Following the German Romantic influence of Schumann's and Brahms' Piano Quartets, Fauré became intrigued by the possibilities of a piano quartet in the classical four-movement structure - an opening Allegro, followed by a Scherzo, a slow movement, and the Finale. Jean-Michel Nectoux proposed that Fauré's adoption of this unusual form demonstrated not only a desire to break new ground, but also a commercial motivation because the classical repertory contained so few top-flight piano quartets (with the exception of those composed by Mozart). A work of great emotional complexity, subtle beauty, and refined craftsmanship, it premiered in January 1887. I and remains one of Fauré's finest achievements in chamber music. The first movement, Allegro molto moderato, is in classical sonata form and opens with a unison string melody accompanied by relentless piano figuration, providing a sweeping theme that sets a high level of emotional intensity. Fauré's distinctive harmonic language infuses the music with a sense of longing and movement with the piano weaving in and out of the strings' lyrical lines, creating an intimate, molto tranquillamente texture. The fleet-footed Scherzo in C minor is the shortest of the four movements and provides a delightful contrast. As Armstrong observed, its mellifluous piano runs and quicksilver strings contain a shadow of melancholy that lingers just below the surface, showcasing Fauré's preternatural gift for balancing delicacy with rhythmic energy. It assumes a rapid 6/8 metre with a syncopated piano theme, as melodic material from the first movement is transformed into a rondo. Cross-rhythms of 3/4 in a broad string melody give way to another smooth theme which constitutes a sort of interlude, although the perpetuum mobile of the main Scherzo material continues behind it and gently carries the movement to its conclusion. Fauré's delicate unfolding of one of his most poignant slow movements, the Adagio non troppo, provides the emotional fulcrum of the piece. A simple, hymn-like theme in the strings evokes a reflective tenderness in E-flat major. Fauré described the gentle undulating piano figure with which it opens as "a vague reverie,' inspired by the memory of evening church bells in the village of Cadirac near his childhood home. The viola solo that follows is a rhythmically modified version of the second subject from the first movement, transformed into a gently oscillating siciliano. At the start of the middle section, the bell figure is played on the strings in a mixture of arco and pizzicato as the movement slowly builds to a fortissimo climax before it returns, guiding the music back to pastoral quiet. This bell theme returns again in the coda, fleshed out by the elaborate piano accompaniment to a cello melody, before the piece ends quietly in the home key of E flat major. Nectoux suggested that "The sense of space it creates, rapt and profound within a narrow range of notes, marks it out as being truly the music of silence.' The Allegro molto Finale returned to the dramatic intensity of the opening section's driving rhythms and sweeping melodies, with moments of lush lyricism and grace tempering the storm, and leading to a resolute conclusion. The movement sets off in fast triple time, with an insistent rising string melody together with piano triplets. The second subject, derived from the molto tranquillamente theme of the first movement, is a vigorous waltz-like theme succeeded by a melody for viola and cello that relates to the trio section of the Scherzo. Critic Stephen Johnson observed, "Passion and violence are again let loose … The relentless forward drive of this movement is quite unlike anything else in Fauré.' In his biography of Fauré, musicologist Robert Orledge remarked that the Second Piano Quartet"announces his full artistic maturity' and 'marks a significant advance on the First Quartet in the force of its expression, the greater rhythmic drive and complexity of its themes, and its deliberately unified conception.' Nectoux found the second theme "rather on the heavy side" and a later section "unusually for Fauré, lacking in imagination,' while Aaron Copland thought it showed the composer "less carefree, less happy, more serious, more profound" than before. For Copland, the Adagio was "the crowning movement of the quartet … a long sigh of infinite tenderness, a long moment of quiet melancholy and nostalgic charm. Its beauty is a truly classic one if we define classicism as 'intensity on a background of calm'." Joannes Brahms (1833-97) began composing his Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor during a strained and unrequited romantic liaison with Clara Schumann, whose brother Robert was struggling with mental illness. Revising and completing it almost twenty-years later in 1875, the music possesses profound emotional depth and richness, earning its nickname the Werther Quartet in referrence to Goethe's tormented and lovesick hero. Sending the completed work to his publisher, Brahms wrote, 'You may place a picture on the title page, namely a head - with a pistol in front of it. This will give you some idea of the music.' It's now regarded as one of his most profound chamber music statements, infused not only with a profound sense of longing and despair, but also defiant resilience as it seemingly transmutes darkness into light. Its structure is both fascinating and extremely complex. The first movement, Allegro non troppo, is in C minor in triple meter, opening with a dark, restless theme in which the interplay between piano and strings demonstrates Brahms' complete mastery of variation and development as he explores the movement's emotional extremes. Beginning with the piano playing bare octaves on C, the violin, viola, and cello then cover the first theme, consisting of two 'sighing' gestures of a descending minor second, followed by a descending theme. Some have speculated that this 'sighing' motif is a musical utterance of the name 'Clara.' More obvious is Brahms' transposed version of Schumann's 'Clara Theme,' first detected by Eric Sams - 'The first sentence of that autobiographical work is doubly expressive of Clara. Furthermore, there is direct evidence that this melodic form actually embodied her, for Brahms as for Schumann.' The opening section ends on a dominant pedal on G, with the violin and viola playing pizzicato octaves that turn the key to E minor., with chromatic descent employed to bring the music to a half-cadence on D and leading to the second theme in G major. The second movement consists of a short, tempestuous C minor Scherzo in compound duple meter that bursts forth with ferociously jagged rhythms, sharp accents, and pulsating energy, in contrast to the fragile Allegro Andante, where a serene cello melody offers some respite from the sonic assault. This gently lyrical movement reflects Brahms' lingering affection for Clara, a brief glimpse of warmth and calm amid the Quartet 's otherwise overcast environment. Donald Francis Tovey argued that Brahms used the same key as the first movement because the latter did not sufficiently stabilise its own tonic and needed the second movement to furnish 'the tonal balance unprovided for by the end of the first movement." The third movement, marked Andante, is in a modified ternary form, beginning with a luscious cello melody played in its upper register with only the piano providing accompaniment that was inspired by Schumann's Piano Quartet. In a gesture Brahms frequently employed, the opening thematic material of this melody is a sequence of descending thirds. The coda explores the remote key of E major, introduced by a new chord progression in the first tutti idea and a solo cello line, and concluding with a pianissimo affirmation of the tonic. The Finale: Allegro comodo in C minor is in cut time with a secondary subject in E flat major and returns to the quartet's brooding core, revisiting earlier themes with renewed intensity and culminating in a cathartic, yet ambiguous ending. Brahms incorporates multiple levels of reference and quotation, with the piano accompaniment for the first theme derived from the opening piano line of Mendelssohn's Piano Trio in C Minor, which also features a quotation of a chorale melody taken from a sixteenth-century Genevan psalter. Vincent C. K. Cheung observed that the opening G-E flat transition in the violin, coupled with the piano part, refers to the 'Fate Theme' in Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Austrian musicologist Karl Geiringer thought Brahms had "for once overshot the mark,' pointing out that the next section is inserted "in order to mitigate the excessive conciseness of this movement,' and that later insertions were atypical of Brahms because of his "striving after compression.' The coda opens with the piano loudly declaring the homo-rhythmic theme alternating with the strings and eventually subsiding into a tranquillo section in which the inversion of the violin theme first stated in the exposition is sequenced across all strings, while the piano continues to develop its initial theme. The violin theme begins in C major, but soon shifts back to C minor as the four-note idea from the development section returns, this time with its first note removed. The violin and cello eventually manage to sustain the tonic C, while the piano and viola lean toward the tonic major. All instruments continue to die down as the piano plays one last descending chromatic scale, while the violin and viola combine the piano's initial theme with the quarter note rhythm and the cello sustains a low C. As the piano and strings reach their final notes, a pianissimo C major chord is held briefly, as though shining out of the mist. Two loud and abrupt C major chords complete the Quartet with a resounding flourish that suggests a both a mature acceptance of loss and a sense of triumphant resolution. Wellington Chamber Music was formed in 1945 and has been presenting Sunday Concerts since 1982. The concerts feature top NZ artists and most concerts are recorded by RNZ Concert for later broadcast, often in the 1-3 pm slot on RNZ Concert. Ticket prices are modest as the organisers are unpaid volunteers, though the artists receive professional fees. Next Concert: John Chen (piano), Sunday 15 June. Francis Poulenc Three Novelettes; Henri Duparc Four Melodies; César Franck Prelude Chorale and Fugue; Gabriel Fauré Theme and Variations Op 73; Camille Saint-Saëns 6 Etudes Op 111. For more information see or Eventfinda for bookings. Tickets are $40 or $10 for those under 26, while school students are free if accompanied by an adult.
Korea Herald
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Yang Sung-won reflects on 50 years with cello
Yang marks milestone with album, 'marathon concert' Unlike many musicians who celebrate the anniversary of their public debut, South Korean cellist Yang Sung-won is marking something more personal: 50 years since a life-altering performance inspired a 7-year-old to trade the piano for the cello. That moment dates back to March 10, 1975, when Hungarian American cellist Janos Starker gave a performance in Seoul — one that would set the course of Yang's life. Years later, he became not only his student, but also his assistant, entrusted to teach in his place. 'I received a letter saying I was accepted into Starker's class. That may have been one of the happiest moments of my life,' he recalled at a press conference in Seoul on Tuesday. He joined Starker's class at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 1987, where the legendary cellist taught from 1958 until his death in 2013. Yang is now a professor of cello at Yonsei University's School of Music in Seoul and a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He also serves as artistic director of the Music in PyeongChang classical music festival and has been awarded the Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government. 'I probably won't have another 50 years but in the time I have left, I hope to encourage younger musicians so they can pursue this profession with a greater sense of courage," the 57-year-old said. Yang highlighted the next generation of Korean musicians: Cho Seong-jin, Lim Yunchan, Clara-Jumi Kang, Song Ji-won, Kim Han, Kim Ki-hoon and more. 'There are so many I can't even list them all. It is important to note that beneath the very top-tier artists, there are many more outstanding musicians in Korea. That's one of the country's greatest strengths,' he said. He credited their brilliance to not just education or training, but to something deeper. 'It's in our blood. Our gugak tradition gives us expressive emotion. That's how these young musicians conquered the world,' Yang remarked. In an age defined by acceleration and automation, Yang said classical music is more relevant than ever. "AI might surprise me, but it won't move me,' he said. 'And in that sense, I feel lucky. I really have a good job.' Still, there were times he nearly walked away from the cello. The first time was when he was in Paris studying at Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris, where a competitive atmosphere left him feeling displaced. 'I thought music is about going deeper, not about competition. At that time, I was even thinking about studying something again,' he recalled. The second time was in the early 1990s. Life on the road — planes, trains, rehearsals — wore him down. 'I thought about living peacefully in nature but it never lasted long. Two or three days at most.' What brought him back each time were great performances. 'Some concerts move you so deeply, they remind you why you began. That's what opened the cello case again,' he recalled. Now Yang is celebrating 50 years of the cello with an album and a "marathon concert." On Tuesday, via Decca Records, he released the album 'Echoes of Elegy: Elgar," which pairs Op. 84 and Op. 85 — two pieces rarely featured together. The centerpiece of the album is Edward Elgar's Piano Quintet, Op. 84, a deeply introspective work composed in the shadow of World War I. Yang noted that this was one of the last pieces Elgar heard before his death. 'It shows his inner world,' he said. On May 27, Yang will perform a 'marathon concert' featuring Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations, Elgar's Cello Concerto and Dvorak's Cello Concerto — each the only cello concerto written by its composer. Despite the title "marathon concert," for Yang it is not so much about stamina or display. 'This concert is actually a 'marathon of gratitude' — a chance to express my gratitude to my parents, my teachers, my colleagues and my family,' he said. 'These three pieces carry all the pivotal moments in my life. I'm afraid I might not be able to concentrate — there's too much memory inside them.'
