August 2011

From The Editor

Austrian violinist Benjamin Schmid joins the Australian Chamber Orchestra in September as guest director and lead violin for its Viennese Serenade tour. From the ‘world’s most famous musical city’ he brings his unique personal style and a varied repertoire by Austrian composers like Schubert, Joseph Lanner, Korngold and the postmodern HK Gruber. In our cover story Simon Moore talks to Benjamin Schmid about the influences Yehudi Menuhin and Stephane Grappelli had in the development of his career. Read more...

This month, (26 to 29 August), the Australian World Orchestra launches its premier season at the Sydney Opera House and Riverside Theatres. In an exciting and ambitious initiative, almost 100 Australian musicians come home from playing in leading world orchestras such as the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic, the Chicago and the London Symphony Orchestras to showcase the qualities of Australia’s musical exports. They are joined by soloists Cheryl Barker, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, William Barton and others and are directed by AWO’s artistic director and chief conductor Alexander Briger, and conductors Simone Young and Brett Dean. Kalvin Ng asks Alexander Briger about the motivation for creating an all-Australian orchestra.

Also this month, Vasily Petrenko leads the Sydney Symphony in Shostakovich’s Symphony no 7, composed in 1941. Paolo Hooke talks to the St Petersburg-born guest conductor about The Leningrad, a requiem to the millions who were killed without reason.

Liszt Ferenc (also known as Franz Liszt) first came to prominence as a composer with his piano works, enlarging the conventional range of the instrument. Read more about this great music innovator in Elaine Siversen’s comprehensive article. To mark 200 years since Liszt’s birth, 2MBS-FM will present a series of programs from 31 July to 31 October. Look for the Liszt logo and enjoy the music!

Ildikó