From the Editor 

Have you ever heard the evocative sounds of the erhu? ‘It is surely the closest instrument to the human voice,’ says composer John Huie, founder and artistic director of the Chinese Garden Chamber Music Festival. What about the dizi and the guzheng? Or the sheng, an instrument that was first heard during the Zhou Dynasty over two thousand years ago. It’s time to head down to Darling Harbour between 11 and 13 February to discover the joy in the music of other cultures. In our cover story this month Paolo Hooke talks to John Huie about the Festival’s amazing line-up and the innovative blending of Western and traditional Chinese music. Read more ...

This year, Elena Kats-Chernin is the Marquee Australian Composer in The Con’s flagship project, 101 Compositions for 100 Years, which will continue until The Con’s centenary in 2015. Her works, including some Sydney and world premieres, are presented in a special concert on 6 March. Julie Simonds chats with her friend and alumnist.

Australian conductor Carolyn Watson spent the last two years sampling the cultures and concert halls of Europe, working side by side with Sir Charles Mackerras, Simone Young, Daniel Barenboim, Yoel Levi and Péter Eötvös. She even managed to overcome the Hungarian language barrier! Read more about her European adventures.

Percy Grainger invented the ‘Free Music Machine’, a precursor of the electronic synthesiser. But the Australian-born composer and pianist was also renowned as an eccentric, who even designed a sports bra! He died on 20 February in 1961. The epitaph from his Adelaide headstone reads ‘Lover of mankind, art, and nature’. To find out more about this unconventional life, read Derek Parker’s two-page article.

And to hear Percy Grainger’s music, tune into 2MBS-FM 102.5 on Sunday 20 February at 2pm!

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