Take Six took their breath away

Fraser Beath McEwing reports on a unique piano concert…six Steinways in recital. Read more

Beethoven’s mighty mass

One big bite filling the whole program was the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s offering for the ATP Master Series concert last night, writes Fraser Beath McEwing. Read more

A bit of Bach and a lot of Liszt…a music review by Fraser Beath Mc Ewing

Russian pianist, Kirill Gerstein climbed a pianistic Mount Everest at Sydney’s Recital Hall last night by tackling Franz Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes, but not before warming up on Bartok and Bach. Read more

Molto Russian, meno Italian…a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing

Rachmaninov and Shostakovich had their big guns blazing while Verdi pinged away with his pea-rifle in an Opera House concert last night that many in the audience rated as the best in the APT Master Series so far this year. Read more

Rattling the bars

A full house, plenty of celebrities and Sir Simon Rattle conducting a uniquely superb orchestra could hardly miss being the standout event of the Sydney (and probably Australian) classical music calendar…writes Fraser Beath McEwing. Read more

The girl in green plus other music

I’m pretty sure that the full house for last night’s Opera House SSO Master Series concert was all about one diminutive Chinese girl pianist….writes Fraser Beath McEwing. Read more

For once, I’m lost for words…a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing

Chinese pianist, Yuja Wang, whipped a sold-out Sydney Recital Hall audience into a standing, bravoing frenzy last night with a program of Chopin and Scriabin. Read more

A howling success – kind of…a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing

Chris Botti, one of the world’s finest jazz trumpeters, surrounded himself on the stage of the Sydney Opera House with the SSO and seven soloists to present a concert that I both loathed and loved. Read more

Two bouncing Czechs and a spot of fiddling…a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing

One of the finest of Dvorak’s symphonies, along with two pieces from Smetana’s popular set of tone poems provided safe and enjoyable bookends to an ear-challenging contemporary violin concerto at the Sydney Opera House Master Series last night. Read more

Bringing them home to make music…writes Fraser Beath McEwing

On Tuesday 23^rd of July, at five o’clock in the afternoon, ninety-five of the finest Australian orchestral musicians in the world will file in through the side doors of the Sydney Opera House concert hall stage. Read more

Avan Yu fulfilling his promise…a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing

While winning piano competitions can seem like an end in itself, it is more often the beginning of a career as a professional soloist. Read more

A Byrd in the hand

A Byrd in the hand…and much more, as pianist Peter Serkin ranged over five centuries to source music for his concert in Sydney’s City Recital Hall last night, writes Fraser Beath McEwing. Read more

Music for two wives and a hero…a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing

Wagner wrote a piece for his wife, Cosima. Bartok also wrote a piece for his wife, Ditta. Schoenberg, on the other hand, orchestrated a quartet already written by his hero, Brahms. Read more

A whole night of foreplay

The first of this year’s International Pianists in Recital series held in Sydney’s City Recital Hall last night presented French Canadian pianist Louis Lortie playing no less than 57 preludes spread over three composers, writes Fraser Beath McEwing. Read more

Granite blocks with strange lace in between

Two heavyweights from the popular international composes list plus a rarely heard offering from Australia’s Nigel Butterley made for a hearty musical feast at the second of this year’s Sydney Symphony APT Master Series concerts last night, writes Fraser Beath McEwing. Read more

Mendelssohn’s violin concerto sent them wild

Explosive violinist, Christian Tetzlaff, ran away with the show in the first of this year’s Sydney Symphony APT Master Series concerts last night, writes Fraser Beath McEwing. Read more

A night to please

Take a British beginning and end, put Sibelius in the middle, and everybody goes home feeling good – but only if the musicians can deliver, writes Fraser Beath McEwing. Read more

Bronfman returns and brings Mahler with him

He saw him rehearse the Brahms Piano Concerto No 1 with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra…now Fraser Beath McEwing reviews the concert itself. Read more

Yefim Bronfman, pianistic force, in two acts

J-Wire took its music reviewer Fraser Beath McEwing to watch one of the world’s top pianists Yefim Bronfman rehearse Brahms powerful Piano Concerto No1 with the Sydney Symphony orchestra followed by a private interview with the maestro…read his report. Read more

Favourite bookends and a bone-shaking middle

The grandeur and familiarity of Beethoven and Brahms sat either side of a pyrotechnic exhibition in sound at the SSO APT Master Series in the Sydney Opera House last night, writes Fraser Beath McEwing. Read more

Very much a live performance from Jean-Efflam Bavouzet

The difference between a careful, note-perfect recording and a caution-to-the-winds live performance was graphically demonstrated by French pianist Jean-Efflam Bavouzet last night, writes Fraser Beath McEwing. Read more

A voluminous night with Poulenc and Mahler…writes Fraser Beath McEwing

Poulenc and Mahler made a satisfying pairing in the SSO Master Series at the Sydney Opera House last night. They both offered passages no louder than a purring cat juxtaposed with kegs of gelignite being ignited. Read more

Hough and plenty of pough from the Sydney Symphony

While you couldn’t call last night’s SSO concert of Dvorak and Bruckner easy listening, there were rewards aplenty if you were prepared to engage with the music, writes Fraser Beath McEwing. Read more

Stephen, I still love you but . . .

The greatest challenge in Stephen Hough’s life must be living up to his own legend, writes Fraser Beath McEwing. Read more

First Class Ax…writes Fraser Beath McEwing

Polish /Canadian pianist, Emanuel Ax is in Australia doing what very few pianists would be game to do: play all five Beethoven piano concertos in the space of nine days. Read more

A prophetable night – SSO Opera House concert 14 May 2014

But hardly profitable, when you consider the colossal forces that had to be assembled  to perform Mendelssohn’s oratorio, Elijah, writes Fraser Beath McEwing. Read more

Czech him out

The second of this year’s four part series ‘Pianists in Recital’ brought a return to Australia of 28-year-old Czech pianist, Lukas Vondracek. And what a return is was, writes Fraser Beath McEwing. Read more

Alexey Yemtsov – Piano Recital…a review by Fraser Beath McEwing

When Ukrainian born pianist, Alexey Yemtsov, tackled an extensive and punishing Russian composer program for his recital at the Art Gallery of NSW on the weekend, he did more than play the required notes. Read more

Alexander the Great

Those fortunate enough to have heard Alexander Gavrylyuk in the first of this year’s Pianists in Recital series will wonder if classical piano playing can get any better…writes Fraser Beath McEwing. Read more

Yu’s many happy returns

Winner of the 2012 Sydney International Piano Competition of Australia, Avan Yu, returned to the city of his triumph with a memorable opening recital at the Mosman Art Gallery, writes Fraser Beath McEwing. Read more

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