www.somtimes.
info
Dido and Aeneas Irrelevant Music...
This month we feature the School of or why we might still want to compose.
Musics production of Henry Purcells
Dido and Aeneas, which will premiere Marguerite Boland
I
on Friday August 27th. Our research
editor Alex OSullivan discusses the n the preview edition of
history of the work. SOM Times, Liz Collier, Alex
OSullivan and John Yoon
Page 5 have an amusing discussion about
the interface between composer,
work, performer and audience. In
Reviews their snappy and lively exchange of
about twelve sentences each, they
Julian Hunt reviews Robert Schmidlis touch on almost every perspective
latest Wesley Lunchtime Live concert, that has made its way into think-
while Alex OSullivan reviews a couple ing about new music across the
of recent additions to the School of Mu- best part of the last century, from
sic Library shelves. the death of the author, notions of
authenticity and the autonomous
Pages 2 - 4 art work, to questions of musics
social function, its cultural con-
Research text and the debilitating dead-end
of extreme subjectivity. Its a witty
snippet of dialogue that gives in-
Amy Turnbull makes an analysis of
sight into the burden many young
Mozarts The Marriage of Figaro, dis-
(and not so young) composers
cussing the work in terms of its wider
and performers of new music are
social, political, and economic context.
saddled with today: how to navi-
Page 8
gate through the myriad of argu-
ments surrounding the relevance
and legitimacy of new music and
to find a sense of purpose in the
writing and performing of music
Inside: of our time. As Alex OSullivan
puts is: So what is the purpose
of composition? Why do people
Reviews 2 compose? Surely there is enough
Feature 5 music to last the next thousand
years? The simplest of ques-
Research 8 tions are often the most relevant
Events Guide 10 but can require the most com-
SoM Ball photos 12 plex of answers. Maybe the best
way to contemplate these ques-
Issue 1 - July 2010
tions is to consider some illustra-
tions rather than explanations.
American experimental
composer Kenneth Gaburo cel-
ebrated The Beauty of Irrelevant
Music in his 1970 essay of that
title (reproduced in Writings on
Dance [issue 18/19, winter 1999]
available in the ANU Music Li-
brary). For Gaburo, the more ir-
relevant the music, the greater the
freedom of its creators to establish
its context, its purpose, its mean-
ing. I find the concept of Irrele-
vant Music to be a liberating one,
in the way that ideas like the slow
food movement or home water
recycling are. It suggests a degree
of independence from globalis-
ing, commercialising mechanisms
where profit and economies of
scale provide the sole definition of
purpose and relevance. In a town
like Canberra, irrelevance is cer-
tainly not the most difficult feel-
ing to conjure up, particularly if
youre a relative new-comer to the
place and are used to the artistic
hussle and bussle of our bigger cit-
ies. Turning that freedom of irrele-
vance into a creative act may seem
like a challenge, but if you were
keeping an eye on the music cal-
endar in June this year you might
have easily thought otherwise.
...continued page 6
2

Reviews

Dr. Robert Schmidli in concert, Wesley Lunchtime Live, 28 July

Doctor Robert proves old pops still strong

O
Julian Hunt
n Wednesday 28 July local pia-
nist and endocrinologist Rob-
ert Schmidli gave a programme
of Mozart and Beethoven as part of the
Wesley Lunchtime Live series.
Robert Schmidli belongs to a se-
lect group of people today, often in the
medical profession, who have realised the
old ideal of the doctor; liberally educated,
culturally refined, cosmopolitan, and in-
deed, somewhat eccentric. He has accu-
mulated an impressive amount of musi-
cal experience, both in New Zealand and
Australia and has been a strong supporter
of the Wesley Music Foundation, donat-
ing his concert proceeds to various caus-
es. The Foundation recently made Robert
a Fellow in recognition of his significant
contributions. However, to say that this
lunchtime performance was good for
someone who earns a living in another
industry would serve a grave injustice.
No, although it may not have been flaw-
less, this was a fine performance without
qualification.
Dr. Schmidli knows his audi-
ence well - alas! I was the youngest by
decades - performing Mozarts popular
Sonata in A Major (KV 331) followed by
the somewhat more unusual Les Adieux
sonata no. 26 (Op. 81a) by Beethoven. Its
an effective way to programme: an old fa-
vourite followed by something more in-
novative (although of course, one usually
has in mind the latest Sitsky or Carl Vine
rather than Beethoven. It was nonetheless
a similar underlying concept).
Popular music is all the more
apt a term, particularly for the Mozart,
considering Roberts familiarity with
what most Australians know as popular
music ceases with the Beatles. Happily,
where he is oblivious to the music played
on most hit radio stations, Robert pos-
sesses a solid knowledge of and active en-
gagement in art music, particularly of the
Classical and Romantic periods.
The first thing I noticed as Rob-
ert embarked on the Mozart was the clar-
ity and precision of his playing. His ex-
perience was attested to by his expertly
restrained use of the pedal, so often over-
used to produce a muddy and frankly
nauseating wash of sound by lesser play-
ers. The result was a pleasing crispness
which left both the performers technical
proficiency and the compositions intrica-
cies exposed; in this case to the merit of
both. Although I must admit my appre-
ciation of the rondo alla Turca has taken a
significant beating over the years of over-
performance in under-prepared recitals,
the rest of the audience was visibly excit-
ed to hear the third movement begin, and
clearly thoroughly enjoyed it.
Next, after some introductory
words from the performer, was the
Beethoven. This, for me at least, was the
highlight of the day, particularly the first
movement which created an immediate
intensity and was delicately executed.
The power of the initial shallow chord
progressions suggested the piece con-
tained romanticism deeper than Rob-
ert gave it credit for in his introductory
statements. Still, it was no great surprise
to learn after the concert that the good
doctor himself favoured the first move-
ment. Yet it appeared a lonely opinion as
we discussed the Beethoven in the foyer
afterwards; the majority of the passing
compliments were for the old favourite,
the rondo alla Turca.

Executive Editor: Julian Hunt Vacant positions:

editor@somtimes.info Reviews Editor
Website administrator/designer
Research Editor: Alexander OSullivan Columnists & essayists
research@somtimes.info Open to all ANU students, pro bono.
Enquiries to the executive editor.

Reviewing some of the SoM Librarys
latest additions
Leonard Bernstein: West Side Story, Ni-
gel Simeone, Ashgate Publishing, 2009
I
Alexander OSullivan
n the preface to this modest vol-
ume, Nigel Simeone (of Sheffield
University in the United Kingdom)
explains that the title is misleading, as
West Side Story is perhaps the most col-
laborative musical-theatrical work ever
produced. Throughout his description
of its genesis, production and reception,
we see that composer Leonard Bern-
stein, writer Arthur Laurents, choreog-
rapher Jerome Robbins and lyricist Ste-
phen Sondheim acted fairly equally in
producing what is now considered one
of Broadways masterworks.
The book assumes a non-threat-
ening tone from the beginning. There is
no discussion of value, and little in the
way of analysis and synthesis of ideas. It
was rather frustrating wading through
the documentary evidence, without
Simeone providing original ideas to tie
the information together. However, the
evidence itself is first rate, comprising
documents from the archives of Bern-
stein and Sondheim, and many first time
interviews with the minor players in the
production. The survey begins with a
short discussion of Bernsteins musi-
cal career before West Side Story, with
special emphasis on the vastly different
On the Town and Candide. Both these
works are due for some sort of rethink,
with Candide in particular perhaps be-
ing the candidate for the Great Ameri-
can Operetta. The creative process of the
team is then discussed. West Side Story
had an unusually long gestation process,
with the initial idea floated by Robbins
in 1949 (the first production premiered
in 1957). Simeone is forced to rely on
Bernsteins production diary for this
chapter, which he freely admits may be
completely fictitious; simply dreamed
up for the Playbill. There are compari-
sons between early drafts, presented in
the form of tables.
Simeone spends a chapter dis-
cussing the various musical manuscripts
still extant, trying to trace their evolu-
tion. Early versions of songs are dis-
cussed, but offer little insight into Bern-
steins creative process. The synopsis
gives descriptions of aspects of reminis-
cence and thematic transformation in
the score. Theoretical analysis is clearly
not Simeones forte, as he attempts to
discuss concepts of melodic unity in the
work. It is well known that much of the
music is derived from either the tritone
or the combination between major and
minor (the best example being the prel-
ude), but Simeones discussion beyond
these ideas borders on perfunctory. Lit-
tle discussion is given to the works flaws
(which have been noted by commenta-
tors for decades). Personally, I felt num-
bers such as I Feel Pretty and Gee,
Officer Krupke jar with the audience,
coming as they do after moments of
great violence and drama. I also felt that
the non-musical setting of Marias final
monologue always falls flat in the thea-
tre (this scene was originally set to mu-
sic, now lost). It would have also been
nice for Simeone to discuss the deriva-
tion of the dance forms, which refer-
ence specific Latin styles little known
on Broadway at the time. Indeed, per-
haps the contribution of a dance scholar
would have increased the interest level
significantly.
The chapter Reception only
references contemporary Broadway
journalists. While reviews were gener-
ally favourable, there were some who
found the visual and musical language
too challenging for Musical Theatre.
Perhaps a look at the continuing influ-
ence of the work would have been ap-
propriate, instead of a long discussion of
the differences between the show, cast
recording and film.
Overall, one hundred pages
(not including the discography and an
extensive bibliography) is far too little
to assess the gestation, production and
impact of West Side Story. Simeone has
tried to please all audiences, and only
succeeds in his generality. Those seek-
ing a fresh look at an old favourite will
have to wait for another study that fully
integrates analysis of the works theatri-
cal, musical and choreographic aspects.
3
News in
Musicology
T
Alexander OSullivan
he Musicology Seminar is taken
by all Musicology majors, as
well as approved students from
across the College of Arts and Social
Sciences. The Seminar investigates
music in many forms, often the form
of one or several individual research
projects on a specific topic. Previous
semesters topics have included Indig-
enous practitioners of Popular Music,
Popular Music in general, Musical
Analysis, and Music and War. This se-
mester will see the students dive into
the recently established field of cultural
geography.
Cultural Geography is the
study of the many cultural aspects
found throughout the world and how
they relate to the spaces and places
where they originate and then travel as
people continually move across vari-
ous areas. Cultural geography seeks to
explain and identify human cultural
patterns and how those patterns vary
across the landscapes of the world.
The seminar of thirteen stu-
dents will investigate music making
in Canberra, in a quest to produce a
musical map, upon which all the mu-
sic in the city can be described. Each
student has selected a specific scene or
location, for instance: choral music, the
Canberra Symphony Orchestra, street
musicians, church music and the live
music scene. The aim of the exercise
is to reveal how Canberra as a place is
intertwined with the music of its in-
habitants, and in turn how its inhabit-
ants define their sense of place through
music. The research will be hands-on,
consisting primarily of many inter-
views with ordinary music makers in
the community. Even the course co-
ordinator, Dr Ruth Lee Martin, will be
conducting her own research into the
production of folk music in Canberra.
4
After the Golden Age: Romantic
Pianism and Modern Perfor-
mance, Kenneth Hamilton,
Oxford University Press, 2008.
K
Alexander OSullivan
enneth Hamilton is
a British pianist and
scholar, who is famed
for his performances of 19th
century music. In this de-
lightful survey, he discusses
aspects of 19th century piano
performance, highlighting the
practical and aesthetic differ-
ences between that age and our
own. His primary thesis is that
the ritualistic aspects of the
21st century piano recital are
not representative of the great
tradition of playing from the
Golden Age of performers,
but that they rather developed
out of several factors irrelevant
to music, such as the advent
of recording and the increas-
ing wealth of the middle class.
The book draws on contempo-
rary accounts, treatises, early
recordings and piano rolls in
describing the primary con-
cepts of difference.
The first chapters
set the scene, introducing the
main players (primarily Liszt,
Busoni, Paderewski and Thal-
berg) and describing the typi-
cal Romantic Era piano recital.
Today, we are far more recep-
tive to recital programmes of
long, difficult works such as
sonatas and concerti than the
average 19th century audi-
ence, who demanded fireworks
in the forms of virtuosic
transcriptions and elaborate,
extemporised fantasies. In
addition, most recitals also
contained chamber music and
other diversions (Liszts early
solo recitals only consisted of
two to five solo works). Con-
temporary accounts relate Liszt
asking the audience to suggest
themes for his improvisations,
which he would then combine
contrapuntally. Performers
usually saved the more difficult
works for a private audience of
connoisseurs. It was unknown
for a complete performance
of a sonata or concerto to be
given; indeed Clara Wieck was
chastised by critics for pro-
gramming the Appassionata in
its entirety. Even performances
of single movements were very
different: performers would
often alter the figuration to suit
their technique or instrument,
and it was not unknown for
elaborate codas, or even elabo-
rate, improvised transitional
episodes to be employed.
It is well known that
the majority of 19th century
pianists were also reputable
composers, and that the public
expected to hear new music
(or at least new transcriptions)
far more frequently than they
do today. Hamilton describes
how over time, the popular
success of certain works led
to their immediate embalm-
ment, thus reducing the space
for new music. Eventually,
the expectations of repertoire
forced pianists to only devote
time to this established canon,
rather than wasting time on
difficult contemporary pieces.
This divide is even apparent
today, with pianists clearly
separated into those who serve
Early Music, those who serve
the Common Practice Period
and those who perform new
music. Programming now
falls into one of two models:
the historical survey, and the
complete edition. The histori-
cal survey usually attempted
to expose a historical progres-
sion in the Common Practise
Period (the Bach to Brahms
approach). The complete
edition recital presented an
entire opus, or several, by
the same composer. Perhaps
the most amazing recital of
this form was presented by
Rubinstein, who programmed
eight major Beethoven sonatas
in one evening (Moonlight,
Tempest, Waldstein, Appas-
sionata, op.90, op.101, op.109
and op.111). In the 20th
century, Friedman, Horowitz
and others reduced the epic
proportion of the Romantics,
formalising todays degustation
style of programming.
The book also ad-
dresses issues of memorisation.
We are told that Liszt, tradi-
tionally seen as the founder of
the modern piano recital, often
played from scores; and it was
not unknown for him to learn
pieces during performances!
The inherent scratchy nature
of the first run-throughs
of these programmes was
remarked upon in letters by
his contemporaries. How-
ever, by 1892, Pachmann was
vilified by a London critic for
using the score in a perfor-
mance of Beethovens Third
Concerto. Beethoven himself
reasoned against memorisa-
tion arguing that it destroyed
a performers sight-reading
ability and encouraged them
to ignore dynamics and ar-
ticulations. The critic Harold
Bauer in 1870 commented
on the growing practise: it
Lacked respect for audience
and composer by indulging
in theatrical display. One of
the more rigorously enforced
aspects of concert performance
today is applause. From an
early age we are all taught to
save our applause for the end
of a (presumably) complete
work, and not to applaud
between movements. However,
contemporary accounts as far
back as Beethoven describe
movements being applauded
loudly and even being en-
cored before the conclusion of
the work. Whilst fantasising,
Liszt invited his audience to
applaud whenever they heard
a thematic combination they
enjoyed. Audiences would ap-
plaud a dazzling turn or even
the appearance of a well-loved
composition. Contemporary
practice seems to derive from
Wagners specific instructions
to the first audience of Parsifal,
of whom he forbade applause
of any form. We still seem to
suffer from the delusion that
applause somehow interrupts
the spiritual connection one
has with a performance.
The most foreign of
the discussed aspects is the
nearly extinct art of prelud-
ing. Hamilton explains how no
performance would ever begin
with the first piece, as the
performer would have to test
both his fingers and the piano
in order to avoid unpleas-
ant surprises. It is suggested
that the tonal ambiguity in
some of Liszts shorter pieces
(which may have been used
as preludes) is not utilised for
any progressive reasons, but
rather so they can be easily
adapted to launch into a piece
in any key. Aspects of rubato
and asynchronism are also
discussed, with particular
reference to early 20th century
recordings (often of pianists
who formulated their style in
the mid-19th century). It is
clear that performers who pre-
ferred chords unspread in their
theoretical writings were not
adverse to indulging in fruity
arpeggiation in their playing.
Textual fidelity and
issues of Authenticity are also
considered. Apparently, it was
common practise for compos-
ers to alter pieces consider-
ably from the printed score,
and many extreme examples
are cited. The most amazing
perhaps, is a performance of
Beethovens Third Concerto,
upon which passages of the
Fifth Symphony were layered.
It is suggested that major
changes often arrived through
the desire for older music to
conform to the aesthetic ex-
pectations of the 19th century
(Liszt and Busonis recomposi-
tions are a case in point). Liszt
himself is given a complete
chapter, in which his technique
and legacy are reassessed.
Hamilton believes that his
reputation has been some-
what exaggerated by popular
anecdotes, such as his famous
flawless sight-reading skills or
by reference to the impossible
demands contained within his
scores. His transcription of Er-
lknig is today considered one
of the most demanding pieces
in Romantic piano literature.
However, documentary evi-
dence suggests that Liszt did
not perform it at a great speed,
and it is clear that the pianos of
his time had a far lighter action
than those of today. Whilst still
an incredibly difficult work, it
is not the impossibility it may
seem.
Kenneth Hamilton
does not advocate the return to
19th century practices. Rather,
he encourages pianists to
question received wisdom, to
research documentary sources
themselves, and to finally make
their own decisions based on
their own aesthetic desires
rather than those of contempo-
rary conservatory practice.

Dido and Aeneas
Alexander OSullivan
D
Research Editor
ido and Aeneas is rightly
viewed as Englands only
unquestioned operatic
masterpiece. The first known per-
formance of the work was at board-
ing school for girls in Chelsea,
London, according to the earliest
extant libretto. Dating the work
and performance has been a peren-
nial problem for scholars; all that
can be said for certain is that the
performance must have taken place
before December 1689, when the
spoken epilogue was published.
The work is often considered in
comparison with John Blows Venus
and Adonis (April 1684) which was
composed as a court entertainment,
and later arranged for another
girls school. In the New Grove
Dictionary of Opera, Curtis Price
conjectures that Dido and Aeneas
was also a court entertainment first,
with the Prologue (to which the
music is lost) seemingly referencing
the Glorious Revolution of 1688.
However, it is clear that the libretto
does not obey a single interpreta-
tion, and the original purpose
of the opera will forever remain
unknown unless further sources are
discovered. Interestingly, there is no
contemporaneous comment on the
opera until 1698, in which Didos
first aria was printed.
The libretto itself was writ-
ten by Nathum Tate, and is broadly
based on Virgils Aeneid. In this
epic poem Aeneas is driven from
Troy to seek refuge in Carthage,
which is ruled by the widowed
queen Dido. Aeneass mother
Venus senses that Didos motives
may not be pure, and plots her
ruin by cursing her with a wild
passion for Aeneas. Didos guard-
ian, Juno, seeks to foil the plan by
forcing Dido and Aeneas to shelter
from a storm in a cave, where they
will consummate their love and
form a new empire spawning from
Carthage. Only the consummation
takes place, for when Jupiter hears
this news, he sends Mercury to
summon Aeneas to found Rome.
Aeneas barely thinks twice before
leaving, and Dido throws herself on
a funeral pyre. Tate refashioned the
story into his play Brutus of Alba
or the Enchanted Lovers, which he
then adapted for Purcell. The most
striking difference between his
libretto and the classical poem is
the transformation of Dido from a
wild, exotic other to a tragic hero-
ine. Dido is no longer the lovesick
stepping stone for Aeneas; now
Aeneas is portrayed as a cad from
the very beginning of the work. The
other major addition was that of
the witches, which aside from obvi-
ously referencing Macbeth (c.1603-
1611) offer a simpler explanation
for the storm and the appearance
of Mercury a kind of Demonio ex
machina.
The earliest surviving
sources are the libretto used for the
Chelsea performance, and another
dated 1700 in which the work was
interpolated as masque in a per-
formance of Measure for Measure.
The earliest extant score dates
from after 1777, and is missing the
prologue and the end of the sec-
ond act. It is more than three times
removed from Purcells original,
and is certainly a mutilated form of
Purcells original. However, this is
the score that audiences have taken
to, and has intrinsic worth on its
own terms.
The music of the opera
is generally simpler than that of
Purcells later work, with primarily
monophonic choruses, and re-
strained arias. Much of the work is
delivered in a fairly dramatic arioso,
5
interspersed with solos, duets, and
a great quantity of choral interrup-
tions. The musical drama works
on many levels: for example in the
ships scene, the sailors chorus both
sets the scene and ominously pre-
dicts Aeneass departure. The work
is noted for its complex word set-
ting, pungent dissonances and reli-
ance on dance meters and forms.
The many problems a pro-
duction of Dido and Aeneas faces
are familiar to most students of
opera. They were even published
in an article in Early Music subti-
tled An Investigation into Sixteen
Problems. The most difficult are:
the works short length, the lack of
an adequate performing edition,
the positioning of the chorus, the
characterisation of the witches and
Aeneas, Didos death and perhaps
most challenging of all, the use of
dance.
A review of the Schools production
will appear in the September issue
of SOM Times.
References:
Price, Curtis, Dido and Aeneas
The new Grove dictionary of Op-
era, ed. by Stanley Sadie (London:
Macmillan; New York: Groves Dic-
tionaries, 1992) vol. 1, 1169-1171.
Savage, Roger and Tilmouth,
Michael. Producing Dido and
Aeneas: An Investigation into
Sixteen Problems with a Sugges-
tion to Conductors in the Form
of a Newly-Composed Finale to
the Grove Scene, Early Music 4/4
(Oxford University Press, 1976)
393-406.
Schmafeldt, Janet. In Search of
Dido, Journal of Musicology 18/4
(University of California Press,
2001) 584-615.
6 ily create something. A dancer (or maybe
Irrelevant Music
Marguerite Boland
...continued from title page
Four excellent musical experiences were to be
had, all involving new music and all involving
post-graduate or graduand performers and
composers from the ANUs School of Music.
The beauty of irrelevant music Ga-
buro writes consists of its existence and its
search for a context. The beauty of an inter-
preter (performer) rests in a desire to realize a
context for this discovered music which wants
one. The context of each of these events are both off to different parts of Scandinavia
made up an important part of the experience
the venue, the audience, the way the event
was structured and presented along with
the music itself. The context for Strike on
Stage 1.0 was realised by percussionists and
media artists Chi-Hsia (Lisa) Lai and Charles
Martin, who were not only the interpreters but
equally the creators of the sound art and the
experimental technology that was presented
here live for the first time (1.0 referencing the
performance version). The new instrument
they have created works by way of project-
ing light onto a kind of projector screen and
tracking the shadows cast by their body parts
which they move in between the light source
and the screen (remember slide evenings as
a kid, learning to make the rabbit and the fox
with your fingers). Using computer vision
technology, they have developed a processing
system that triggers sound events based on the
movement of these shadows. Lisa and Charles
see the video screen as a new instrument in
their percussive vocabulary and its true that
percussionists are the ideal performers to in-
teract with this technology: they have a wide
range of movements they can carry out while
striking a variety of percussion instruments,
making not only sound but also shadow move-
ments which trigger the computer-generated
sounds. The electronic sounds have also been
designed by Lisa and Charles and in version
1.0 they consisted of percussive and pitched
sounds as well as real sounds like thunder
and rain. Shadows are not the only things
projected onto the screen either; a range of
images, from photographic collages to paint-
like coloured blotches, were manipulated by
the performers shadow movements, result-
ing in a rich visual as well as sonic experience.
The new instrument has been brilliantly con-
ceived and the realisation of performance 1.0
was exciting, mesmerising at times, and brim-
ming with imaginative delight. After the per-
formance, the audience was invited to come
up to make their own shadow movements,
and play around with the sounds and images
to get a feel for how the instrument worked.
Hands and arms flashed in front of the screen
for at least half an hour, the audience members
fascinated by the interactivity of the screen
and the sheer pleasure of being able to so eas-
she was a actor) used her whole body, curving
her back, stretching out a leg, suggesting the
potential for dance/theatre/visual art collabo-
rations. The venue for Strike on Stage 1.0
was the Dance Studio of the new Belconnen
Arts Centre and the fresh and modern feel of
the Arts Centre itself suited the new, experi-
mental nature of the performance. The open
and slightly irregularly shaped foyer and the
adjoining gallery, both with large windows
out onto Ginninderra Lake, invited thinking
about how the space could be used for other
music events (the building is worth a visit in
person or online just to check out the archi-
tecture). It is exciting that Lisa and Charles
to pursue further post-graduate study this
year, although as a composer Im mildly dis-
appointed at not being able to collaborate with
them and their new instrument but that
will be for another time ... version 5.1 maybe?
An entirely different context was pro-
vided by a group of mostly wind players who
came together at Lynehams The Front Cafe,
on a Sunday afternoon at the end of June, to
present Sound Bites. From the outside this
cosy gallery and cafe doesnt appear to have
the space for anything like a band, let alone
a group of six performers, an audio system
and large speakers. But the homey couches
and chairs were huddled together to make
room for a row of music stands and the musi-
cians negotiated their way
around leads, instrument
do we need to be
cases and each other with
practised grace. It was a
mindful of what we
salon style event, with layer on top of the
the noises of the coffee
machine and dishwash- music and the mu-
ing from the cafes kitchen
mixing with the applause sical performance,
and filling in the silences
during set-up changes.
what we force into
Tucked up on a sofa, nurs-
ing my hot chocolate, I felt
its context?
welcome and snug in the company of about 15
people, and open to listening to anything. The
concert seemed to have come about because
a number of the performers happened to be
coming to Canberra at the same time, the
group enjoys playing together and collaborat-
ing on compositions and improvisations, and
so decided to organise a gig. It also seemed
to have been sparked by Nicole Canhams new
tarogato originally a Hungarian folk instru-
ment, it was reconstructed in a different guise
at the end of the 19th century to share char-
acteristics of both saxophone and clarinet.
Nicole (an ANU graduate of some years ago)
has been inviting new works for the tarogato
from composers (see the call for scores on her
website) and Sound Bits presented a few first
performances of these pieces. ANU post-grad
composer Ian Blakes piece called twmp was
for tarogato, soprano sax, tambourine and
drone, performed by Nicole and Ian himself
on sax. A twmp Ian tells us is a small Welsh
mound: the sort of place you could park some
musicians who would play for dancing. The
bourre feel of the piece, the accompanying
tambourine (which Nicole tapped with her
foot) and the background drone did indeed
invite us to get up and dance ... alas for the lack
of space. The players were also experimenting
with arrangements of pieces (Bach, Piazzolla,
Ross Edwards) for tarogato and combina-
tions of bassoon and soprano sax. The sounds
blended in unusual ways and highlighted the
uniqueness of the tarogato compared to its
other reedy cousins. Another piece by Ian
Blake that really suited the setting was The
River Daughter for soprano and bassoon
with an accompanying multitrack of treated
bassoon and soprano sounds. All live and
recorded sounds were produced by bassoon-
ist and soprano Zoey Pepper. The piece has
a number of nice layers to it. The central text
is taken from Ovids Metamorphosis poem
about Daphnes transformation into a lau-
rel tree, and is book-ended by excerpts from
Rainer Maria Rilkes The Sonnets to Orpheus
where he refers to Daphnes transformed state.
The wandering tonality of the Rilke sections
contrasts with a drone and psalm-like treat-
ment of the Ovid text (for a sound bite see
www.ianblake.net/music-27.html). The piece
is structured so that the live singer, accompa-
nied by recorded bassoon, transforms into the
live bassoon player accompanied by recorded
chanting, thus changing identity and merging
with the tree-like instru-
ment that is the bassoon in
a symbolic transformation
that parallels Daphnes
own. In the closeness of
the little cafe and engulfed
by the recorded sound,
Zoeys singer-bassoonist
transformation had an al-
most magical quality to it.
For the end of the even-
ing, there was a change of
direction. Nicoles taro-
gato joined jazz performers Miroslav Buko-
vsky (trumpet) and Col Hoorweg (electronic
percussion) in a set of improvisations, open-
ing up the last piece to anyone who has an
instrument with them. An appropriate close
to the friendly informality of the evening.
And on to a very different setting
this time to what must be Canberras most
inviting of formal recital halls, the Wesley
Music Centre. Pianist Edward Neeman (ANU
graduate, Manhattan School of Music gradu-
ate and current Juilliard School post-gradu-
ate) presented a solo recital that encompassed
early Beethoven (Op.3, No.2), Schubert (the
first of the three last sonatas, C minor D.958)
and Chopin (Etudes, Op.25), as well as pieces
by two ANU composers, Alistair Noble (ANU
graduate) and myself. While a more tradi-
tional recital setting, the concert also had
a nice touch of informality to it: there were
no program notes, instead Edward spoke to
the pieces once in each half; Terry Neeman
provided the tasty refreshments at interval;
children from teenagers to young primary
school kids were in the audience. One of
the really enjoyable aspects of this concert
for me apart from the excitement of hear-
ing my own piece, composed 17 years earlier,
given its first full performance was hav-
ing had the opportunity to discuss and work
with Edward on my piece beforehand. This
is also something that Alistair and Edward
himself expressed as being an enjoyable and
valuable part of the pre-performance process.
And possibly for the first time, I got a sense
of how a piece can begin to have a life of its
own in the hands of such an accomplished
performer as Edward. Once the details have
all been taken care of (dynamics, phrasing,
minutia of accentuation and articulation, that
are sometimes impossible to communicate in
a system of notation), then there is something
else ... a performers interpretation? But what
is that? Maybe its an understanding of the
music as music, of what it is wanting to be.
Or maybe its a desire, as Gaburo claims: ...a
desire to realize a context for this discovered
music which wants one. The musical con-
text of the program had certainly been care-
fully conceived. One of themes threading its
way through the more than two centuries of
music, Edward told us, was youth: all pieces
had been composed before the composers had
turned 40. But the other theme that stood out
to me was experimentation. Alistairs piece
glasteppich i experimented with time its
elasticity, its delicacy in a piece that un-
folded sparsely-placed singular sound events
over a 13 minute time span, but which none-
theless, almost imperceptibly, created a sense
of trajectory and development. My piece, Two
Miniatures, experimented with the opposite
densely interlaced motivic and harmonic
material that played out in a quick succession
of rhythmically and registrally varied gestures.
The early Beethoven sonata and the Roman-
tic pieces were no less experimental but
that story will need to be told another time.
The setting for the last concert
Piano+Piano was Llewellyn Hall. The con-
text, which Ill return to in a moment, was not
entirely clear. As an official School of Mu-
sic event, it was billed as Alumni Concert
#1. Promotional material for the concert in-
cluded stylish photographs of the two pianists
(Piano+Piano) as well as Larry Sitsky but
why were these particular alumni brought to-
gether for this event? And what music were
we going to hear? As it turned out, it was a
feast of pianistic talent featuring Edward Nee-
man giving the Australian premire of Larry
Sitskys piano sonata written especially for
him; and Michael Azzopardi (ANU jazz grad-
uate) giving an impressive solo performance
of well-known Herbie Hancock and Chick
Corea tunes as well as his own compositions.
Edward performed the sizeable sonata Re-
tirer den bas de leau magnificently, carrying
off Larrys masterful shaping of a large-scale
dramatic trajectory with complete convic-
tion. The most surprising movement was the
7
opening movement, a delicate wash of water
music that created a moving gentleness. This
was counter-balanced by dramatic fist and
arm clusters in one of the later movements.
In the second half of the concert, Michael
Azzopardi gave an equally masterful solo jazz
performance, no mean feat when the cus-
tomary rhythm section is not there to share
around the attention. Musically, each half of
this concert had its own integrity and creative
interest, but the experience of the event as a
whole was, for me at least, strangely discom-
forting (which, I hasten to say, had nothing
to do with the music or the performers). Was
it a mismatch of contexts? the music still
seeking one, the performers clearly desiring to
realise one for the music but how? An of-
ficial event that recognises and celebrates tal-
ent and achievement aims, of course, to be an
affirming and encouraging experience. There
was a lot of talk accompanying the concert by
School of Music representatives, telling the
story of the idea behind the Alumni concert
series, congratulating the School for its past
alumni achievements (a significant one being
the retaining of alumni on staff at the ANU),
emphasising the commitment of the School
to future events like these. (Unfortunately, the
specific achievements of the alumni in this
concert were not mentioned but I guess that
was covered in the program notes.) But do
we need to be mindful of what we layer on top
of the music and the musical performance,
what we force into its context? Do we need to
be mindful of the ownership of the context
turning the freedom of irrelevance into a
constricted relevance, appropriating the inter-
preters desire to realize a context for this dis-
covered music which wants one.? In offering
logos, series names and honours, should we
not avoid trying to gain authority over the mu-
sic, trying to own the performance, the per-
formers/composers ... the experience. Gaburo:
In that owning-system, one speaks of
performers, say, as good or bad property, and
created works as good or bad material. If one
is good property and finds good material one
can become a package. If one becomes a pack-
age one can be managed. Once one becomes
managed one can be sold. It is no secret that
universities tread a fine line in this respect.
The excellence of all these events
each very different in nature and content
lay not in some externally determined
benchmark, in some sales pitch, or in any
greater purpose outside of the experience itself
(world premire, international best-seller,
soon-to-tour-Europe). For me, it lay in the
fact that groups of people (performers, com-
posers, audiences) created their own contexts
for the new and the experimental, created
their own reasons and motivations to share a
momentary musical experience which may
be why people still compose which may be
the only purpose music can ever really have.
8 of this. In the play The act ends quietly with
Mozart in context:
The Marriage of Figaro
Amy Turnbull
M
ozart composed the opera Le Nozze
de Figaro or The Marriage of Figaro
in 1786 primarily as a populist op-
era, which was designed to appeal to the upper
middle class and aristocracy. He attempted to
do this by appealing to some of the ideals of
the enlightenment, mocking the old royalty
and using popular artistic styles of the time.
However, despite his best efforts, the opera
failed in its premiere in Vienna. In order to
understand why this is so, we will first look at
the political and social context of Vienna and
how it relates to the subject content of the op-
era and compare the subject content of the op-
era to the original play and its context. We will
then investigate larger structure of the opera
and how it relates to the economic and artistic
context of the time. Finally I will be support-
ing each point with a close analysis of Act II
scene IX which is part of the finale in act II.
Joseph II was the Emperor of the
Austrian Habsburg dominions from 1780-
1790. He spent a large amount of his time
in Vienna, which was the capital at the time.
Joseph II sympathised with many of the ide-
als of the enlightenment and attempted to
realise them in society through his many re-
forms. These had limited success. His reforms
included: The suppression of the rich monas-
teries; allowing the practice of non-catholic
faiths, the introduction of poor relief, the
prohibition of child labour, and the abolish-
ment of the death penalty. He also established
schools, asylums and Hospitals. Many of the
traditional aristocracy did not like these re-
forms, which weakened their balance sheets,
and although no disagreement was voiced in
the beginning of his reign it was resistance to
this policy that forced Joseph to make many
retractions in his last year. The Marriage of Fi-
garo was composed in the middle of Joseph II
reign and its subject content reflects his ideals..
Mozart wanted to create an opera
which the Viennese people would like. He
knew that comedy had to be a key element and
said The chief thing must be the comic ele-
ment, for I know the taste of the Viennese in
a letter to his father in 1783. Both the subject
content and the use of opera buffa as the form
reflect this. Mozarts opinion can be further
validated by a look at the popular operas and
plays of the time, these largely constituted of
opera buffa and comic plays. The play was also
very popular in France and is the sequel to The
Barber of Seville was very popular in Vienna.
The subject content of the opera
The Marriage of Figaro is an adaptation of
the French comedy play of the same title by
Pierre Beaumanchais. The play The marriage
of Figaro was First performed in 1784 and was
very popular in France at the time. The play is
the sequel to the Barber of Seville which was
also composed by Beaumanchais It played in
the Burgtheatre, the main theatre in Vienna,
from 1776 to 1783. The play The Marriage
of Figaro embodied the ideas of the enlight-
enment and was very provocative against the
aristocracy. Consequently Joseph II banned
the German translation of play in 1985 unless
it was censored of its more offensive passages.
One of the reasons that the opera
wasnt a complete success in Vienna was be-
cause of its less radical political comment in
comparison to the original play. The portrait
of the aristocracy drawn in Mozarts opera does
not break new ground in realism or audacity,
but parallels contemporary trends on the stage
In order to be able to write an opera based on a
banned play Mozart must first obtain permis-
sion from the emperor, Joseph II. The libretto
for the opera was written by Da Ponte who
relates in his memoirs how he persuaded the
Emperor to allow the opera to be performed.
Sir, answered I, as I had to write an
opera, and not a comedy, I have been able to
omit certain scenes, and shorten others, and
I have carefully expunged whatever might
offend the decency of a theatre over which
you majesty presides. If that is the case, re-
plied he, I rely on you opinion for the good-
ness of the music, and on your prudence
for the choice of the characters: you may
immediately give the parts to the copyist.
Hence a large amount of the play
content which ridiculed the aristocracy was
edited out in the opera.
The play was also abbreviated because
of the requirements of the form of the Opera
buffa. Da Ponte had to reduce cast numbers
to a manageable amount of 11 which was still
more then the conventional number. He also
either simplified or removed several strands
of the plot and characters were stripped of
their complexities so that they almost act
as familiar stereotypes. The finales in opera
buffa must consist of fast tutti sections thus
the material at the end of acts must be suit-
able for this. The end of Act II is an example
the characters dispersed, in the opera how-
ever Da Ponte was obliged to create material
suitable for a tutti section. The public great-
ly anticipated the opera as the sequel of The
Barber of Seville, and due to the editing out
of play content for both political and artistic
reasons it did not live up to their expectations.
The opera, while not radically differ-
ent, does break some musical conventions of
the time. The opera has four acts instead of the
usual two. There was also a controversy in the
second half of the eighteenth century between
those who asserted the primacy of music in op-
era, and traditionalists who valued the poetry-
of the libretto higher. Mozart thought that the
music was the most important aspect which
is illustrated in a letter to his farther in 1783
where he states that his libretto will certainly
not go down well if the music is not good. For
in opera the chief thing is the music This
opinion was endorsed by others in the musi-
cal community of Vienna, including Salliari.
Although Mozart obviously put a
lot of thought into aspects of his composition
in order to create an opera which was popu-
lar, there was still some stylistic reasons why
the opera was not a huge success in Vienna.
During the late eighteenth century Audiences
generally favoured the operatic style Italian
composers rather then German. The Italian
style was considered to be simple and lyrical
while the German style was considered to be
complicated and lacking in tune. Mozart was
also considered to change key too often. The
reasons for this dislike for change in key is ex-
pressed by the composer Piccinni To quit a
key almost as soon as we have entered it, to
become extravagant without reason.... is to
prove that the artist is ignorant of the end of
his art as well of its principles John Brown, a
contemporary Scottish painter also expressed
a similar view nor will German music much
delight those who have been long accustomed
to more simple melody That Mozarts Op-
eras received lukewarm reception in Vienna
is also recorded in a conversation between
Joseph II and Diggersdorf where the former
said Nor did Mozats music make much of
a sensation among our public. It is for the
connoisseur who knows how to unravel its
refinements rather tan for the dilettante who
lets himself be guided by his natural feeling
We have looked at the broader
structure of the Opera and related it to
its context, I will now give a close analy-
sis of Act II Scene IX the second scene in
the finale. Which, is attached as appendix 1.
Preluding Scene IX, the Count be-
lieves that the Countess is hiding a lover in
her dressing room, In truth Cherubino was
hidden there, but not as a lover, he was dress-
ing up in girls cloths so as to pretend to be
Susanna as part of Figaros plot against the
Count. Cherubino hearing the Count, jumps
out the window in fright. The Countess ad-
mits that Cherubino is there and why. Scene
IX opens with the Count finding Susanna and
Susanna only in the dressing room. Confus-
ing both the the Count and the Countess.
To create a populist opera Mozart
uses primarily popular musical conventions
of the time. Tonic-Dominant relationships
are integral to harmony in the late eighteenth
century. Tension is created in music by mov-
ing clockwise around the circle of fifths while
relaxation of tension is created by moving
anticlockwise. The overall Key changes in
the finale follows a general increase in ten-
sion followed by a relaxation of tension.
Overall harmonic structure of Act II finale:
Key: Eb Bb Bb G C F Bb Eb she is cleverer then her superiors. This is re-
This is typical of
a piece of that
time and also re-
flects sonata form.
The finale of act II
also fits the typi-
cal form for opera
buffa, ending with a
fast tutti. Mozart himself also comments on
this necessity in a letter to his father It must
wind up with a great deal of noise, which
is always appropriate at the end of an act
Mozart was aware of the Dra-
matic effects of modulations. One exam-
ple of this is given in a letter to his father.
But since passions whether violent
or not, must never be expressed to the point
of exciting disgust, and as music, even in the
most terrible situations must never offend the
ear, but must please the listener... so I have not
chosen a key remote from F(in which the aria
is written). But one related to it but not the
nearest, D minor, but the more remote A minor.
Mozart uses these kinds of modula-
tions within the opera for example. Scene IX
begins at the key change, from Eb to Bb major of
the first piece in the finale, just after the Count
opens the door to find Susanna in the closet. It
opens with Susanna singing. There is also a tem-
po change here to molto andante from allegro.
The overall key within Scene IX is
Bb major. The molto andante is entirely in
Bb major without any modulations. No ac-
cidentals are present at all. The harmonic
structure is quite simple. Consisting of al-
most entirely tonic and dominant chords.
Bb is however, a move clockwise around the
circle of fifths from Eb, which an increase
in tension. From the previous scene, This
is a reflection of the appearance of Susanna.
There is a change in tempo to Allegro
at bar 268. this corresponds to the point when
the Count goes into the closet to ensure that
no one else was there apart from Susanna. It
is a moment of increased agitation betrayed
by the Countess. At this point there is also
some chromaticism, with the introduction of
a B natural in the violin part. This as well as
the tempo change creates tension in the piece.
The allegro goes through a num-
ber of key centre changes (shown right).
Harmonically. this is a roughly
symmetrical pattern, which is similar to
modulations within sonata form. There are
some sections however where Mozart does
travel through many keys in a short space
of time. One example of this is the last sec-
tion, though primarily in Bb still has a large
section, bars 312-324, where he modulates
extensively using secondary dominants.
Throughout this scene there is no
blatant denouncing of upper class in the play,
and as mentioned above this, could be a rea-
son for the plays tepid reception in Vienna,
Susanna does however, manage to avoid the
exposure of Cheruino, thus revealing that
evidence to support this. This relevant to cur-
flected in the melodic lines of the characters.
Susannas voice and melodic line is higher
then the Countesss. During this time period
a lot of music was homophonic, one melody
with an accompaniment this immediately
elevates Susannas character, as being supe-
rior to the rest. During the molto andante.
Throughout the opera, musically
there is little difference Susannas and the
Countesss melodic line. This is expmplefied in
Act II scene IX where Susannas melodic line is
actually more complex, and hence more inter-
esting and has relatively more larger interval
jumps in it compared to the Count and Coun-
tess, who move mostly in steps or with repeated
notes. And whose part has mostly an accom-
panying function. Susannas line is still very
simple and beautiful. This may suggest that
her character is superior to that of the Count,
and Countess, and, since she is of a lower class
to the Countess it implies that the lower class
is superior. Thus making a social comment.
Another instance where music is
used to emphasise the superiority of the
lower class is during the final passage of the
Allegro, bar 307, where the three characters
sing the same text, Susannas melodic line
however has a slightly different rhythm to
that of the Count and Countess, this aligns
the characters in their class as well as per-
haps asserting Susannas superior character.
Another way in which The Marriage
of Figaro differed from other more famous
operas is that it contains a smaller percent
of aria content then other more popular op-
eras of the time. It contained about 50% areas
9
whereas the more popular Una cosa rara com-
posed by Vincente martin y Soler contained
about 63% The requirement of an aria is that
it is static, the composer is obliged to describe
one sentiment, or state of mind. This puts con-
straints on the dramatic movement of the op-
era. Mozart avoided these reflective, static ari-
as so he could keep momentum in his opera.
In composing The Marriage of Fia-
gro Mozart was not interested in making
any radical comment against the aristoc-
racy, he was, however, still aware of political
and social issues of the time. Above is some
rent musicology issues as there is some de-
bate as to whether or not Mozart was indeed
aware and indeed scholars use The mar-
riage of Figaro as proof for, or against this.
From this analysis it is evident that
the opera The Marriage of Figaro was written
with the intention of being a populist opera.
Mozart chose the subject content and form
of the piece with the intentions of creating an
opera that would sell. He wrote primarily us-
ing the musical conventions of the time, and
where they differed it was with attention to
creating an opera which would be popular.
Despite this, the opera was not a huge suc-
cess in Vienna. Two main factors influenced
this. As the sequel to The Barber of Seville it
was greatly anticipated and its less radical
political comment compared to the original
play meant that it did not live up to the ex-
pectations of the audience. The audiences of
Vienna favoured the simple style of Italian
composers over what was considered the more
complicated on of Germans. The Marriage of
Figaro was considered too complex, melodi-
cally and harmonically for the general audi-
ence to enjoy. From this we can see that de-
spite careful planing, the popularity of a work
still relies on the natural taste of the audience.
Bibliography:
Anderson, E. (1966) The Letters of Mozart and His Family,
Vol II, St Martin Press, New York
Brown, J.(1789) Letters upon the opetry and Music of Italian
Opera, Edinburgh, p. 16
Carlton R. A. Changes in Status and Role-Play: The Musi-
cian at the End of the Eighteenth Century, International
Review of the Aethetics and Sociology of Music, Vol. 37, No.
1 (June 2006) pp. 3-16
Deutsh, O.E.,(1966), Mozart, A Documentary Biography,
trans. E. Blom, P. Branscombe, and J Noble, London, p 340
Joseph II. Encyclopdia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopdia
Britannica Online. 02 Jun. 2010 <http://www.britannica.
com/EBchecked/topic/306348/Joseph-II>.
Goldovsky. B (1991), The Adult Mozart: A Personal Per-
spective, D. Armstrong, C., Inc, Houston, Texas
Heartz D. Mozart and Da Ponte, The Musical Quarterly,
Vol. 79, No. 4 (Winter 1995), pp. 700-718
Heartz. D, (1990), Mozarts Operas, University of California
Press, Oxford, England, p.137
Levarie, S. (1977), Mozarts Le Nozze di Figaro, Da Capo
Press, New York, p. 107
Mac Arthur, E. J. Embodying the Public Sphere: Censor-
ship and the reading Subject in Beaumarchaiss Mariage de
Figaro Representations, No. 61, (Winter, 1998), pp. 57
Mozart W.A, Da Ponte. L., (1983), Le Nozze di Figaro,
[mini score], Ernst Eulenburg Ltd, London.
Nosk. Frits, Social Tensions in Le Nozze di Figaro, Music
& Letters, Vol. 55, No. 1, (Jan., 1969), p 45
Platoff, J. Tonal Organisation in Buffo Finales and the Act
II Finale of Le nozze di Figaro, Music & Letters, Vol. 72,
No.3 (Aug., 1991) p. 387-403
Steptoe. A, (1990), The Mozart-Da Ponte operas, Oxford
University Press, Oxford, pp. 171-172
10

Events Sunday 1st August

John Gould Trio
Wesley Music Centre 3pm
John Gould (violin), Rita Woolhouse
(cello) and Anne Stevens (piano) per-
form contemporary works for flute and
guitar.
$35/$30/$20
http://www.ticketek.com.au/
ph: 132 849

Guide
Do you have a concert or other
event coming up?
Let us know so we can add it to the
online calender and events guide
form piano trios by Beethoven, Men-
delssohn and Brahms Tuesday 10th August
$25/$15/$12 tickets at door Romeo and Juliet
ph: 6260 8911 Canberra Theatre Centre 7:30pm
The New Zealand Ballet joins with the
Wendy Quinlan Canberra Symphony Orchestra with
RR3 3pm Christopher Hampsons choreography
ANU School of Music Alumnus Wendy and Sergei Prokofievs music.
Quinlan is joined by the Fabulous Flutes $35-$79
of the ANU ph: 6275 2700
$25/$20 tickets at door
ph: 6125 5700 Wednesday 11th August
Wednesday Lunchtime Live
Tuesday 3th August Wesley Music Centre 12:40pm
The World According to James To be advised
The Gods Cafe 8pm $2 tickets at door
Comprising trombonist and composer ph: 6232 7248
James Greening, alto saxophonist An-
drew Robson, bassist Steve Elphick and String Soiree
drummer Toby Hall. RR3 6pm
$18/$12 bookings recommended Featuring staff and students of the
ph: 6248 5538 ANU School of Music String Area.
$5 tickets at door
Wednesday 4th August ph: 6125 5700
Wednesday Lunchtime Live
Wesley Music Centre 12:40pm Romeo and Juliet
Featuring School of Music Graduate, Canberra Theatre Centre 7:30pm
pianist Adam Cook performing Shosta- See details Tuesday 10th August
kovich and Scriabin.
$2 tickets at door Thursday 12th August
ph: 6232 7248 Romeo and Juliet
Canberra Theatre Centre 7:30pm
Thursday 5th August See details Tuesday 10th August
Ricardo Gallen
Llewellyn Hall 7:30pm Friday 13th August
With Spanish Guitarist Ricardo Gallen. The Dream
$35/$30/$20 Playhouse 7:30pm
http://www.ticketek.com.au/ Crossover string orchestra deepblue
ph: 132 849 combine film, classics, rock and elec-
tronics.
Saturday 7th August $38/$32/$26/$20
Musica da Camera ph: 6275 2700
Holy Covenant Church 2:30pm
Music of Tchaikovsky, Barber, Handel Romeo and Juliet
and Roseingrave. Canberra Theatre Centre 7:30pm
$20/$15 tickets at door See details Tuesday 10th August
ph: 6251 1568 or 0419 255 002
Saturday 14th August
Sunday 8th August Romeo and Juliet
Forrest National Chamber Orchestra Canberra Theatre Centre 1:30pm and
Wesley Music Centre 3pm 7:30pm
Fund-raising for WMF String Scholar- See details Tuesday 10th August
ships. Includes Sibelius, Saint-Sans,
Suk, and Mozart with soloists Rebecca Sunday 15th August
Smith and Jeremy Tatchell The Complete Bach Keyboard
$15/$10 tickets at door Llewellyn Hall 1pm
ph: 6295 1553 or 6232 7248 As Arnan Wiesels Bach series comes to
its conclusion, he introduces the clavi-
SOM Premier Series Concert 3 chord for the first time with the piano.
Llewellyn Hall 3pm $30/$25 limited seating
Virginia Taylor and Timothy Kain per- ph: 6125 5700

Sarah Kim
Wesley Church 3pm
Outstanding young Australian organ-
ist Sarah Kim performs Bach, Brahms,
Saint-Sans and Widor.
$30/$25/$15/$5 tickets at door
ph: 6232 7248
Wednesday 18th August
Wednesday Lunchtime Live
Wesley Music Centre 12:40pm
Featuring the Brew Guitar Duo (Bradley
Kunda and Matthew Withers).
$2 tickets at door
ph: 6232 7248
Thursday 19th August
The Will to Freedom
Street Two 8pm
A music-driven monodrama about
women, fundamentalism and freedom.
Written and performed by Maike Brill
with original music composed and per-
formed by Anthony Smith.
$25/$22
ph: 6247 1223
Friday 20th August
Canberra Classical Guitar Society
Wesley Music Centre 7:30pm
With prominent young Australian gui-
tarists Aleksandr Tsiboulski and Jacob
Cordover.
$20/$15 tickets at door
ph: 0403 640 669
The Will to Freedom
Street Two 6pm and 8pm
See details Thursday 19th August.
Angela Little Celtic Fire
Street One 8pm
New musical show which combines the
ethereal voice of Angela Little (from Baz
Luhmanns Australia) with the excite-
ment of Irish dancing, tribal rhythms,
cinematic sounds, and visual projec-
tions.
$25/$20
ph: 6247 1223
Saturday 21st August
The Will to Freedom
Street Two 6pm and 8pm
See details Thursday 19th August.
Ensemble Offspring
Street One 8pm
Conducted by Roland Peelman, the en-
semble performs new works by Tristan
Murail, Kaija Saariaho, Giacinto Scelsi,
Claude Viver and Australian James Cud-
deford
$25/$20/$15
ph: 6247 1223
Sunday 22nd August
Celebrating Arthur Benjamin
Wesley Music Centre 2pm
Pianists Wendy Hiscocks and Roy
Howart play Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky,
Lambert, Mayerl and Benjamin. Includes
pre-concert talk by Hiscocks.
$25/$20/$10/$5
ph: 6232 7248
Percussion Concert
Band Room 3pm
Featuring staff and students of the ANU
School of Music Percussion Area.
$TBA
ph: 6275 2700
The Will to Freedom
Street Two 8pm
See details Thursday 19th August.
Wednesday 25th August
Canberra Symphony Orchestra
Llewellyn Series 10:3
Llewellyn Hall 7:30pm
Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 & Op.22
Brahms Symphony No. 2
ph. 6262 6772
www.cso.org.au
David Hatch
Wesley Music Centre 12:40pm
Performing the Brahms Clarinet Quin-
tet.
$2 tickets at door
ph: 6232 7248
Thursday 26th August
Dido and Aeneas & Bastien und Basti-
enne
St Philips OConnor 7:30pm http://music.anu.edu.au/
CAMRA presents Henry Purcells
Masterpiece along with one of Mozarts
earliest operas
$25/$20
http://www.camra.asn.au/
Canberra Symphony Orchestra
See details Wednesday 25th August.
Friday 27th August
Dido and Aeneas
Street One 8pm
The School of Music presents Purcells
only operatic masterpiece in a new edi-
tion by Geoffrey Lancaster.
$30/$20
ph: 6247 1223
Saturday 28th August
Dido and Aeneas
Street One 8pm
See entry Friday 27th August for details
The Big Band Sound
Canberra Theatre 7:30pm
In a Fund-raising event for Legacy,
11
the band of the Royal Military College
presents works for concert band and big
bands in a two and a half hour spectacu-
lar.
$50/$40
ph: 6275 2700
Dido and Aeneas & Bastien und Basti-
enne
St Philips OConnor 7:30pm
See details Thursday 27th August
Sunday 29th August
From Hilarious to Haunting
Wesley Music Centre 3pm
Soprano Sally Wilson and pianist Mark
Kruger perform a selection of English
songs by Delius, Haydn, Elgar, Britten,
Bolcom and others.
$25/$20/$10/$5 tickets at door
http://www.artsongcanberra.org/
ph: 6295 9613
Dido and Aeneas
Street One 4pm
See entry Friday 27th August for details
Tuesday 31st August
Nguy L-Tuyn
Llewellyn Hall 10am
A Lecture Recital of new Australian
Guitar music with Vietnamese Cultural
Influences.
Free admission
ph: 6215 5700
Venue Information
Llewellyn Hall, RR3, Band Room
ANU School of Music
William Herbert Place (off Childers Street)
Acton
ph: 6125 5700
Street Theatre (Street One and Street Two)
Corner Childers Street and University Av-
enue Canberra City
http://www.thestreet.org.au/
ph: 6247 1519
Wesley Music Centre and Church
National Circuit Forrest
http://www.wesleycanberra.org.au/
ph: 6295 3680
St Philips Church OConnor
Corner Macpherson and Moorhouse Streets
OConnor
http://www.stphilipsoconnor.org.au/
Canberra Theatre and Playhouse
Civic Square, London Circuit Canberra City
http://www.canberratheatrecentre.com.au/
ph: 6275 2700
For more upcoming events, see
http://music.anu.edu.au/events
12
 13

30 July
Rex Hotel
Canberra
ANU SCHOOL OF MUSIC PRESENTS

NGUY L-TUYN
A NEw VOICE: Australian guitar music
with Vietnamese cultural influences
A lecture-recital of new Australian guitar compositions inspired
from the Vietnamese music culture. Traditional folksongs,
melodic and rhythmic idioms from various regions of Vietnam
are brought to life in harmony with art music of the
twenty-first century.

TUESDAY 31 AUGUST 2010, 10.00AM

VENUE //Llewellyn Hall, School of Music
COST //Free Entry
MORE INFO // www.music.anu.edu.au/events