The weird and the wonderful

lira organizzata by Wolfgang Weichselbaumer

This strange-looking instrument copy of an 18th century instrument is called a lira, or lira organizzata. The composer Haydn wrote five lira concertos. This recording of the first movement of Haydn's Lira Concerto in C will give you some idea of what it must have sounded like.

Thierry Nouat and Matthias Loibner playing liras

In this photo of a rehearsal of The Ensemble Baroque de Limoges in 2005, you can see the two lira players turning cranks with their right hands, while manipulating sets of keys with their left. Matthias  Loibner says the instrument is an organised hurdy-gurdy. Harry Edwall's article in The Musical Quarterly gives more detail about how the instruments worked.

I'm going to play a couple of movements at Bathurst's U3A Music Appreciation class tomorrow. I hope the class will enjoy the unusual sound.

U3A welcomes people over 50 who are no longer working full time. We meet at Mitchell Conservatorium on the first six Mondays of Term 4 each year at 11 AM for a one hour varied program.

If you would like to hear a full program of Early Music, please come along to the Baroque Ensemble concert on Saturday, 3rd November at 7.30 PM, where you'll hear

Andrew Baker - violin
Philip Braithwaite - flute
Tracey Callinan - harpsichord
and Sybbi Georgiou

playing some wonderful music from the time of Purcell, Bach and Handel. Please ring 6331 6622 during office hours, Monday to Friday for more information about this delightful musical feast.

Birthday boy beats Mozart

When we think of a child-genius, it is natural to think of Mozart. He was performing and composing at the age of five. But other composers also began very early. And some even surpassed his considerable feats.

Did you know that Chopin wrote pieces from the age of seven that were much more demanding to write and play than many of the pieces that Wolfie wrote, even in his maturity?

But the one who really impresses me is Camille Saint-Saëns, born on 9th October, 1835.

Consider this: at the age of two he could already read and write, and was picking out melodies on the piano. He began composing shortly after his third birthday, and by the age of five had given his first piano recital.

At seven he was reading Latin, studying botany and investigating butterflies (the last of which he continued to do for the next eighty years).

When he was ten he made his formal debut as a concert pianist, performing a Mozart piano concerto in B flat and Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto in C Minor. For an encore, he offered to play any of the thirty-two Beethoven piano sonatas from memory!