Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Armchair Concert


I was pleased to see the special promotion of Orange-born Tim Hansen's music on The Australian Music Centre's website today.

I admit I'm biased, because Tim has composed music for my son Daniel McKay to play, including an entertaining concerto for amplified classical guitar and orchestra and also a piece called Earwig, which Daniel recorded with violinist Zoë Black.

You can hear Daniel and Zoë's version of the piece in the next Armchair Concert program, on Monday, 2nd April between 1.30 and 3.30 PM on 2MCE FM, Bathurst's community radio station.

We will also be rebroadcasting part of a terrific concert which featured duo pianists Max and Haydn Reeder and flutist Prem Love. Prem teaches at Orange and Mitchell Conservatoriums. He plays flute superbly and we will later feature him in a wonderful concert where he plays with flutist, Phil Braithwaite and pianist, Cindy Fox.

Max Reeder was for many years Senior Music Lecturer at Charles Sturt University and also director of Mitchell Conservatorium. Max and brother Haydn will be heard playing piano duet works by Mozart, Debussy, Bizet and others.

We hope you will listen on 92.3, 94.7 FM, at 2MCE.org or by using the smartphone tunein radio app. There's plenty of ways to make sure you don't miss the program.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Love, Chemistry and Cryogenics


Another entertaining show devised by Mitchell Conservatorium's Michelle Griffin, showcasing her talents and those of Mitchell Young Voices is being thawed as we type this and will be ready for your consumption on Friday 23rd March, 2012 at 6 PM and Saturday, 24th March, 2012 at 7 PM at Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre.

The program also features Cameron Moor as Michelle's lab assistant and a band which comprises of Aaron Hopper (guitar), Andrew Smith (percussion) and Cindy Fox (piano).

To find out more about Michelle and this new show, you might enjoy reading Maryanne Jaques' interview in the Western Advocate's online feature site.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Simon Tedeschi performing this weekend in Lithgow, Bathurst and Forbes


Internationally renowned pianist Simon Tedeschi is quite often described by respected critics and musical peers as "one of the finest artists in the world" making the young pianist's mark on music both undeniable and admirable. Renowned especially for championing non standard repertoire, Tedeschi enjoys a full international performing career.

Playing with the Bathurst Chamber Orchestra at All Saints Cathedral on Saturday 17 March, Simon and the BCO will be conducted by The Reverend Michael Deasey “Michael was my music Master at St Andrews Cathedral School in Sydney where I studied and I jump at any opportunity that I have to be able to come to Bathurst and perform with him” says Simon.

Hosted by the Mitchell Conservatorium the concert series takes in Lithgow and Parkes on the Friday and the Sunday of the same weekend. Several young musicians from the Mitchell Conservatorium will also be joining the BCO ensemble onstage as their special guest as part of the Conservatorium’s Music in Schools program. All school age children are welcome to attend the concert FREE of charge. For more information go to our website or call 02 6331 6622.

Here is an extract from Ginastera's Piano Concerto No 1, which Simon performed with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, back in 1998.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Armchair Concert


It is all happening, commencing on Monday, 5th March at 1.30 PM and fortnightly thereafter.

In our first program, David McKay will be replaying our 2006 Living Sound concert, featuring Bathurst Chamber Orchestra and others, with music by Matthew Bieniek, Jamie Briton and Russell Gilmour.

And we also hope to tease you with music from our up-coming concert in Lithgow, Bathurst and Forbes, which will feature internationally popular pianist, Simon Tedeschi, playing Mozart's Piano Concerto No 19 in F Major with Bathurst Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Michael Deasey, OAM.

Don't forget you can listen on 92.3 or 94.7 fm, at 2MCE.org or by using the tunein app for your smartphone.

If you'd like to make a comment or request, you can send us an email at armchairconcert@gmail.com We look forward to hearing from our listeners.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

What day is your birthday?

Frédéric Chopin and his family always said that he was born on 1st March, 1810. However the church baptismal records state that he was born a week earlier, on 22nd February.

What day would you like your birthday to be? My name's David and I think I would quite like to have been born on 1st March too, as it is St David's Day, patron saint of Wales.

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? In fact, if you were to purchase a copy of Chopin's Earliest Pieces and compare it with a copy of Chopin's Easiest Pieces, you would find that there is not much overlap, because some of Chopin's earliest pieces are quite difficult to play and are written in quite complex, and accurate notation.

Chopin is also quite a different composer from Mozart in another way: while Mozart wrote in all musical genres of his day (as several of the great composers have done), Chopin wrote almost entirely for the piano. Even when he wrote for orchestra, it was for piano and orchestra.

There is a lot of wonderful music to enjoy from the twenty-seven or so years that Chopin was composing music. But the Scherzo in B Flat Minor is a particular favourite of mine, played here in a very resonant acoustic, by Konstantin Bogino.