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Articles on Classical music

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Artistic Director Richard Tognetti and members of the orchestra: the rock musicians whose work feature in this concert openly acknowledge the influence of the seemingly inaccessible avant-garde. Julian Kingma

Cross-over cocktail: Indies & Idols mixes rock stars with modern Polish composers

An Australian Chamber Orchestra concert features works by Jonny Greenwood, Sufjan Stevens and The Nationals’ Bryce Dessner, along with those of modern Polish composers.
Performers in Speechless, a new opera by composer Cat Hope, co-commissioned by the Perth Festival and Tura New Music. The opera is a response to the Australian Human Rights Commission’s 2014 report into children in immigration detention. Toni Wilkinson

In a notoriously sexist art form, Australian women composers are making their voices heard

Despite the exclusion of their creative work from mainstream opera companies, Australian women composers are creating spaces for themselves, writing work that tackles urgent social issues.
Composer William Barton in 2013. Indigenous composers have long been working in the field, but the contribution of Indigenous music and culture to Australian composition deserves greater recognition. David Crosling/AAP

It’s time to properly acknowledge - and celebrate - Indigenous composers

Australian composers have long referenced Indigenous music and culture in their works. A new platform paper suggests a more collaborative way forward.
The recorder was one of the most popular instruments during the Baroque period, and was more commonly made of wood.

Instrument of torture? In defence of the recorder

Many school music teachers aren’t trained recorder players. And cheap and badly made recorders are often sold in discount stores. But this an instrument with a fine musical pedigree.
Othello and Desdemona, Henri Jean-Baptiste Victoire Fradelle, circa 1827. Wikimedia

Decoding the music masterpieces: Rossini’s opera, Otello

“They have been crucifying Othello into an opera,” Lord Byron later wrote after watching Rossini’s opera. But the performance does much to highlight the play’s racial politics.
Beethoven monument on the Beethovenplatz square in Vienna, Austria. The monument was unveiled in 1880. Shutterstock

How Beethoven’s ‘mistake’ became one of our most famous tunes

The last movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony gave us ‘Ode to Joy’, one of the most famous tunes of all time. But the composer initially thought he’d made a grave mistake with it.

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