sphere of influence

When first entering the gallery space at the NSW Art Gallery to see Jon Rose’s latest installation, I initially felt intimidated. A giant 3-metre ball lay dormant in the middle of a silent room. I knew that the audience was supposed to ‘play ball’ – the large object embodied interactive technology so that any movement of it triggered sound and imagery. But what was the etiquette? And how was I supposed to figure out the rules?

I think part of my intimidation was a result of the creators – Jon Rose and Robin Fox – standing off to the side as observers of our actions. A strange role reversal: the audience – manipulator of sounds; the creators – the silent voyeurs…

It wasn’t long before initial hesitations vanished, and my friends and I became absorbed in throwing, sliding, spinning, bouncing and touching the giant ball – testing its strength, exploring different movements, figuring out how the sounds were being manipulated, wondering about its breaking point…

The room was transformed into a surreal kid’s playground with cries of ‘Over here, over here – throw it to me!’

Yet as the ball moved back and forth across the room, intricate layers of agonising sounds and images swirled around us. Screeching, whimpering, heavy breathing, and moaning entwined with other vocal samples of harmonised latin text, ritualistic bass drum beats and violin/electronic samples that scraped, squealed and trembled. Images of performance artist Aku Kadogo were projected onto the walls of the gallery, her bloodied, abused naked body huddled shrunken into what looked like a human ball. Ball, sound and womyn suffering as one - a juxtaposition that was shocking and raw. And to drive the point even further, projected text completed the installation: 'Destroy', 'Wrath', 'What nourishes me, destroys me'.

For me, bringing the ball to a point of stasis was powerful. This action brought the entire room to the edge of silence. Blank screens. Empty speakers. Calmness. Peace. A sense of control… And when the sounds and imagery grew from this silence, not only was I much more focussed on their nuances – the layers of sound, the juxtaposition of image and sound – but I was brought back to an awareness that I was actually creating the sounds/imagery by moving the ball… the violence and brutality of the sounds/images penetrating the room was a direct result of my action. I was responsible…

Jon Rose’s message was blatant: we are responsible for our actions – the earth is in our hands; its survival depends on us. And, as one of the projected texts exclaimed: ‘There is no free lunch’. The simplicity of such a message enhanced the installation; combined with such sophisticated technology it made for a powerful piece of art.

A performance – where two dancers dressed in black manipulated the ball – followed the installation. The audience crowded around the edge of the room while the dancers ran, tumbled, and danced with the ball – pushing, heaving, bouncing, throwing, hurling, caressing, punching, sliding, balancing, spinning… And as before, manipulation of the ball triggered grotesque, aggressive, and in-your-face sound/images.

Even back in the role of passive observer, the emotional intensity was unrelenting. In some ways, I found this experience more shocking than the installation because my senses weren’t distracted by the physicality of moving the ball: this time, there was no escaping the violence of the sounds and imagery. Even Hollis Taylor’s haunting violin melody, performed live from a corner of the gallery space towards the end of the performance, served only to intensify the atmosphere: for me, the melody symbolised a yearning plea from mother earth (presumably who Kadogo represented?) to begin taking more responsibility...

But of course, the ball speaks other stories as well...

now now festival in the mountains

The 2008 NOW now festival of Spontaneous Music - much to my pleasure and convenience - will be up in the blue mountains at the Wentworth School of Arts next year. The festival launch is on tonight at the Abercrombie in the City...

It's a 3 day festival of music making, instrument building, workshops, installations, sound walks, and outdoor events and will be held from 18-20 January.

Some of the artists include: Phil Samartzis (VIC), Marcia Jane (VIC), Paul Winstanley (NZ), Amanda Stewart, Greg Kingston (TAS), Caroyln Connors (VIC), Rosalind Hall (VIC), Taste of Teeth (QLD), Son of the Seventh Sister, Passenger of Shit, Joyce Hinterding, Ross Bolleter (WA), Jon Rose, Clare Cooper, Thomas Meadowcroft, Dan Whiting, Rory Brown, Matt Earle, Adam Sussman, Rivka Schembri, Louise Dibben, Xavier Charles (France), Emmanuel Pellegrini (France), Brendan Walls, Splinter Orchestra, Mathieu Werchowski (France), Jim Denley, Natasha Anderson, Ben Byrne, Dale Gorfinkel, Sam Dobson, Alex Masso, Monika Brooks, Simon Ferenci, Yusuke Akai (QLD), Daiji Igarashi (QLD), Nik Mayer-Miller (QLD), Sam Mitchell (QLD), JoJo Dogshit (QLD)...

For more detail see here: www.thenownow.net

tchaikovsky piano trio op.50 no.2

I came across this iPod MEME at Marc Geelhoed's Deceptively Simple. Given that I share my iTunes with my flatmate (and we don't always have the same taste in music) and that I have some absolute shockers stored in my files, this should be hilarious...

The rules:

1. Put your iTunes/ music player on Shuffle
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER WHAT

1. If someone says ‘Is this OK?’ you say?
'Melinda the Mousie' Ella Fitzgerald

[yep, it's OK for sure. Love is always bound to go wrong...]

2. What would best describe your personality?
'Oll Birtan' Bjork from Medulla

[distinct, expressive, unusual, creative, sweet, fun, playful, goddess... :-)]

3. What do you like in a girl/boy?
'(return of) the electric horseman' Powderfinger, from Double Allergic

[In your climb to be unique / Why don't you see you have all turned out the same - yeah I'm not bitter about love at the moment, really I'm not...]

4. How do you feel today?
'Raised on Robbery' by Joni Mitchell from Court and Spark

[I'm rough but I'm pleasin']

5. What is your life’s purpose?
JS Bach Cello Suite # 1 in G, BMW 1007 - Prelude (Pablo Casals)

[to be grounding, influential, calming, inspiring, and beautiful? I can live with that!]

6. What is your motto?
Turn Out the Stars by Bill Evans

[hhmm...]

7. What do your friends think of you?

'Road Movie to Berlin' by They Might be Giants from Flood

[I'm leading them astray?]

8. What do you think of your parents?
Buenos Aires Hora Cero Astor Piazzola

[I think they should dance more...]

9. What do you think about very often?
Beethoven's Piano Sonata No.30 Third Movement (Maurizio Pollini)

[god I can't think of anything worse...]

10. What does 2+2=
'Nothing but Sunshine' by Atmosphere from Lucy Ford

[what more can I say?]

11. What do you think of your best friend?
'The Woman with the Tattoo' by Atmosphere from Lucy Ford

[Ha. She doesn't even have a tattoo, but she is an artist and she's pretty damned special...]

12. What do you think of the person you like?
'Outside the Wall' Pink Floyd The Wall

[After all its not easy,
Banging your heart against some mad buggers wall - Yup, It's true!]

13. What is your life story?

'Spaghetti Eastern' by Uncle Ho from Circus Maximus

[hmm...low budget, minimalist, eschewing convention, violent and all with an ironic twist...yup!]

14. What do you want to be when you grow up?
Partita No. 3 E Major BMV1006 Gigue by JS Bach

[didn't we already mention this? ...grounding, influential, calming, inspiring, and beautiful ;-)]

15. What do you think when you see the person you like?
'Heartattack and Vine' by Tom Waits from Heartattack and Vine

[If you want a taste of madness, you'll have to wait in line - oh, dear...]

16. What do your parents think of you?
Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 32 First Movement (Maurizio Pollini)

[angry, loud, expressive, unconventional and a bit of a nutter? yeah, something like that...]

17. What will you dance to at your wedding?
'Mumuki' by Astor Piazzola from Tango: Zero Hour

[I'm gonna get married?]

18. What will they play at your funeral?
'Wake Up' The Arcade Fire from Funeral

[Ha! I should bloody hope so!]

19. What is your hobby/interest?
'Good Timing' by Rastawookie EP Album

[Yes, my main interest in life is living to the beat of a metronome. Good timing is everything! Eek!]

20. What is your biggest secret?
'Heat Miser' by Massive Attack from Protection

[It's true. I'm the source of global warming. I'm a heatin' it up]

21. What do you think of your friends?
JS Bach's Partita No.2 D minor BMV1004 Sarabanda

[Bach again? Yikes... oh well, um...grounding, influential, calming, inspiring, and beautiful...]

22. What should you post this as?
Tchaikovsky: Piano Trio op.50 no.2

[ew... what's that doing there? I dont even like Tchaikovsky...]

political death of howard

So, he's gone... hoorah! I could prattle for hours about the lies and deceit of the Howard years, but instead I'll point you in the direction of the Museum of Fire who sums it all up quite nicely.

Other bloggers have posted about Howard's political funeral held a few days after the election.
Members of the Aboriginal Community in Adelaide held a smoking ceremony to 'symbolise the burying of the Howard era'.

In the last few weeks 'Howard's stump' (which sits across the road from my house) has been replaced by a fragile sapling. With Howard's ousting, I guess it's thought that his Oak Tree in the Corridor of Oaks will now be allowed to grow in peace... Oak Trees for the prime ministers of Australia I hear you ask? Well it's typical really. Cultural cringe at its best. Not only is the oak tree a symbol of strength and endurance, it's also the national tree of England (and a few other nation Euopean nations)...

Already, a new plot has been prepared for Rudd's tree. Someone has added an 's' to the sign next to it, so it now aptly reads: "Rudd's (s)election"... Yes, that's right Rudd: a lot of people voted for you simply because you weren't Howard... a fresh government might be just what this country needs, but there's a lot of work to do...

a new dimension to dumpster diving

This adds a whole new dimension to food activism and dumpster diving... I can't believe it's never occurred to me to do things other than eat the piles of wasted food we find...

anti-human and bestial policies?

With only one and a half weeks until Australians hit the voting booths, election fever is rampant. My letterbox is struggling with the copious amounts of party propaganda being stuffed into it daily... It seems ironic that, as I type this entry, I'm looking (from my bedroom window) across at the famous Corridor of Oaks, where a new oak tree has been planted over the course of history for each Australian Prime Minister. Will a new one be planted in the coming weeks? Or will "Howard's stump" (his tree was chopped down long ago by locals) continue to serve as the symbol for Australia's current leadership?

In the midst of arguing politics with friends, writing letters to local members and organising/participating in rallies on climate change and human rights, I stumbled across an arts policy that made me realise I had it all wrong!

Who needs to worry about 'aspirational' goals on climate change and the violation of basic human rights for Australians in the NT and refugees, when we can turn to classical music to "generate a culture of beauty, allowing us to understand the true nature of mankind"?

The Citizens Electoral Council of Australia promote "classical music, visual arts and great classical theatrical productions to counter the anti-human, bestial policies represented by the rock-drug-sex counterculture, which took off in the 1960s." The policy is all too brief, but it seems that they actually mean 'Classical' in the true sense of the word and their opinions on "hideous modernist and postmodernist 'art'" is quite clear. Hmm, it doesn't seem to fare well for contemporary composers either! Though whether their music is also "anti-human and bestial" remains unclear...

All hail Classical music!

loud, soft and with feeling

I interviewed percussionist Claire Edwardes a while back for an article published in RealTime magazine's Issue 81. You can read it here.

dramatic counterpoints to a relentless drone

A piercing relentless drone of cicadas is the current background music to my life. Unless the air pressure drops significantly, there is no stopping them. Summer is here! It's really quite an overwhelming sound - each creature producing a slightly different frequency than its friend. The dissonant pitches throb against each other like the loud shrill echo that remains in your ear after a loud rock concert - only worse (or perhaps the throbbing is actually from attending too many rock gigs!?). I can't decide whether I like it or hate it - it brings back pleasant memories of summer holidays spent camping in the bush, but it isn't very conducive for getting work done!

While the cicadas - who apparently have a seven year breeding cycle, hence why they're so much louder this year - have been emerging to announce summer, the rest of my life's activities have served (some much more than others) as a dramatic counterpoint to their incessant repetition...

For various reasons I've been doing more thinking lately than writing (especially thinking about writing!), but so much has been happening in the last month that I feel the urge to summarise so that my poor feeble brain doesn't forget... So, at a quick glance, here are a few of the random happenings of late:

* Chatting on Radio: Along with oz composer Damien Barbeler, I was invited to speak on New Music Up Late about the Australian works that have been chosen for the Paris Rostrum of Composers over the last 25 years. Aside from being ultra nervous (I've never spoken on air before), I had heaps of fun. It was a very relaxed affair with Damien, Julian and I chatting freely about what we personally liked and disliked about each piece.

* With the weather in the Blue Mountains finally getting warmer, some friends organised a community forest doof in Faulconbridge. I spent the afternoon going creatively nuts, designing some funky installations to decorate the space. The night was amazing, with some great psytrance sets and awesome fire twirling acts. Photos will be up here soon.

* I've been to a bunch of gigs and concerts in the last few months. Some include: The Caged Uncaged festival, presented by The Song Company and Ensemble Offspring (you can read an a review of the concert here); This is Not Art festival (an amazing 5 days of 'stuff' - gigs, workshops, forums, debates, ginger beer, discussions, zine fair, poetry readings, etc. etc. etc.); Combat Wombat's 'Get rid of John Howard tour'; the delightful Peregrine and The Saturns at The Annandale, Cloud Control at the Red Room, Katoomba... the list goes on...


* 2007 APEC forum: Of course, the biggest highlight of the last two months was the APEC forum held for a weekend inside a massive 5 kilometre fence in the heart of Sydney. Sydney-siders not only had the pleasure of hosting APEC, they also had the pleasure of paying for it. And with the resulting 'aspirational goals' from participating governments, who can argue that it wasn't all worth the hundreds of million dollars spent out of tax-payers pockets? While thousands of protesters rocked up in Hyde park to demonstrate, some of the more musically inclined activists spent an afternoon exploring the 'sonic wonders' of the hideous construction, by performing on the fence.

* While tempted to stay at home on Wednesday 12 September and watch the cheeky antics of the Chaser’s War on APEC: I didn’t. Instead, I frocked up and headed to Sydney Theatre where the music industry was celebrating the 2007 Classical Music Awards. It was a fun night – exceptional performances, great food, wine and a chance to pay tribute to the excellence and dedication of our arts practitioners.

I was initially disappointed that Liza Lim’s Mother Tongue didn’t win the Best Composition by an Australian Composer award – it’s an amazing piece. Based on the poems of Patricia Sykes (commissioned by Lim herself), it explores the concept of language – its loss, acquisition and intimacy. I have to admit though, that it’s easy to see why Roger Smalley’s Birthday Tango won the award. While I don’t think it’s on the same scale as pieces such as his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, this work for string orchestra is delightful! And as you’d expect this work is no ordinary tango. He delicately pushes the boundaries of the tango form by subtly distorting the well-known tango rhythm and exploring rich dissonant harmonies, while maintaining a strong lyricism in the melodic lines. The orchestration is certainly well crafted and the unusual rhythm creates a compelling momentum, which I find really appealling. Roger performed at the awards, along with Topology, and Taikoz. You can read the list of winners here.

... so there you go: a few highlights of the spring just past... and if I manage to find a way to block out the cicadas, there's certainly lots to look forward to this summer - did I mentioned I have tickets to see Bjork? Yippee!

in reflection

It was suggested last week that my comments about Tognetti were inappropriate. On reflection, while I wasn't intentionally trying to personally attack Tognetti, I can see some of my words need clarification...

I tagged Jon Rose's article for two reasons: 1. I found the article interesting because it resonated strongly with my own value system; 2. I thought others might be interested in reading it. You could say it's a passing salute to Rose's values and political stance. So rather than an attack on Tognetti, it was supposed to be a reflection of my own views. I'm painfully aware that I could have expressed this more clearly. But I also think I should clarify the purpose of my blog.

A little hummingbird is a space where I can record my thoughts, feelings, experiences and ideas about music - my personal wanderings through the maze of the music world. It is here that I can take off my 'AMC' hat and speak freely about anything I'm passionate about. I might choose to publish reviews, rant and rave about things I'm interested in or simply point to articles or videos that surface in my rummaging through cyberspace. I choose to publish these words in a format that allows others to respond because I think dialogue is important - it helps us to shape our ideas and expand or consolidate our viewpoint.

And its purpose? You can read more about my reasons for blogging here. I also recently co-wrote an article about blogging here as well as another about online documentation. But essentially it all comes down to my passion for music, writing and the dialogue surrounding music.

a confused little kerri-anne

I just came across this hilarious excerpt from talkshow host kerri-anne's TV series. She is interviewing Australian composer Jon Rose about his electrified violin bows and is completely bewildered by his instrument and performance.

You can listen to Jon Rose here as guest announcer on Bowed Radio - an online radio station that highlights string players all over the world. In the background between works you can hear a recording of one of his fence performances (I think it is a fence in Bourke, NSW?). His website has an amazing amount of resources about all that is stringed... he's written a great article about the ridiculous amount of money spent on the Guarneri del Gesù violin which was given to Richard Tognetti earlier this year. Rose is right: "the concept of a $10,000,000 violin sounds out the smiling but ugly face of capitalism". How Tognetti manages to play that bloody instrument without guilt weighing heavily on his back, I'll never know! It makes my skin crawl...

this is not art

I've been trying to get up to Newcastle on the October long weekend for the last few years, but there always seemed to be an adventure to be had elsewhere. This year I'm actually going! Three festivals in one - inspiration, creativity, partying and general mischief - for five whole days! What more could a girl want! This is Not Art festival, Electrofringe and the National Young Writers Festival. See you all there!

new music and activism

I wrote a short rant for resonate magazine last week about new music and activism. You can read it here.

embarrassing story

So a slightly embarrassing story...

Having decided to stop work for a coffee break the other day, I wandered away from my computer into the kitchen. Before going I hit the play button to stream one of Julian Day's interviews on New Music Uplate. As I stood listening to my little espresso maker work its magic, my house began literally shaking with the vibrations of an incessant clatter. It sounded like a record player skipping over and over the same scratch on a record. Or as though a train was bombarding my living room. I'd left my computer plugged into my speakers and they were really really loud!

Assuming something was wrong with the streaming at Julian's end, I emailed him the next day and moaned that it wasn't working - the interview was freezing. He replied with a puzzled email: he'd just been listening to it himself. Weird. I sent him an email laughing about how embarrassing it would be if it turned out to actually be a piece of music... I tried again today. And guess what? It was! Eek... I'm never going to live this one down!

But I swear at the decibels that I heard the opening of this piece, even Anthony Pateras himself (it was one of his prepared piano works) wouldn't have recognised it! I am humbly ashamed...
but amused all the same.

Anyway, Pateras's stuff is fascinating - prepared piano and explorations into tempo and rhythm. He marks Ligeti as a huge influence. Check out the interview here. JD also talks to David Chisholm about his recent show: the beginning and end of the snow...

psycho-acoustic experiences

I'm certainly going to have to start travelling again soon...

http://www.newmusicbox.org/chatter/chatter.nmbx?id=5201

the problem of silence

...and speaking of Morton Feldman... I came across this interesting article yesterday about the colonization of silence....

clipped wings

This little hummingbird's wing are clipped this weekend - I'm house bound. As a result of a painful skiing stack last weekend, I currently have an oddly shaped left foot and a potentially torn ligament. Grrr! I have crutches, but the novelty wore off as soon as I crossed the living room floor! They're exhausting.

I'm determined to make the most of the weekend though! I'm currently surrounded by a pile of tattered and torn second hand books, an assortment of CDs, paints, a bunch of blank canvasses and masses of tasty fair trade coffee - yum! An indulgence in creativity! Who needs to be able to walk ? Ha - I scoff at you two-legged freaks wandering about, walking your dogs, bopping away at the pub, playing frisbee, and climbing mountains...

...anyway...

So what am I listening to? What's in my pile of random music? A mix of favourites and things I've been meaning to sit down and listen to in a while...

Duo Vertigo - Vertigo One
Milica ilic - Stir the Sky
Morton Feldman - Piano and String Quartet/ Aki Takahashi + Kronos Quartet
Liza Lim - The Heart's Ear
Bjork - Medulla
Bjork - Volta
Uncle Ho - Circus Maximus
Kid Confucius - Stripes
Håkon Thelin - A P)Reference To Other Things
Kappa - trio altraove 1.3
Philip Glass - The Essential Philip Glass
Ros Bandt - Stacks
Messiaen - Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Couraud)
Varese - Arcana/Ameriques/ionization (Boulez)

resonate - it's up!

Well it's been a long challenging journey, but resonate - the AMC's new web magazine is now launched! Hoorah! It's got the lot - interviews, features, group blog, journal, calendar, concert reviews...I'm really excited about working as editor - lots of ideas to explore...

You can check it out at: http://www.resonatemagazine.com.au

Don't forget to check out the inaugural issue of the resonate journal, which I co-edited with Rhiannon Cook...

a little ball of energy...

Yikes, again, this poor little hummingbird has been grossly neglected in the mad rush to get resonate up and running (new web magazine at AMC). It's been almost a month since I've posted - lame, lame lame! But the good news is: we launch next week! So hopefully the chaotic mess of my life will subside somewhat in the next few weeks and I will find the time to let this lil bird sing!

Despite the work overload, I've seen an enormously random mix of music gigs in the last month: the Liquid Architecture Festival (and all the 'offensiveness' that accompanied it!), Sydney Symphony (Mahler's 6th), Patricia Kopatchinskaja with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and just last weekend I even managed to get to a psytrance doof up past Newcastle...

I might record my thoughts about some of these gigs soon...

In the meantime, here is an interview I conducted with the little ball of energy that is Patricia Kopatchinskaja. She is currently touring with the ACO and this article was first published in 2MBS-FM 102.5 Fine Music magazine July 07.

Violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja will make her Australian debut this year, touring with the Australian Chamber Orchestra from 30 June to 11 July. Danielle Carey talks to Patricia about her role as a live performer in today’s world of music on demand.

Thriving on the spontaneity and risk, Moldovian-born Patricia Kopatchinskaja is building a reputation for preferring live performance to CD recordings. For Patricia, a live performance is an organic life form that a CD cannot replicate – a dynamic existence that is truly unique. There is the thrill of hearing the unexpected, the danger of living on the edge, the challenge of maintaining perfect control of your instrument, the excitement of interacting with an audience. During my email exchange with her, she uses the analogy of museum replicas to elaborate this point: ‘Take insects or other animals,’ she writes. ‘You can kill them, stick them on a needle or stuff them, and [then] put them in a museum. You then can pretend that this is “the honeybee” or “the lion”, but these preparations have nothing to do with real animals. [There is] no movement, no danger, no sex, no surprise, no life. [It’s] just the same with recordings, they are dead insects.’

I find this idea fascinating – it seems to defy the commercialisation that is currently engulfing the arts. For Patricia, music isn’t a static product to be consumed; it is a dynamic interaction between the performer and the listener. It also has a specific social function – entertaining an audience is not nearly enough: ‘the performer has to be a guide, unfolding meaning, imagination and [the] emotion of a piece.

Patricia’s performances in Australia will surely be no exception. A quick glance at her website – where, incidentally, you can download tracks of previous performances – will show you that she does not compromise her ideals, but approaches her work with unrelenting integrity.

The program itself includes some politically driven pieces, bearing a strong message of hope against war: ‘I am just a musician [without] much knowledge about politics’, she writes. ‘But as a human being [with] the duty to maintain values…of course, I am – as every reasonable person on this world is – against war and violence.’

Written as a response to the World War II invasion of Prague, Karl Hartmann’s renowned Concerto Funèbre is one of the works she will perform. While most artists either fled the country or (reluctantly) joined the Nazi party, Hartmann chose to remain under Hitler’s regime as one of the few passive resistants to the atrocities that occurred.

His concerto is, however, not entirely pessimistic: ‘The Concerto Funèbre was written as a reaction to evil times,’ Patricia explains. ‘It contains conflict and violence, but also hope and faith. It’s really about the limits of human existence, which makes it a gripping and compelling piece – most worthwhile to present and to listen to. Having [chosen] Hartmann [for the program] we found it fitting to pair it with the work of a victim of these times – Gideon Klein [who was a composer in the Terezin concentration camp]… Some of the greatest musicians refused to cooperate with Nazi rule. Besides Hartmann, [there was] Adolf Busch, Pablo Casals, Arthur Grumiaux, [all of whom] we should admire and follow.’

New music also plays an important role in Patricia’s work as a performer. It has had a ‘radical influence on my way of experiencing and dealing with music,’ she states on her website. ‘Contemporary music is the air I breathe. Composers are the musicians I feel most at ease with. I like to try out, discuss and play new pieces, preferably while the ink is still wet and no “experts” or rigid traditions impede freedom.’

When I asked her about this passion for the new she wrote about the difficulties with performing contemporary music: ‘Somebody told me once [that] to compose in our time is like [selling] umbrellas in the Sahara,’ she wrote. ‘The public of classical concerts has acquired a routine in listening – they don't like to be aroused by new sounds.’ Along with this general feeling towards contemporary music, she believes there is still an attitude of elitism amongst concertgoers:’ It’s like visiting a museum where you know exactly what you are going to see and admire.’ And if new music is viewed as a threat or a risk to the pleasures of a ‘nice concert’, programming new music then becomes problematic: concert producers find they need to comply with this conservatism out of sheer financial necessity.

Of course it should be noted that Patricia adores older music as well – indeed, she will perform both Rossini’s String Sonata no 3 in C and Vivaldi’s Violin Concerto in D, ‘Il grosso mogul’, during her Australian tour. But as a performer, Patricia sees the importance of maintaining a balance between giving audiences exactly what they want to hear and challenging them with new music and so allowing the art form to evolve meaningfully: ‘We interpreters have to decide if we want to play this game or if we believe that this narrow classical world should be a real art form which has the duty to reflect life from all sides – not only its past forms, but also its current development.’

Given her interest in new music, it’s no surprise that Patricia also composes. She says it is the ‘best way to understand and to appreciate [the] music of other composers’. Mostly though, it is instinctual: ‘Why does a bird sing? It does not know. Perhaps it’s innate? I just feel better if I do it… Even if you can eat in fantastic restaurants, one sometimes feels the natural wish to try to cook...You suddenly realise: it's not a miracle – it contains raw materials and ingredients, which you [can] possibly even buy in a supermarket and [then] try yourself to copy [like a recipe] and put some personal note on it!’

During her tour with the ACO, Patricia will give the Australian premiere of Per Australia – a work she wrote specifically for this orchestra. Having never visited Australia until now, she says this work is largely inspired by the ‘Australia of her dreams’. And how will this piece sound? It’s difficult to imagine – her list of influences is huge: The Second Viennese School (Schoenberg, Webern, Berg) has been a major influence, but so has music of the Renaissance, the ‘energy’ of the Baroque, pantomimes, theatre, and, of course, Eastern European folklore – the music of her childhood. It seems that the musical tastes and interests of this remarkable violinist are diverse in the extreme.

Working initially at the piano, Patricia allows her compositional process to evolve organically – first collecting ideas and then allowing the emerging work to diverge in many directions regardless of any original plans. While it is clear she loves this process, Patricia admits that it sometimes ‘lasts for months because my time is extremely limited [due to] playing about 100 concerts per year and having a small child at home.’

So what does Patricia hope to inspire in her listeners? ‘It’s impossible to put that in words,’ she says. ‘I seem to remember E.T.A. Hofmann, who said that music starts where the spoken word ends. However, I [do] hope to reach and touch them.’

an experiment in life at the piano

My interview with pianist Michael Kieran Harvey was published last month in RealTime magazine. We chatted mostly about his recent recording of Larry Sitsky's The Way of the Seeker and a bit about art, science and politics. You can read it here...

a stressed little hummingbird...

Yikes, I've been so busy at work that my poor little hummingbird has been left stranded and forgotten in a whirlwind of chaos... I wrote the last 2 posts a few weeks ago, but forgot to finish and upload. Thanks for reminding me Julian!

My life should reach some kind of normalcy in 2 weeks, which is when we'll hopefully launch the new magazine - yay! Until then, I'm afraid my little hummingbird will probably continue to be neglected...

a rockin' main course

After an entrée of American ensemble music, I headed down the road to the Basement to hear GangAwry – a local progressive rock band who were celebrating the CD launch of their latest album Politics.

Aside from a quick glance at their MySpace page the night before, I’d never heard of these guys before. My friend – being an avid fan – had organised a bunch of us to check them out. She certainly wasn’t the only fan. The basement was packed with friends, family and groupies who drank heartedly, singing along with the words of almost every song and cheekily heckling the band members.

My friend was probably the biggest heckler of them all: “your mother loves it”, she screamed at one point before glancing mischievously at one of the band member’s mother who was standing just a few metres away smiling proudly.

It’s rare to see such a level of intimacy at a rock gig (although the small, personal nature of the venue naturally played a role here), and it was interesting to catch a ‘behind-the-scenes’ glimpse of the support that these guys obviously have for their music making.

As a band, they were extremely tight and well-rehearsed – a very slick act with excellent stage presence. I did leave feeling a little uninspired though. Their formulaic riffs and harmonies left me yearning for something far more cutting edge and new...

a listener's dilemma

I love being able to peel away the layers of a piece of music, finding multiple meanings and new ways of listening. Most fascinating for me is discovering how the artist arrived at the final point. Where did she find that initial inspiration? What processes did she follow to get the results she wanted? What aspects of the music were important for her in its creation? What decisions did she make along the way? What meaning does it have for her?

Perhaps this is why I’m a huge fan of pre-concert talks. When I go to a performance, learning about the works is just as interesting as hearing the works performed… Besides, this way I can learn more about the works I'm hearing or possibly I’m just too lazy to do this research myself beforehand!

I got thinking about all this during a performance by the Modern Music Ensemble conducted by Carolyn Watson on 24 May. The program – an interesting mix of American contemporary music – included: Copland's Appalachian Spring, Harbison's Confinement and Druckman's Come Round.

Richard Toop gave the pre-concert talk and I was surprised to discover that while the concert hall was pretty healthily filled, only a handful of us attended Richard's talk. Why was this so? Were most people already familiar with these works? Did they not think they'd understand anything that was said? Or could they just not be bothered? Whatever the reason, they missed out! Richard's talks are always thoroughly enjoyable and insightful.

Aside from contextualising the works, one thing that Richard pointed out – for the latter works at least – was that while form was of particular importance for Harbison and Druckman during the compositional process, it isn't necessarily easily perceptible – the listener's perception is very different. He offered suggestions for possible threads throughout the pieces that might give us direction or points of reference on our first listening.

When chatting with friends after the concert about the role of program notes and pre-concert talks, the question arose about whether a work should be able to stand its ground without any supporting documentation. If a work needs a hefty program note alongside it so the audience can ‘get it’ is it actually successful? If it needs someone to rant about the work for half an hour before hand should the composer have even bothered? Interesting questions and not easily answered.

Putting any geeky obsessions aside, I think that notes or talks can be useful for giving listeners various points of reference during an otherwise potentially chaotic listening experience. I don’t think it is about telling the listener how they should be listening; it is more about assisting them to navigate through sounds they might hear. Emphasising that they are different ways of hearing, they might also give listeners confidence that what they are hearing is valid and empower them respond and react to what they are hearing – to give their opinions a voice...

cake celebrations?

I just read that yesterday was the 50th Anniversary of computer music in America. It's so hard to imagine a world without the technology that infiltrates, and bombards our lives (well, at least in the majority of developed countries!).

My curiousity for discovering more about the evolution of computer music led me to an article written by ABC Journalist Cathy Johnson who writes about Australia's first computer (CSIRAC). This computer - the fourth in the world - was used as a musical instrument back in the early 1950s and is believed to be the first digital computer to be "played" anywhere throughout the world...

A good summary of what was going on in electronic music during the 1950s around the world can be seen here.

random overtones

Until last night - when Antares Boyle and Janet McKay performed a collection of contemporary flute duos at the Sydney Conservatorium of music - I'd never heard a bass flute played live. Its deep growling tones left me yearning for more.

The work featuring the bass flute was Dominik Karski's Glimmer, where it and the alto flute interweave through a unique sound world of screeching, flutter tonguing, pitch bending, quarter tones and other extended techniques that exploit almost the entire range of both flutes.

This piece is quite typical of Karski's exploration with sound quality. His scores are dense with minute detail for how the performer should approach each note or rhythm, which by challenging the performers brings the actual physicality of the performance into focus. I don't think this is so much about the concept of the virtuoso (although this is certainly a factor) but more that aspects of playing that are generally hidden - breathing, hitting the keys etc. - are brought into focus and become an integral part of the sound world itself.

Perhaps this is why I found Yve Lavine's imagery projected behind the musicians (as amazing as it was) so distracting - I wanted to stay watching the performers but found my eyes kept switching uncomfortably between the two.

It was an interesting idea though and perhaps one way to make it more effective would be to better coordinate the images with the music. Rather than pre-programming the images, someone could flick between them in real time - at a much slower pace.

At the pub after the concert - where we drunk way too much beer and gobbled down cholesterol-dripping chips - we got chatting about what the images brought to the recital. Did they enhance the meaning? Did they project undue meaning onto the listeners ? Did they simply offer one interpretation of the music? Were they just pretty visuals that offered no meaning what-so-ever? Did they create multiple layers of meaning?

It turned out that the whole concept was actually an experiment for all three girls - none of them had done anything like this before. I'm really keen to see how their ideas evolve from this initial concept.

Distractions aside, I found the abstract images the most effective because they still allowed for my own interpretation of the music. When more recognizable images (such as baby's faces) were used I found it started to imply a particular interpretation on the music that I found at odds with my own listening.

Along with Karski's piece, Janet and Antares performed Toru Takemitsu's Masque, Joli Yuasa's Interpenetrations, Helen Fisher's Muriranga-Whenua, Hitomi Kaneko's Miyabi.

I'm not really familiar with Japanese music and I found most of these pieces fascinating. Like Glimmer, the other works on the program focussed on timbre, exploring interesting sound worlds with techniques such as pitch bending, and harmonics - the physicality of playing again seemed to be an integral and prominent feature of these works. New Zealand Helen Fischer evoked techniques from Maori culture - namely singing and pitch bending - and the piece itself was inspired by Maori legends about Grandmothers.

Janet and Antares are clearly passionate about new music - their vibrance, passion, and dedication was deeply inspiring. But it wasn't just their energy that inspired: their talent and execution of the program was brilliant. They showed a finesse in their music that is often lacking in other similar concerts (largely due to works being desperately under rehearsed, which isn't always our performers fault but one of the lacking support from government bodies! ).

I'm not sure when the duo are playing again - hopefully soon! I do know that Janet is playing with the Modern Music Ensemble on Tuesday 25 May at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Copland, Harbison and Druckman are on the program, and Richard Toop will be giving a pre-concert talk!

Why Blog?

Six months ago I began pondering the idea of a blog focusing specifically on Australian new music - it seemed like an interesting and fun project to embark upon. So after months of procrastination I've finally entered the blogging world.

And what an exciting world this is. Not only am I able to publish my writing immediately, but also people all over the world can read what I write. And even if no one actually cares, I can dwell in the satisfying illusion that I have a captive audience. Hmm...this could be addictive.

But ego aside, curiosity is actually what draws me to blogging - I want to learn more about music. The new music scene in Australia is growing rapidly and includes a diverse range of genres such as contemporary classical, experimental, electroacoustic, jazz, noise, sound art, sound installation and more. By discussing gigs, concerts, new works, CDs and books, I hope to explore different perspectives on these types of music as well as deepen my understanding about the aesthetics, philosophies and ideas associated with the art form.

Scribbling ideas into a tattered notebook - as I have done for many years - simply doesn't have the same effect. Writing in a public space forces me to be more critical of my own thinking (Yes, it comes back to the self-indulgent idea that someone might actually read what you are writing). But it does more than this: it also opens the possibility of dialogue. And discussion is a crucial aspect of an artistic community – it inspires, challenges and builds confidence, which in turn allows the art form to grow.

Last year I edited an issue of Sounds Australian devoted to examining some documentary processes surrounding new music in Australia. I argued that we - as an artistic community - need to be talking much more about our music. I guess this blog is finally a response to my own criticism of our community - I'm finally practicing what I was preaching!

While I am primarily driven by a passion for new music (and indeed writing itself), I am quite excited by the idea that others - who might share my interests - will be eager to engage with my writing by offering their views and opinions.

How often I post is yet to be seen. I do know, however, that I aim to use this blog as a place to explore different styles of writing: reviews, interviews, exploratory essays, features etc. So stay tuned!