Jian Wang and pianist Bernadette Harvey will tour Australia for Musica Viva in July. They will be performing works by Bach, Brahms, Puts, Schnittke, and Carl Vine. For more information, and to book tickets, please visit; musicaviva.com.au/wang

JIAN WANG ON THE BEAUTY OF MUSIC

“Classical music is an attempt to capture the best part of humanity.” Jian Wang

In the first of three videos, Jian Wang, the world renowned cellist, wonderfully articulates the beauty of classical music. Jian’s a deep guy, and the words that roll out of his mouth are as smooth as the music that comes off his fingertips. These videos are really something special. 

Jian Wang and pianist Bernadette Harvey will tour Australia for Musica Viva in July. They will be performing works by Bach, Brahms, Puts, Schnittke, and Carl Vine. For more information, and to book tickets, please visit; musicaviva.com.au/wang

  

MUSICAL VANDALISM AND THE BEACH BOYS

Any musician would be pretty stoked to receive the following accolades from an eclectic bunch of musical icons from the 20^th century:

Leonard Bernstein: “One of the greatest composers of the 20^th century”

?uestlove: “A modern day Stravinsky” Paul McCartney: “Classic of the century”

Art Garfunkel: “Our Mozart of Rock n’ Roll”

Phillip Glass: “One of the defining moments of its time”

Tom Petty: “I don’t think you’d be out of line comparing him to Beethoven”

Who are they all talking about? They are talking about The Beach Boy’s Brian Wilson (although Wilson wasn’t stoked at all, and suffered severe depression throughout his life).

Shamefully, I only really ‘discovered’ Brian Wilson about 18 months ago. As a teenager in the late nineties, the alternative allure of John Cale and Lou Reed and the avant garde leanings of John Lennon were what defined the sixties: There was no room for The Beach Boys: Everything about them including their name seemed to have this sugary sweetness to it, and songs like Surfin USA sounded so trivial. I mean – there were a boy band, right? – they even shared the same initials as The Backstreet Boys, so why would I bother?

But then came along Big Love.

It is funny the way we discover music (a subject for another blog), love it or hate it, we can’t help but be influenced by the mass media that permeates our days. And my devotion to the HBO show Big Love, about a polygamist Mormon family in Utah, caused it’s theme song, the Beach Boys ‘God Only Knows’, to forever run in my head. Of course, I had heard the song before, and subconsciously always knew it was something special, but thanks to Big Love I was now fully aware.

So eventually I got my way around to purchasing The Beach Boy’s classic Pet Sounds – listened to the whole thing, and of course, like Bernstein, McCartney, and Glass, it changed my life. There are plenty of people who have written about why Pet Sounds is so great, and the genius of Brian Wilson (and besides that would take years to write). What I find fascinating is, as a child, why I thought The Beach Boys were so bad. As a teenager, why didn’t Brian Wilson attract my attention like Robert Smith did? He certainly had enough angst, and bands that I loved growing up, like The Strokes, were more-or-less Beach Boy rip offs (if you doubt me listen to Here Today). So what was it?

The answer? Musical Vandalism.

While pop culture was what led me to The Beach Boys, I also blame pop culture for causing me to ignore them for so long. If the court would allow me to present two pieces of evidence to the jury:

Article A:

Article B:

It seems trivial, but I honestly believe that such vandalism of great art is the reason why I just assumed, well, that it wasn’t great. How could I take this seriously when your knowledge of this work is limited to plasticine figures and chocolate bars. How a 30 second advertisement can destroy such great songs.

Everything has a lesson, so what has this taught me? As musical presenters, performers and composers, we have the responsibility to treat great art with great respect. Every time we program or perform piece, we are inventing it for a new audience – a crowd of new ears whose only knowledge of this music may be informed by how we present it and how we contextualise it.

All audiences have choices of what art they choose to see, what music they choose to listen to. And this is why Great Art should not be vandalised, the stakes are far too high. I’m just relieved that I got my second chance to appreciate The Beach Boys without the whitegoods graffiti!

- Michael Sollis

Michale Sollis is Musica Viva’s ACT Manager as well as a composer, researcher, artistic director and educator. For more information on Michael, visit his website, http://www.michaelsollis.com/

MUSIC TO INSPIRE: INSPIRED BY…

For me, music is inspiring. It is breathing, as the power of music to animate, enliven and exalt is as essential to life as oxygen. What I find difficult is transforming that inspiration, a quite abstract idea into a concrete thought. I’m sure I’m not the only one who struggles to put into words how amazing and transforming they found a particular performance, or even why they preferred one concert to another. It just is.

I wonder how our Musica Viva audiences  have been inspired by our concerts, programs  and Festivals? What has been created as a result of this inspiration? I would like to find out. But first, let me share with you how the preparations for the Tokyo String Quartet concert have inspired me.

In Canberra, the Musica Viva team is lucky to have our office in the Belconnen Arts Centre. Located next to Lake Gininderra, we are surrounded by sparkling water, leafy trees and a constant stream of people cycling and walking around the lake. Inside, we are treated to a smorgasbord of art; exhibitions and installations change regularly and yoga and dance classes fill the dance studio.

Anne McMahon works in the office next door to me.  Anne is an artist, a textile genius and weaver extraordinaire; she exudes creativity and is an endless stream of creative energy. Working for Arts for All, Anne and her colleagues work with community organisations to deliver projects with a focus on inclusivity.

Most recently, Anne has been preparing an installation as part of Terrain at Strathnairn, a local arts Association which has grown into a strong community of artists working in diverse mediums. 

TERRAIN is a multi-layered project of selected land art installations which invited community groups to interpret the environment around Strathnairn. Anne’s submission was to create a community of dolls, using found and natural materials, each unique in their construction.

Anne, my crafty friend Sophie and I embarked on creating a tribute to the great Tokyo String Quartet as an offering to this installation. What started as a pile of sticks, leaves, palm fronds and other ‘found’ materials slowly grew into our interpretation of the quartet members. Anne shared with us a range of techniques; lashing, twining, wrapping, weaving which once combined with our creativity and artistic ideas morphed into the Tokyo String Quartet.

Once they have finished hanging out at Strathnairn, the Tokyo String Quartet and their new friends will be joining us at the Canberra Concert, June 6 at Llewellyn Hall. Make sure you keep an eye out for the products of Inspired by . . , what I hope will be the first of many collaborations between the Canberra Musica Viva team and our talented local arts community.

We often ask musicians and composers about their sources of inspiration, and now we would like to ask you, our audience. We would love to hear how you have been inspired by Musica Viva and what you have created. Music, painting, sculpture, cakes or crocheted tea cosies, who knows when inspiration will strike and what form it will take!

 - Rachel Walker

TOKYO STRING QUARTET SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

The folk over at Musica Viva have done something really cool with Spotify’s playlist function. Instead of just creating a playlist featuring works from artists who are about to tour, in this case the Tokyo String Quartet, Musica Viva offer commentary on the works. It’s really cool, kind of like a podcast except it’s less annoying.

Here, Musica Viva’s Director of Artistic Planning, Katherine Kemp, talks about what we can expect from Tokyo String Quartet when they tour Australia in May/June for the final time.

For more infomation on the Tokyo String Quartet’s final Australian tour, please visit; www.musicaviva.com.au/tokyo

THE TOKYO STRING QUARTET (AND, ER…LEO? ) ARE COMING TO AUSTRALIA

Landing in Australia about the same time The Great Gatsby hits cinemas, the Tokyo String Quartet will farewell Australian audiences with their final tour.

After more than 40 years the undisputed grand masters of the string quartet now bid a graceful farewell. Playing a famous collection of Stradivarius instruments, their last programs ever for Australia include some of the pieces which cemented their stellar reputation. Do not miss this opportunity to celebrate the final performances by a landmark ensemble of our time.
Program One

Peter SCULTHORPE
String Quartet no 16 (2005)
Commissioned for Musica Viva Australia by Julian Burnside AO QC

Béla BARTÓK
String Quartet no 6, Sz114

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN
String Quartet no 14 in C sharp minor, op 131
Melbourne Tuesday 28 May 7pm
Brisbane Wednesday 5 June 7pm
Sydney Saturday 8 June 2pm
Adelaide Wednesday 12 June 7.30pm
Program Two

Peter SCULTHORPE
String Quartet no 16 (2005)
Commissioned for Musica Viva Australia by Julian Burnside AO QC

Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART
String Quartet no 20 in D major, K499 ‘Hoffmeister’

Franz SCHUBERT
String Quartet no 15 in G major, D887
 
Sydney Monday 27 May 7pm
Melbourne Thursday 30 May 8pm
Newcastle Saturday 1 June 7.30pm
Canberra Thursday 6 June 7pm
Perth Monday 10 June 7.30pm

For more infomation, and to book tickets, please visit; http://www.musicaviva.com.au/whatson/international-concert-season-2013/artists-touring/tokyo_string_quartet

Bob Evans will host Musica Viva In Schools’ Anatomy of Music workshop on May 20 at the City Recital Hall, Angel Place. We caught up with the ARIA award-winning artists to find out why he signed up for the project and what he hopes to achieve.

THIS IS THE GOLDEN AGE: What is your earliest memory involving music?
 
BOB EVANS: Putting on Kiss tribute concerts in my brother’s bedroom when I was about five.  We all had Kiss masks and would use tennis racquets as guitars and sing along to the album “Dynasty”.

TITGA: What was your experience with music at school?
 
BE: In grade three at primary school I was selected to learn the violin which I played for three years before quitting [because] I wasn’t ready for the discipline of practicing.  All I wanted to do was run around outside. 

When I started high school two years later, I took up guitar and keyboard lessons.  The high school was running semester lessons on both.  I got an A grade for keyboard and a B grade for guitar but I pursued guitar as it was much cooler at the time.  I had a wonderful music teacher [who] taught me the basics I needed to write my own music which was ultimately the reason why I wanted to learn to play an instrument. 

I was writing songs in my head but had no avenue with which to express them.  My best friend also played guitar, (much better than me I might add) and we ended up forming Jebediah the year we finished high school.

TITGA: Who inspired you to start writing songs?
 
BE: No one did.  I just always loved music from a very young age and when I was 12 I just started writing songs in my head.  I had a very vivid imagination so creative thought came easily to me.  Once I could play guitar I wrote songs feverishly and all through high school it was something I loved to do. The more I did it the better I got at it.  I wrote in secret for years before I told anyone about it as I was far too scared to share my songs with anyone… they were too revealing!

TITGA: How did you learn about composition?
 
BE: From learning other songs.  I would learn my favourite songs by ear listening to the record.  I also learnt to play Beatles songs and Creedence Clearwater Revival songs from music books when I was learning to read music at school.  I pretty much just copied the songs I loved.  When I fell in love with a new song I would learn to play it and then try and write my own song like it.

TITGA: Why did you sign up to be a part of the Musica Viva Anatomy of Music event?
 
BE: When I look back to when I was at school I taught myself pretty much everything at a painstakingly slow rate.  If I wasn’t so driven I might have given up or lost interest.  Perhaps by being a part of this event I can help fast track a few people’s learning process with the idea’s that I’ve developed and keep them involved in a creative pursuit. 

At the end of the day it doesn’t matter whether you want to be a world famous artist or just do it as a hobby, being a part of the creative process of song-writing and performing is an immensely rewarding experience at any level and it’s something that you can do throughout life.

TITGA: Musica Viva In Schools are all about music and getting music to kids everywhere. It’s not only fun, but enriches a well-rounded education. Why do you think music should be part of a student’s education?
 
BE: I think that music switches on a particular part of the brain.  It inspires creative thought that can be applied to [so many] other areas and it also can act as a counter balance to other areas of learning as a form of cathartic release or relaxation.  Music encourages a healthy form of self-expression which, I think for teenagers is particularly just about more important than anything else.

TITGA: If there was something like the Anatomy of Music composition workshop around when you were a teenager, do you think you would have been keen to check it out?
 
BE: Of course!  I was thirsty for knowledge as a teenager and often felt frustrated trying to teach myself things as it was such a slow process.  Anything that looked like it might open a door to new ideas I would definitely have jumped at.

TITGA: What do you hope the students take away from your Anatomy of Music session?
 
BE: Just some basic ideas about how to package together all the important ingredients of a song in an original and honest way.  Hopefully they will learn that the process is endlessly fun and constantly puzzling and there are no limits to how much can be learnt and how far one can go with it. 

I also hope that the students see me as a living breathing example of how accessible the creative arts industry is as long as you are driven and have a good attitude.  I am proof that you don’t have to be Mozart to find your niche and achieve some success.

TITGA: You will be sharing tips on how to approach composition with the students at the event. Can you tell me a little about your writing process?
 
BE: I have numerous writing processes, some of which I have cultivated and others I have not. 

An idea can come at any given moment so I [am now] ready at all times to seize on one when it arrives so that I don’t lose it, like traveling everywhere with a pen and paper and a recording device, which used to be a Dictaphone but these days with smart phones it’s become much easier. 

Later when I have time I will listen to all my short voice recordings and cherry pick something to work on using my guitar.  I often come up with the chorus first but not always.  Once I have a chorus melody and a lyric that dictates how the rest of the song should fit around it, both melodically and lyrically then it’s about solving the puzzle which could take as short a time as a few minutes or as long as a few years. 

When I’m happy I’ll do a demo recording and then refine the arrangement from there as well as add more musical ideas.  I’ll often be conscious of making the song “economical”, that is, looking at each and every part and questioning its importance to the song.  I’ll often also refine lyrics to make sure every word is speaking some kind of truth.  This is just one process of many.

TITGA: Complete this sentence: For me, writing music is…

BE: …about capturing and expressing a mood, among many other things!
 
Bob Evans will be appearing at Musica Viva In Schools’ Anatomy of Music on May 20th at City Recital Hall, Angel Place. For more information, or to get your school involved in this very special and unique experience, please visit; http://www.musicaviva.com.au/bobevans

BAD TO THE BOW

Christopher Moore is Australian chamber music’s badboy. If you’re looking for any of the fucks he gives, you will not find them. Christopher Moore doesn’t care if you don’t like the instrument he plays (the viola), he doesn’t care if you don’t like the repertoire he’s playing, and he doesn’t seem to care whether you’re in the audience or not.  All he cares about is playing music, and I find that very refreshing.

Christopher Moore will be touring Australia with Germany’s Morgentsern Trio. I can’t admit to knowing a whole lot about the Morgenstern Trio, other than that they’re young and they won a bunch of awards – which means they must be good, right? Yes, if the YouTube videos I have seen is anything to go by. They have the right mix of precision and energy to bring their repertoire to life.

So I’ll be looking forward to the pairing of Christopher Moore and the Morgenstern Trio. It will be a real treat to see one of our most charismatic performers paired with one of Germany’s finest piano trios.

Christopher Moore and the Morgenstern Trio are yet to perform or record together, so this playlist contains selected performance from each of them individually as well as the repertoire they will be performing on their upcoming tour.

WHY I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING BENJAMIN BEILMAN AT THE 2013 MUSICA VIVA FESTIVAL

The Musica Viva Festival is a veritable feast for chamber music nuts like me. Some of my very favourite pieces are being featured (such as Mendelssohn’s youthful Octet written for eight strings in the Sunday 4.30pm concert) however the work that I’m most looking forward to is Cesar Franck’s Violin Sonata in the same concert. The young violin virtuoso Benjamin Beilman is performing it with master pianist Lambert Orkis.

Why this work and performers? A couple of reasons. Franck wrote the work as a wedding gift for the violinist Eugène Ysaÿe and its full of the most glorious melodies and sense of joy and yearning. Ysaÿe performed the work at the wedding party, and I imagine that Benjamin is going to bring the same feeling of celebration and wonder to his Festival performance. And the combination of Benjamin’s brilliance and youthful energy balanced with Lambert’s gravitas and wisdom makes this work the pick of the Festival for me!

- Tim Matthies