The new, the unfamiliar and the old friend

A music review by Fraser Beath McEwing Read more

A beauty and two beasts: Music review by Fraser Beath McEwing

Under the baton of Simone Young, the SSO turned in a stirring performance last night from the two big Bs: Brahms’ first symphony and Beethoven’s violin concerto with soloist James Ehnes. Read more

Going abroad

J-Wire’s music reviewer Fraser Beath McEwing has added another string to his bow as he takes J-Wire readers on his travels…still abroad in Moscow. Read more

Music from beneath the Bolshevik boot: a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing

Last night’s Masters Series concert was not for faint-hearted orchestral players, conductors or an audience that wanted orderly, familiar music. Read more

Move over Franz, Lang Lang is in the building: a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing

You know it’s a Sydney Opera House gala celebrity event when the concerto is played last. Read more

Put this one on your Liszt: A CD review by Fraser Beath McEwing

The piano music of Franz Liszt is often seen as either too syrupy or a keyboard version of a wood-chopping event. Read more

Picturesque, to say the least: a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing

Last night’s Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s APT Master Series concert was all about creating dramatic sound pictures, some clearly subtitled, some borrowed form the Russian Orthodox Church and the rest a challenging kaleidoscope from a contemporary American female composer. Read more

Play it again, Avan: a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing

Avan Yu, winner of the 2012 Sydney Piano Competition, was invited back to play a concert at the Sydney Con last night. Read more

A night for Shostakovich fans – a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing

A whole program of Shostakovich was something of a gamble for the SSO concert last night, because not everybody likes his music. Luckily, I’m one who does, although my love blossomed only after many hearings. Read more

Two big fish and one tiddler: a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing

The SSO concert in the APT Master Series presented two major works: the Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor, Op 47 and Mahler’s Symphony No.1 in D major. Read more

Four out of six were made in Australia…a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing

The SSO’s Emirates Metro Series chose the theme of fire for its Opera House concert last night. And fiery it was – mostly. Australian composer Brett Dean conducted his own Fire Music while Australian pianist, Piers Lane, had to fire up to get into the ring with Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.3 in D minor leaving Sibelius to represent Finland with six minutes of Scene with Cranes Op 44 No2. Read more

The Russian boys get together: a music review

The APT Master Series opened its SSO 2017 season at the Sydney Opera House with a cleverly conceived and superbly executed concert dominated by Russians…writes Fraser Beath McEwing. Read more

Ludwig van does it again

Another entire program of Beethoven under Vladimir Ashkenazy, with the addition of a solo violinist, again packed the Sydney Opera House for the second of the 2016 APT Master Series concerts, writes Fraser Beath McEwing. Read more

Two bouncing Czechs and a spot of fiddling…a music review by Fraser Beath McEwing

One of the finest of Dvorak’s symphonies, along with two pieces from Smetana’s popular set of tone poems provided safe and enjoyable bookends to an ear-challenging contemporary violin concerto at the Sydney Opera House Master Series last night. Read more

Mendelssohn’s violin concerto sent them wild

Explosive violinist, Christian Tetzlaff, ran away with the show in the first of this year’s Sydney Symphony APT Master Series concerts last night, writes Fraser Beath McEwing. Read more

Bronfman returns and brings Mahler with him

He saw him rehearse the Brahms Piano Concerto No 1 with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra…now Fraser Beath McEwing reviews the concert itself. Read more

A prophetable night – SSO Opera House concert 14 May 2014

But hardly profitable, when you consider the colossal forces that had to be assembled  to perform Mendelssohn’s oratorio, Elijah, writes Fraser Beath McEwing. Read more

The Might of Ladies’ Night

Conductor Simone Young and soprano Lisa Gasteen played to a sparser-than-deserved SSO audience at last night’s Master Series concert, writes Fraser Beath McEwing. Read more

The Whole Megillah

A well stocked orchestra plus two choirs and four vocal soloists hardly left room for conductor, David Robertson, to thread his way to the podium to launch Verdi’s Requiem…writes Fraser Beath McEwing. Read more