Limelight — May 2017

8 LIMELIGHT MAY 2017 http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au

OKEYNOTES

SUTHERLAND ON RECORD
Reading Rosalind Appleby’s excellent article
onMargaretSutherland’smusictocelebrate
InternationalWomen’sDaygavemethe
impetustosearchmyLPcollectiontosee
ifIhadanyofhermusic.Iwasawareofher
compositions from James Murdoch’s 1972 book
on Australian composers. I discovered her one-
houroperaonthelifeofDaisyBates,The Young
Kabbarli. The name meaning ‘grandmother’
wasgivenbytoherbytheyoungAboriginesin
hercare–anotheramazingwoman!Theopera
isdelightful,librettobyLadyMaieCasey,wife
ofapreviousGovernor-General.Itisconducted
by the eminent Patrick Thomas. One
memorablelinesungbyKabbarli:“Children
ofTime,sunkinyourowndeeplives,How
canyouchangeyourpathstotreadwith
us?”Thedidgeridooisplayedoften(perhaps
forthefirsttimeinanyopera?)Alsoonthe
sleeve of my LP are sketches of Daisy Bates by
CharlesBlackman–arealtreasure.Thankyou
Rosalind.Jane Frolich, Paddington, NSW

GOD ENJOYS RIGHT OF REPLY

IfImayreplytoCathrynWilkins’comments

onmyMarchletteronFor the God Who Sings

shifting to a late night time-slot, in which I

talkedabout“thoseofuswhohavesomefaith

in something other than profit making”, I was

deliberately trying to be inclusive of all (whether

religiousornot)whomightbelieveinpeace,

anddrawstrengthfrommusicthatspeaksto

the need for love and compassion between all

people.Astomy“bleakness”inspeakingabout

“darkness... engulfing the world” being mere

“waffle”,perhapsCathrynhasnotkeptupwith

therecentriseofxenophobia,thereturntoa

nucleararmsrace,climatechangedenialism

andthebrutaltreatmentofrefugeesin

Australia and around the world. I am charged

with “elitism” in allegedly implying that one

kindofmusicistobepreferredinencouraging

“peacemaking” over other kinds, but I made no

such implication. All kinds of music may have

somethingtooffer,as,inJohnLennon’sGive

Peace a Chanceand the songs of Leonard Cohen.

Finally, on the time change, practically all

othergenresofmusicareavailablenon-stopon

stationstoonumeroustolistwhiletheinspiring

music ofFor the God Who Singsis more difficult

tofindatalistenabletime.Iamstillwondering

why.Michael Hamel-Green, Coburg, VIC

HAVE FAITH, PROFESSOR

Do not despair Professor Hamel-Green.

In this technological age the ABC cannot

be allowed to frustrate your enthusiasm

for faith-inspired music. Along with a

world-wide audience you can be uplifted

and soothed by the music which clearly

touchesyourheart.TunetoAdelaide’s

5MBS.com at 7.30 a.m. EST on Sundays

forCantate Dominopresented on 99.9FM

by knowledgeable, dedicated lovers of

Sacred Music. The volunteer presenters on

community radio 5MBS will gladden your

heartat7am(Adelaidetime)everySunday.

Rejoice!IsayProfessor.AgainIsay Rejoice!

Elizabeth Bull, Adelaide, SA

BUSH WANTED IN PERTH

IfullyagreewithDonMcLeod’sletter

(Limelight,March)aboutDavidMorgan’s

music not being performed. But what

about Alan Bush, a distinguished English

composer, who to my knowledge, has

notbeenplayedinthiscountryduring

the18yearsIhavebeeninresidence.

Heapparentlyhadpianolessonsfrom

Moiseiwitsch and Schnabel. It seems

extraordinarythatMozartisplayed

almostdailyonClassicFM,whiledozens

of neglected composers are never even

mentioned.Eric Taylor, Lesmurdie, Perth

AUSTRALIA’S CLASSICAL MUSIC AND ARTS MAGAZINE

100 years on, what madeSCOTT JOPLIN

than just The Entertainer?thekingofragtimemore

From playing Richard III toKATE MULVANY

writing Rasputin, the Australianactorwhoknowsnobounds NZ$10 50 APR 2017

NC GST

AUD$

NC GST

MIGNON’S MAGICAMUSICALOBSESSION

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

THE MAN AND HIS MUSESWAGNER IN LOVE

REVIEWS...MUSIC, DANCE,

THEATRE, ART,FILM, BOOKS &LIVE CONCERTS PAGES 32

BACH’S RISING SONTHE EASTER ORATORIO

FROM BUSKER TO BAND LEADER:

THE YOUNG GUN TURNS OLD HAND

JOSHUA

BELL

Letters

HAVE YOUR SAY

Write to us at: Limelight Letters, Suite 37,

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or email [email protected]

No more than 200 words please.Lettersmay

be edited for length and clarity. Please include

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LETTERS PRIZE
Letter of the Month wins
Elena Kats Chernin’s newABC
ClassicsCD,apersonaltribute
totheunsentlovelettersof
eccentric composer Erik Satie.
Pianist Tamara Anna Cislowska
does the honours.

LIMELIGHTLETTERS ARE PROUDLY

SUPPORTED BY ABC CLASSICS

LETTER OF THE MONTH...

PIANISTIC OLYMPICS

DaniilTrifonov’sperformanceofStravinsky’sThree Movements from Petrushkain his Sydney

recital (AprilLimelight)raisedtheoftendebatedquestionaboutthemostdifficultpianopiece.

Trifonovhalfrosefromhisstoolwithaphysicalengagementthatbroughttheaudience

totheirfeet,whichfulfilledStravinsky’saimofprovidingpianovirtuososwithapieceto

displaytheirtechnique.TherecitalalsoincludedSchumann’sToccata,whichthecomposer

believedin1833wasthemostdifficultworkeverwrittenforthepiano,butlikethepreviously

unachievable four-minute mile, performers have set new standards. Today’s list must include

Gaspard de la Nuit,whichhasbeendescribedasatriathlonforpianists.Raveltriedtomake

itmoredifficultthanBalakirev’sIslamey,andmanyjudgesthinkhesucceeded.Ihaven’t

mentionedLiszt,whichshowsthatyesterday’sunplayablefinger-bustercanbecometoday’s

frequentshowpiece.Theonlycertaintyisthatthecontestbetweencomposerandpianistwill

continue to provide a lot of excitement in the concert hall.James Moore, Kingsgrove, NSW