Friday 16 August, 2024 St. James’ Church Sydney Philharmonia Choirs Chamber Singers Review by Paul Neeson (Arts Wednesday) The queue to get into the St James’ Church was moving slowly as the distant thunder was rumbling. Fortunately we were all seated by the time the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs Chamber Singers filed in to the choir […]
Read More… from Review: Voices of the Italian Baroque at St James Church
Monday 12 August 2024 City Recital Hall Council: Pekka Kuusisto & Gabriel Kahane Review by Paul Neeson (Arts Wednesday) Council is the musical duo of Pekka Kuusisto & Gabriel Kahane. Their song-writing is original but somehow assuringly familiar and the songs are interspersed with classical music both old and ultra-modern. The overall effect is a […]
Wednesday 7 August 2024 Sydney Opera House Sydney Symphony Orchestra Review by Paul Neeson (Arts Wednesday) Violinist Augustin Hadelich’s performance of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra was a virtuosic performance of great proportion, it took our appreciation of this much loved concerto to a new level. From the opening bars we […]
Read More… from Review: Mendelssohn Violin Concerto at the Sydney Opera House
Saturday 3 August 2024 City Recital Hall Australian Chamber Orchestra and Sydney Dance Company Review by Paul Neeson (Arts Wednesday) In Silence & Rapture the ACO combines the music of JS Bach and Arvo Pärt with contemporary dance choreographed by Sydney Dance Company’s Rafael Bonachela, and the question I am pondering is was it a […]
Read More… from Review: Silence & Rapture at the City Recital Hall
Monday 29 July 2024 Sydney Opera House King’s College Choir, Cambridge Review by Paul Neeson (Arts Wednesday) I feel conflicted. When I look at the stage I see a couple of the boys fidgeting (they caught my eye because the rest of the choir were still, focused and disciplined). Fidgeting with their gowns, their hands, […]
Read More… from Review. King’s College Choir, Cambridge at the Sydney Opera House
Saturday July 27, 2024 Riverside Theatres Parramatta National Theatre of Parramatta Review by Paul Neeson (Arts Wednesday) In his new play, Karim, James Elazzi explores the frictions inherent to age, race, sexuality and identity. It is a dark play dealing with themes of family disfunction, drug addiction, loneliness and the breakdown of relationships, but Elazzi […]
Saturday July 20, 2024 Sydney Town Hall Sydney Philharmonia Choirs Review by Paul Neeson (Arts Wednesday) Not for the first time have we walked out of a Sydney Philharmonia Choirs concert feeling privileged that we had just witnessed something very special. Artistic Director, Brett Weymark’s curation of Rachmaninov’s All Night Vigil combined lighting, staging, extraordinary […]
Read More… from Review: Rachmaninov’s All Night Vigil at the Sydney Town Hall
In December 1914 Sir Ernest Shackleton set out on a journey to cross the Antarctic from coast to coast. The ill-fated expedition came into trouble when their ship Endurance became trapped in ice. It wasn’t until August 1916 that the entire crew was rescued and returned to safety. Now a virtual reality exhibition recreates their […]
July 12, 2024 Seymour Centre Hong Kong Dance Company Review by Paul Neeson (Arts Wednesday) When I read the Hong Kong Dance Company was doing a performance of modern Chinese dance combined with martial arts at the Seymour Centre, visions were conjured of high-energy dance, some acrobatics and lots of colour (predominately red). But it […]
July 5, 2024 City Recital Hall Australian Brandenburg Orchestra Review by Paul Neeson (Arts Wednesday) A sumptuous night of harpsichord with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and guest harpsichordist Justin Taylor from France. For this concert Artistic Director, Paul Dyer and Production Designer, Trent Suidgeest recreated with great and authentic detail a salon from the Palace […]
Read More… from Review: Night in Versailles at the City Recital Hall
Wild at Art is a national initiative by the Australian Conservation Foundation. Kids aged 5-12 are asked to research a threatened native species, create an art work and write a short essay about their chosen plant or animal. Stephen Lightfoot from ACF joins us to explain the details and entry requirements of the competition which […]
Read More… from Wild at Art + the Bondi Festival. Arts Wednesday
May 15, 2024 City Recital Hall Australian Chamber Orchestra Review by Paul Neeson (Arts Wednesday) Two of Australia’s biggest musical exports in mezzo-soprano Catherine Carby and tenor Stuart Skelton, return home for a season of late romantic masterpieces with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Works by Richard Wagner, Alma Mahler-Werfel and Gustav Mahler were all arrangements […]
Read More… from Review: Song of the Earth at the City Recital Hall