Portraits

Between the two short sets of Lyrebird brass was a performance in the ARC Cinema of music of Fiona Hill, CIMF2026 composer-in-residence.  Why portraits?  Because the music accompanied visuals including a stunning dance work featuring ~14 performers from the Sydney Dance Company PPY (Pre-Professional Year), a sweeping drone footage of cliffs, seas, beaches, nature, and a final (live?) visual work with solo sax accompaniment.  Musicians included several of the several visiting featured groups and some local musicians making up the rank, in smaller and larger ensembles and that solo sax, as I remember all pitches, baritone, tenor, alto, soprano.

Music of Fiona Hill was performed by Ensemble Contrechamps and Australian String Quartet with Joshua Hyde (solo sax), Tim Wickham (violin), Samuel Payne (cello), Kyle Ramsey-Daniel (bass), Eugene Ughetti (percussion) and Fausto Brusamolino (artist).  The performed works were Circumstance, Sunyata and UnderOnBelow.  They performed in the ARC Cinema at NFSA for MOSSO during CIMF2026.

Landmarks over time

The program lists the two major works played by the Australian String Quartet with Timothy Young, pianist from Ensemble Liaison, two works separated by 170+ years and claimed as landmarks.  The string quartet Interwoven by Australia Elizabeth Younan and Schumann piano quintet Ebmaj op44.  I write well after, but I noted a modern confusion (not meant as a pejorative!) of chromatics and counterpoint and rapid long scalar runs in Schumann mvt.3.

The Australian String Quartet are Dale Barltrop and Francesca Hiew (violins), Christopher Cartlidge (viola) and Michael Dahlenburg (cello).  They played with Timothy Young (piano) for the Schumann.  ASO and Timothy Young performed at Wesley for CIMF2026.

England my England

I think of the King, our King, a presidential fave, and concert 2 for me is music from that domain.  The music is more impressive.  This was music of Britain, although hardly exhaustive!  Benjamin Britten; a contemporary composer Rebecca Clarke; Henry Purcell not so recent but influential on ... Benjamin Britten.  One of the volunteers complained that she didn't like BB: he'd been drummed into her as a piano student when young.  So be it, I understand.  I like it, although on the day I'm feeling modernist music is a little intellectual and unloved, perhaps from the immense success of the lyrical and story-telling Gershwin of the previous concert.  Just on the day, perhaps.  But the playing was to die for.  Australian String Quartet blasting away with precision and clarity and some edgy treble tones.

The Australian String Quartet are Dale Barltrop and Francesca Hiew (violins), Christopher Cartlidge (viola) and Michael Dahlenburg (cello). ASO played at Wesley for CIMF2026.