Much of Britten’s vocal music was written for Peter Pears, writes Andrew Ford, which creates quite a challenge for modern interpreters
16 May 13 Comments (0)Margaret Thatcher and the moral neutrality of art
The soundtracks of other people’s lives can be unsettling, writes Andrew Ford
10 Apr 13 Comments (1)Watching the audience
A composer doesn’t often see people in the act of listening to music, writes Andrew Ford. WOMADelaide was an opportunity to take a look
13 Mar 13 Comments (0)More than the sum of their parts
Nearly 200 years after Beethoven composed the first song cycle, Paul Kelly has unveiled two – an album and a performance at the Melbourne Festival – writes Andrew Ford
26 Oct 12 Comments (0)The symbiotic relationship
Something interesting happens when a piece of music goes out into the world, writes Andrew Ford
15 Oct 12 Comments (0)The Eloquence of the compact disc
A one-man Sydney-based label has released 700 classical music CDs over the past decade and a half, writes Andrew Ford
05 Sep 12 Comments (1)Musical paranoia
Andrew Ford looks at how music has been the target of political and religious fundamentalists
03 Aug 12 Comments (0)No such thing as a sold-out show
Jock Given gets slightly hot under the collar about the company that dominates ticket sales
14 Jun 12 Comments (1)Why we need music
The most abstract of our arts is also one of the things that defines our humanity, writes Andrew Ford
08 May 12 Comments (10)Misinterpretations
What would Leonard Cohen make of the use of “Hallelujah” as a community anthem, asks Andrew Ford
16 Mar 12 Comments (4)The art of the cover
New Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney albums in a single week? Close enough, writes Andrew Ford
16 Feb 12 Comments (0)Vanishing acts
Glenn Nicholls reviews Albrecht Dümling’s study of refugee musicians from Nazism who came to Australia
Comments (0)Musical alchemy
If you think every combination of instruments has been tried, think again, writes Andrew Ford
10 Feb 12 Comments (0)The decadent adventure of life
Darren Tofts reviews a new account of David Bowie’s transformation as the swinging sixties gave way to the glam seventies
03 Feb 12 Comments (0)The art of relevance
Telling our own stories through the arts is obviously a good thing, writes Andrew Ford, but what does it mean in practice?
08 Nov 11 Comments (6)