The musical world is deeply saddened by the loss of Peter Serkin (1947-2020), who died after a long struggle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 72. Described as “a brilliant, resourceful instrumentalist, a sensitive, original interpreter and a performer

It’s the 21st century, yet still, still there is this perception that classical music is for a certain demographic that is predominantly white, middle class, monied, cultured and educated (but first and foremost, monied). It’s easy to “prove” this by

Conductor Simone Young, the soon to be first female music director of the Sydney Symphony, and currently the orchestra’s Chief Conductor designate, has been in the news recently. On March 1st, she will lead London’s best Australian musicians to raise

The reason there is so little discussion around the philosophy in music is due to music being a non-verbal medium. Instrumental music is abstract because it does not use words to say what it means. However, there are many papers,

Barry Tuckwell (1931-2020), widely acclaimed as the preeminent horn player of his generation, has died on 16 January 2020 at a hospital in Melbourne. I still remember seeing and hearing him perform at a concert in Amsterdam, and like the

Music is decidedly part of the Marsalis family DNA. Wynton is a virtuoso trumpeter, composer and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, while Branford is a virtuoso saxophonist, composer and bandleader. Their father Ellis Marsalis Jr. is a world-renowned

2021 is the year of the Tokyo Olympics, that wonderful international celebration of sporting success which can provide inspiration to us all, musicians included. Of course, Olympic triumphs do not come easily, and every medal winning athlete, indeed every participating

Once the entire symphony orchestra has tuned and is seated, we anticipate the conductor, his arm extended, his greying hair smoothed to a sheen. Pompously, he crosses the stage and leaps onto a red-carpeted podium. Exuding unquestionable authority and power,