MUSICA VIVA FEATURED COMPOSER, 2010
Paul Stanhope is Musica Viva Australia's featured composer in 2010. Four of his works will be showcased in nationwide
performances of some of the world's finest chamber musicians.
The Pavel Haas Quartet will
perform the world premiere performances of String Quartet no 2 (2009), commissioned
for Musica Viva by Kim Williams AM.
Deserts of Exiles (2007), which
reflects upon the experience of displacement and banishment and juxtaposes texts
from the Lamentations of Jeremiah and a contemporary Arab poet, will be performed
by The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge.
Alina Ibragimova & Cédric
Tiberghien will give the world premiere performance of a duo work (2010) commissioned
for Musica Viva by Geoff & Vicki Ainsworth and Carl Vine.
The Piano Trio Dolcissimo Uscignolo
(2007) will be performed by the Atos Trio. This work, commissioned for Musica
Viva by Geoff & Vicki Ainsworth, explores the notion of song within the context
of an instrumental work through the conduit of a madrigal.
Pavel Haas Quartet
Vale of Glamorgan Festival, 2009
Paul has recently returned from Wales
where he was a featured composer in the 2009 Vale of Glamorgan Festival (6th-12th
September), which is based in and around the city of Cardiff in South Wales. Four
of his pieces received their UK premieres by a diverse series of performers including
the Solstice String Quartet, Sinfonia Cymru and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales
and harpist Eleanor Turner. Read Paul's article
on the festival from the AMC website.
Eleanor Turner - harpist
EXILE LAMENTATIONS
The first performance of this major new choral work was premiered by the wonderful
Elysian
Singers of London who performed
it as part of the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music at St Pancras Church,
London on 16 May.
The wonderful Melbourne Symphony Chorus conducted by Jonathan Grieves-Smith will give the Australian premiere
on Sunday 26 July at the Melbourne Recital Centre.
The Elysian Singers of London
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
Lament from Exile Lamentations
Sydney Chamber Choir cond. Paul Stanhope
Sunday 11 October 2009, 3pm
Church of St Francis of Asisi
Oxford St, Paddinton, Sydney
New CD in the Pipeline
A new CD is in the pipeline of Paul's
vocal works. Recent recording sessions included Sea Chronicles for soprano
and string quartet performed by Jane Sheldon and the ironwood Ensemble, as well as
the Three Geography Songs recorded by Sydney Chamber Choir. The CD is due
for release in 2009.
Jane Sheldon, with
the Ironwood Ensemble: in the studio
New Book on Australian Music
"This book offers an approachable and evocative
introduction to classical music composed in Australia in recent decades. With a balance
of historical background and detailed description, composer and music journalist
Gordon Kerry explores a number of themes - landscape and spirituality, the influence
of Europe and Asia - that bring together the exciting variety of new works and voices
working in Australian music now.'
It is published by UNSW Press and has an accompanying CD including a movement of Paul's Songs
for the Shadowland. It includes an excellent analysis of Paul's Fantasia on
a Theme by Vaughan Williams.
NEWS ARCHIVE: 2004-2008
Great piece, terrible title
Paul's ensemble piece "Throbbing"
has been given the, er, dubious honour of "Great Piece Terrible Title"
by Chicago-based ensemble Eighth Blackbird
(pictured).
Tim Munro, the group's (Aussie!) flautist
writes:
We played the piece (Throbbing)
recently in western Virginia at the Garth Newell Music Festival, and on the plane
over, while Matt was cueing his part to the piece, a clearly amused female flight
attendant said,
'Oh, I bet that song has obscene words.'
This amusing anecdote was obviously passed to a higher authority, because, as Matt
left the plane, the pilot gave him a wink and said, 'Good luck with that Throbbing
number.'
Piano Trio Reviews
The new Piano Trio Dolcissimo
Uscignolo has recently received its premiere performances by the Kungsbacka Piano Trio as a part of Musica Viva's subsciption series. The piece was
toured nationally in ten performances.
Paul Hopwood from The Australian wrote
about the new piece:
"Paul Stanhope's piano trio, Dolcissimo Usignolo,
which received its world premiere, is an engaging and delightful work.
"It is woven around material from Monteverdi's madrigal of the same name. Particularly
intriguing is the interplay of compositional voices: the 21st-century composer recalling
the luminous style of the 17th-century Monteverdi, in turn filtered through the 19th-century
timbre of the piano trio.
"Stanhope's musical language flows naturally between lyricism and wit, gentle
tonality and acerbic dissonance. And he is not afraid to be sentimental. His writing
is technically assured, particularly in the faster passages, and the work flows logically
without artifice or strain. It was beautifully performed." (The Australian,
August 16 2007)
Meanwhile Peter McCallum from the
Sydney Morning Herald notes:
"Paul Stanhope's piano trio Dolcissimo
Usignolo is built around a vocal madrigal by Monteverdi in which the proverbial
forlorn lover expresses envy of the nightingale for its wings and its capacity to
attract members of the opposite sex.
"Bits of the madrigal rethought for instruments, waft in and out of the trio
just as thoughts of the nightingale drift though the original madrigal, and at times
the vigorous, non-madrigal parts of the trio seem to take flight with fervid arpeggios
and what sounds like a slightly tongue-in-cheek sense of exaggeration, abandon and
extravagance.
"The piece reminded me of another work of Stanhope's which makes an affectionate
and possibly envious reference to the past, his Fantasia on a Theme by Vaughan
Williams. In Dolcissimo Usignolo, the much-envied nightingale and the
madrigal could be taken as symbols of a past where people sang without the postmodern
uncertainty of not knowing whether they are being serious or ironic. Like much of
Stanhope's work, this abounded in well-crafted textures."
Tasmanian Symphony Premiere
On Saturday 14 July 2007 the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra premiered Paul's newly commissioned work Cloudforms
in the Federation Concert Hall in Hobart. Musicologist, Robert Gibson writes
of this work written for small orchestral forces:
"The piece uses interesting sonorities
to create subtle impressions of clouds forming and separating across the sky . .
. it's almost trancelike and meditative."
Peter Donnelly from the Hobart Mercury
in his review of the premiere performance writes:
"With cool, crystalline textures,
harp glissandos and delicate percussion effects, it is an immediately attractive,
impressionistic work." (Hobart Mercury, 16 July 2007, p.10)
Recording of Sea Chronicles released
Brisbane-based ensemble, Collusion, have released their first CD on the
Move label. It features the first commercial recording of Sea Chronicles for
soprano and string quartet.
Fantasia performance by the Australian Youth Orchestra in January 2007
Paul's Takemitsu-prize piece, Fantasia
on a Theme by Vaughan Williams was performed by at the Australian Youth Orchestra's National Music Camp. It was performed by the Alexander Orchestra conducted
by Richard Gill at Elder Hall in Adelaide. The students of the orchestra tackeld
the many and varied technical challenges of the piece with great finesse!
The piece has also had recent performances
by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra (July 2005) and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
(May 2006). Martin Ball from The Australian writes:
"Stanhope's piece makes obvious
gestures to Ralph Vaughan Williams's Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis. and
also revolves around a hymn, in this case Come Down, O Love Divine. Stanhope
told the packed audience at the Malthouse that he wrote the work at the time of the
US-led invasion of Iraq, when he felt a need for a higher, divine force, to rise
above human folly.
"Fantasia begins in a
blaze of colour with a series of fanfares as the familiar theme is given a cubist
treatment across various sections of the orchestra. Some terrific writing for trombone
is followed by lush string arrangesmsnt that, teasingly, almost satisfy our sentimental
longing for the whole tune intact. The fourth movement makes an enexpected and surreal
shift into 1940s swing before reprising the ealier fanfares. It's a satisfying work
and deserves more perforrnances in mainstream orchestral programs." The Australian
9 May 2006.
Machinations - Melbourne Symphony Premiere
in November 2006
Paul's new orchestral piece Machinations was
premiered by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
on 24 November 2006 as part of the Melbourne Proms Series held in the Town Hall.
This specially commissioned piece is inspired by the backroom brawls, number-cruhcning
and arm-twisting of modern day political parties, and was conducted by the MSO's
chief conductor Oleg Caetani. The piece also received a live national broadcast on
ABC Classic FM.
Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Music
Paul Stanhope composed music featured in the opening
ceremony of the Melbourne
2006 Commonwealth Games. His music accompanied
the Boy on the Bay
segment, featuring Leunig's duck, and a band of floating koalas! A new concert version
of the piece will be performed at Festival 500 in Newfoundland, Canada, in June with
a massed international youth choir.
With a bit of luck, a duck will come
into your life!
Also featuring Leunig's Duck...
Paul's Leunig settings have
become a real favourite with ABC Classic-FM listeners. Songs of Innocence and
Joy which are charming, cartoon-like works for treble voices and chamber
orchestra have been released on a new CD by the wonderful Gondwana Voices out
on ABC Classics. And yes, Leunig's
duck makes an appearance!
This CD was recently reviewed in Opera-Opera
magazine by David Gyger:
"Within the first few seconds,
Gondwana Voices' latest CD signals its intention of lightening the listener's heart
as well as its credentials for doing so. . . .
"The most substantial segment
of the disc is devoted to Paul Stanhope's Songs of Innocence and Joy–three
interestingly contrasted pieces . . . using texts by Michael Leunig. The first, The
Missile, is a mellifluous anti-war statement in 2 1/2 minutes; the second, A Little
Duck, refers to the waddling duck of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf as it
suggests a duck may guide the impressionable child in the direction of wisdom; the
third, At the Top, focusses on the extreme contrast of the images of the saddest
man of all perched at the top of the tallest building in the world, and the happiest
angel of all wallowing in the blackest imaginable mud far below.
"There are of course hints of
profound insights here and there, but the cumulative effect of this hour in the company
of Gondwana is [a] celebration of the innocence, imagination and enthusiasm of childhood.
"Highly recommended listening
when you're down in the dumps, bored, worried, disillusioned or just plain morose."
Opera-Opera May 2006.
Ockham's Razor
A recording of Paul's Saxophone Quartet Ockham's
Razor has recently been released by Continuum Sax on their CD "Icon"
which is available through Reed Music which also publishes
the work.
Paul Stanhope wins Toru Takemitsu Composition
Prize (2004)
PRESS RELEASE:
On Sunday evening (30 May 2004) Australian composer, Paul Stanhope won first prize
in the prestigious Toru Takemitsu Composition Award in Tokyo, Japan.
The winner was announced after a concert in which the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
performed works by each of the five finalists. Stanhope’s piece Fantasia on a Theme
by Vaughan Williams was awarded the top honour, and a prize of more than $15,000
(1.2 million yen).
The Toru Takemitsu Composition Award is one of the most prestigious international
awards for composition. Awarded annually since 1997, it is designed to encourage
the younger generation of composers whose work promises to shape the music of tomorrow.
Stanhope’s creative abilities are gaining recognition
both in Australia and internationally. His works have been performed by leading ensembles
including the Australian String Quartet, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, The Song
Company and the Southern Cross Soloists.
The judge for this years' Toru Takemitsu Award was
Magnus Lindberg, one of Europe's most eminent composers, whose works are programmed
by leading conductors, performing organisations and festivals, around the world.
Lindberg screened the competition’s129 entries in November 2003, selecting 5 works
to be performed in the finals concert last Sunday.
The competition is unique in that each year only one judge is responsible for the
outcome. György Ligeti, Luciano Berio and Louis Andriessen are among the esteemed
composers who have been selected to judge this award.
ABC CLASSIC FM gets into Le Tombeau
de Hendrix.
ABC Classic FM have gotten with the times
with the new design on their Toyota Tarago.
Rather than going for a piece by some
dead composer, they chose an excerpt from Paul Stanhope's violin solo Le Tombeau
de Hendrix!
