Fine Music 102.5 STATION NEWS & Reviews - Fine Music

FINE MUSIC NETWORK UNLOCKING CLASSICAL MUSIC AUDIENCES ACROSS AUSTRALIA

11/4/2018

Fine Music stations including Fine Music 102.5 in Sydney, 4MBS in Melbourne and 3MBS in Brisbane have joined forces to reach 433,000 listeners across Australia.

The Fine Music Network is an integral part of Australia’s cultural landscape promoting and encouraging an active live classical music scene in our communities and supporting music education nationwide. From our Youth Development programs to our media sponsorships for emerging artists and ensembles, we play an important role in encouraging young musicians and music lovers in their ambitions to be professional musicians or broadcasters. In addition, we support many community music events and festivals across the nation and provide a target market at very cost effective promotional packages for other concerts and events.

Sponsorship of the Fine Music Network offers your organisation high quality and sustained exposure to a closely-targeted, discerning and affluent listening audience. There is simply no better way to reach those who enjoy classical, jazz and contemporary music in Australia! A Media Kit and Rate Card has recently been designed to provide you with current listener profile information based on the most recent McNair survey.

You can also find all Fine Music Network Sponsorship information including rates and specification here: finemusicnetwork.com

THE POWER OF MUSIC

28/3/2018

NICKY GLUCH ASKS YOU TO KEEP THE MUSIC PLAYING

Nicky and Dr Laurence Gluch in 2006

I would never have been a volunteer at Fine Music if my Dad hadn’t been a subscriber. In the summer of 2015, a motorbike pulled up outside our house and the rider delivered that month’s Fine Music magazine. As it was the university vacation I had ample time, so I read the magazine from cover to cover. That was when I stumbled on a notice asking for new volunteers. I made the call and have never looked back.

My Dad began subscribing to Fine Music for the same reason that he supports the Rural Fire Service or the Surf Life Savers: he believes in supporting volunteer organisations, especially those which provide a crucial service. To my Dad, like to so many of us, music is a crucial part of life. As a surgeon, he uses it to help him concentrate in the operating theatre. Pieces are carefully selected and balanced into special playlists; a thyroid operation, it turns out, requires different music to a breast lump. This is where Fine Music comes in. So many of the pieces Dad plays are those he heard first on the radio. Through Fine Music, he’s discovered Wagenseil, befriended Wieniawski and found a new appreciation for Mendelssohn. Dad is a devotee of the Program Guide in the magazine, knowing that it’s often a recording which ‘makes the music’. I confess that he’s quite enjoyed having someone on ‘the inside’ as now he can even get the details of the filler pieces.

To subscribe to Fine Music is to be a shareholder in all the associated memories which music gives us. The volunteers here know that so well. I remember coming in one afternoon and asking one of the presenters how he was. “Not good,” he replied. He explained to me that his sister had just died. Concerned, I asked if he would not rather go home. “No,” he told me, he needed the distraction and besides, his sister adored music. “If I’m here,” he said, “I can play the music she loved.” That is the power of the vibrations we send out into the air. Music touches people, it connects them and it’s often associated with our strongest memories.

Professor Clive Kessler captures this sentiment beautifully. A sociologist at the University of New South Wales, Kessler returned to Sydney in 1980 after 15 years abroad. He found a comfort, a solace even, in listening to 2MBS (as it was then). “It provided serenity,” he says, and an ‘uplift’ even, “as well as education and some intermittent ‘transcendence’ during some very difficult times, personally and professionally.”

For almost 40 years, Fine Music has been Kessler’s friend, consolation and inspiration. Anyone who has had a relationship with radio will know that this is no exaggeration. Indeed, Richard Glover (we’ll forgive him for being with the ABC) recently wrote how radio exceeds almost all other media forms in the way it delivers ‘pictures’. “The projector plays behind your eyes, not in front of them,” he wrote in Spectrum (17/02). “The listener provides the details ... It’s why radio moments are so memorable. We made the film.”

So why subscribe to Fine Music? Well, there are the perks, of course, the chance to win free tickets, special invitations to functions and events, but that’s not the real reason. No, the truth is that the pictures of which Glover speaks don’t paint themselves. A non-commercial radio station needs its subscribers to stay alive. To be on air 24 hours a day means 24 hours of electricity, 24 hours of water. It is easy to see how the costs add up. Yet the benefits of radio are innumerable, so we cannot afford to let financial costs overwhelm emotional gains.

In my Dad’s words, “We have a collective responsibility to ensure the viability of volunteer organisations. It’s one thing to appreciate having something good and beautiful but it requires the collective to ensure that these institutions survive. We all have to ‘chip in’ and I can therefore take comfort in knowing that I am helping to keep something important alive.”

‘Chipping-in’ is a good sentiment as the costs are not great for something which will touch you in ways you may least expect. Fine Music broadcasts 24 hours a day, 365 days a year because we never know when people might need us. Help us keep the music playing!

You’ll find details on the cost of subscribing on the donor/subscription form on page 48. Alternatively you can telephone 9439 4777 or go online at finemusicfm.com and click on ‘subscribe’.

This article will appear in the April issue of Fine Music Magazine.

BOWEN’S DÉMOCRATIE

19/2/2018

ELAINE SIVERSEN PROBES THE SATIRE

“If [French poet Arthur] Rimbaud (1854-1891) had not existed”, writes John Bowan, “it is hard to imagine that literature could have invented him.” At the age of 15, Rimbaud wrote his first poems some of which are considered to be amongst his best. At 16 he ran away to Paris and from then on, his behaviour became extravagant and dissolute. At the end of a torrid love affair with the poet Paul Verlaine, Verlaine shot and injured Rimbaud and as a result spent two years in gaol.

Despite this lifestyle, or perhaps because of it, Arthur Rimbaud wrote poetry and prose, which was ground-breaking. His prose work Une Saison en Enfer (A Season in Hell), based on his time with Verlaine, is still widely regarded as an early example of modern Symbolist writing. While he was living with the poet Germain Nouveau, he worked on his unconventional prose-poem Les Illuminations, which includes the poem Démocratie. Nine of the poems from this collection were strikingly set as a work for solo voice and orchestra by Benjamin Britten. Australian composer Christopher Bowen, Director of the Sydney University Graduate Choir, has made a choral setting of Démocratie which was not included in Britten’s work. Démocratie was premiered
by the choir in 2002 and has been repeated in a 2017 concert along with significant works by French composers. This concert is being broadcast this month on Fine Music.

John Bowan, who prepares the concert program notes for the Sydney University Graduate Choir, writes that, “Rimbaud is justly
celebrated for his break with the bounds of conventional writing which yielded a series of surreal experiments in visionary and brilliant poetry. This writing came out of a lived experience that was as rambunctious as it was transgressive.” Yet this brilliant career was over by the time that Rimbaud was 21. He stopped writing, began to travel, took up gunrunning and was a pioneer in the international coffee business. He died aged 39 after a fast and dissolute life, not knowing that Verlaine had published Les Illuminations in book form. It consists of 42 acclaimed poems (40 prose poems and two of free verse) which have been studied extensively. Rimbaud’s poems in Les Illuminations are written in a style which significantly influenced the development of
surrealism and Dadaism.

The texts of the poems express a ‘ruthless and take-no-prisoners class-consciousness’, says John Bowan, and Rimbaud also writes about the exploitation of the working class and attitudes which are, ‘ferocious, ignorant of science and only self- interested’. John Bowan goes on to say, “The extraordinary text of Démocratie is about the persistent failure, in Rimbaud’s time, of French democracy and bourgeois hegemony. Its themes, however, are universal and could be applied to any populist dissent from prevailing political and economic authority”. He remarks that this is relevant to our current age where ‘ignorant populism’ has surged on the political scene.

Always in search of interesting material for his vocal compositions, Christopher Bowen found that Rimbaud’s words appealed to his sense of justice and of the satirical. His music is characterised by frequent changes in tempo and syncopation while whispered injunctions give way to shouts of defiance in the choral writing.

Fifteen years ago, Christopher Bowen wrote about his then new composition, Démocratie. “It is not my intention to make a political statement with this work, as politics from my perspective have become a rather futile and impotent means by which to implement positive change for society as a whole. Democracy in its most ideal form is fast diminishing, hi-jacked by those whose only concern is to increase their own power to the exclusion of others. One can rationalise any change in many ways and justify it, but if the mechanisms of change demeans humanity and its most basic and fundamental qualities, then I would question its motives.”

Now, on this second performance of his work, he says that ‘democracies throughout the world are now more fragile than ever’. He says that it is a time when facts are described as ‘alternative’ and when people cry ‘fake news’ when what they are hearing or reading is really objective journalism. Amongst a certain part of the population, there is an acceptance of the most outrageous prejudice and bigotry.

He also wonders now how we should view all of those who have fought inequality, discrimination and injustice, including those
now-revered protestors Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela when, in our country, some denounce the right to protest against injustice.

While he says that Démocratie is not political, Christopher Bowen’s wish is that his composition proves to be provocative and challenging for the listeners, causing them to reflect on the state of democracy today. Although Arthur Rimbaud wrote in a
satirical vein, he was not trying to make fun of the democratic system. His message was that democracy was failing to protect the vulnerable at the expense of the powerful. The message of Les Illuminations lives on!

Démocratie will be heard in Showcasing Australian Artists on Thursday 22 February at 8pm.

This article appeared in the February issue of the Fine Music Magazine. Read the full magazine online here.

“A DAY WITHOUT MUSIC …” - GAEL GOLLA EXPLORES ANDRÉ PREVIN’S WORLD

14/2/2018

“A day without music is a wasted day"

There can be no doubt that throughout his long career André Previn has never wasted a minute, let alone a day. For over six decades he has immersed himself in music of all kinds: jazz piano, film composition, classical piano, conducting and composing.
As a teenager, he enthusiastically embraced the American jazz idiom and worked as a pianist in many ensembles, with vocalists and as a solo jazz pianist. He was influenced by Oscar Peterson and worked with greats such as Shelly Manne and Ella Fitzgerald. As one of the few musicians who is comfortable in both the jazz and classical idioms, his concert repertoire and recordings include many classical solo piano works, collaborations with singers (Renée Fleming being a favourite), and chamber and orchestral works. His recordings have won him 11 Grammy awards. German born and trained, he settled in Los Angeles in 1940. In the 1950s he shot to prominence as a Hollywood composer and arranger, winning four Academy Awards for film scores. An abiding interest in classical music led him to temporarily abandon jazz and film music to focus on conducting. From the late 1960s he led six major orchestras, the longest collaboration being 11 years with the London Symphony Orchestra. He favours symphonic music of the Classical and Romantic eras from Mozart and Haydn to Brahms and Richard Strauss, as well as 20th century composers such as Barber, Shostakovich and Korngold. He shuns the avant-garde styles such as atonality and minimalism.

Television enabled Previn to reach a wider audience who were able to enjoy his work with the Pittsburgh Orchestra in America and with the London Symphony Orchestra in Britain. His involvement there in a Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show revealed another side of him: a wonderful talent for comedy! In 1996 he was appointed an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Previn’s personal life has been as interesting as his musical career. He has married and divorced five times, the most notable partners being Mia Farrow and his fifth and most recent wife, Anne-Sophie Mutter, for whom he has written several works and with whom he has made many recordings. Aged 88, and with his mobility somewhat restricted by arthritis, his primary activity now is composing. He is presently writing an opera on the subject of Penelope, wife of Ulysses, in collaboration with Tom Stoppard. Discover the three facets of André Previn as conductor, pianist and composer at 2.30pm on Thursdays 8, 15 and 22 February.

A FLAWED GENIUS

7/2/2018

RANDOLPH MAGRI-OVEREND DISCUSSES GLENN GOULD

Genius has a price! As well as the fame they bring upon themselves, many artists and composers pay a great price for the self-induced isolation which their art imposes on their social skills and ability to communicate. Some didn’t even bother. Look at Schumann and Elgar (depression), Beethoven (unrequited love), Berlioz (occasional addiction to narcotics), Sibelius (alcoholism) … and Glenn Gould.

Glenn Herbert Gould was born in Toronto, Canada, on 25 September 1932 to Russell and Florence Gold, who could trace her lineage to Edvard Grieg. From an early age young Glenn was encouraged by Florence to pursue a musical career. At the age of three he had perfect pitch and had learned to read music well before he could read words. At ten, he had an accident and his father built him an adjustable chair which Gould took everywhere with him when playing. At 12, he passed his final Conservatory examination and at 13 was performing with the Toronto Symphony.

Gould’s American debut was in 1955 and his first recording, for Columbia, came out the following year. By now he had developed a unique personality on stage which marked him not only as a genius on the piano keys, but as an eccentric for his choices in music and his lifestyle. He preferred late Romantic and early 20th century music and later added Bach and Schoenberg.

He insisted on playing 14 inches [about 36cm] above the floor, a technique which enabled him to play at a fast tempo while maintaining a clarity and evenness for each note. During recitals, the piano would be raised or lowered on wooden blocks. He’d also developed a clockwise motion when playing and would often hum as he played. It was about this time that he became a hypochondriac and started popping pills to relieve imaginary ailments. He was constantly trying to stay as warm as he could and, when he was recording, the heat had to be turned up to almost unbearable levels. He started wearing heavy clothing even in warm conditions including astrakhan hat and gloves. In fact he insisted on wearing gloves whenever he had to shake hands. He was once arrested for sitting on a park bench in Sarasota, Florida, presumably having been mistaken for a vagrant. He was also prone to cancelling performances at short notice.

According to Gould’s biographer and fellow Canadian, Kevin Bazzana, Gould believed that ‘the performer’s role was properly creative [and] he offered original, deeply personal, sometimes shocking interpretations (extreme tempos, odd dynamics, finicky phrasing), particularly in canonical works by Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms’.

In 1957 he became the first North American to embark on a tour of the Soviet Union since World War II. Vladimir Ashkenazy was present at some of the performances in Moscow and later related to the Gramophone magazine: “He was a sensation, of course, even though nobody knew him when he first arrived. His first concert was about half-full, but then the next one was sold out and that was quite incredible. I also went to his performance for the students at the Conservatoire. He presented us with Alban Berg and Schoenberg, music which was never played in Russia at that time because the Communist Party forbade it. And that was sensational because all the students came and the directors of the Conservatoire didn’t know what to do. They couldn’t stop him!”

One of Gould’s great admirers was Leonard Bernstein (also tagged a genius) and it was their collaboration which led to the controversy behind their performance of Brahms’ D minor concerto on 6 April 1962 at Carnegie Hall.

Gould had pre-warned Bernstein that he had some new ideas about the concerto. It was to take the form of some tempi changes. After Gould arrived in New York, Bernstein later wrote: “[He] set forth three unbelievable tempi for the three movements. In the first place, they were so slow that the first movement alone took about as much time as it should take to play the whole concerto”.

“I did forewarn the orchestra about this,” Bernstein continued. “I said ‘Now don’t give up because this is a great man whom we have to take seriously’ … but they were wonderfully cooperative and went right along with it.” It was very tiring for the orchestra. “After the rehearsal I asked [Gould] if he was still convinced about the ‘slowth’ of this piece,” Bernstein wrote, and Gould replied: “… more than ever; did you hear how wonderfully the tension built?”

With Gould’s permission, Bernstein also forewarned the Thursday night audience (see the insert for the full transcript of his talk). “You could never get a ticket for Thursday night”. Bernstein added: “It was a chic night, the night to be there”, hoping against hope they wouldn’t desert the concert after the first movement. They didn’t, of course. “The house A FLAWED GENIUS RANDOLPH MAGRI-OVEREND DISCUSSES GLENN GOULD February 2018 fine Music 102.5 7 came down although, if I remember correctly, it took well over an hour to play. It was very exciting. I never loved him more.”

Controversy followed. Harold Schonberg, then the chief critic of the New York Times and a serial opponent of Bernstein (especially his podium ‘gymnastics’), wrote his infamous ‘gossip’ letter. “Dear Ossip, You vill nyever guess vat last night in Carnyegie Hall hhappent! You know what, Ossip? I think that even though the conductor made this big disclaimer, he should not be allowed to wiggle off the hook that easy. I mean, who engaged the Gould boy in the first place? Who is the musical director? Somebody has to be responsible.” He finished with a swipe at Gould’s technique. The criticism travelled all around the world and, according to Bernstein, Gould never received the acclamation and reward his daring interpretation deserved.

In January 1966, the Legges (Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and husband Walter) were not as accommodating. Columbia had booked a recording studio in New York for three sessions where Schwarzkopf was due to record some Richard Strauss Lieder with Gould. From the outset Schwarzkopf had her reservations. “Gould began playing something quasi-Straussian,” she wrote later. “We thought he was simply warming up, but no, he continued to play like that throughout the actual recordings … my husband and I were baffled … I always tried to be as accurate as possible.” Plus, of course ‘the studio was incredibly overheated’ and Gould refused to sit in on the day’s recordings.

On the second day a similar pattern occurred. Schwarzkopf started to have misgivings. For his part, Gould saw the collaboration as a meeting of like spirits although he later admitted they had different approaches to the use of rubato. Finally Walter Legge decided to call it a day and the third day was cancelled.
Gould retired from public appearances and began recording in a private studio in New York from 1970. In September 1982 he suffered a stroke and his father was forced to deprive him of his life support soon after. At the autopsy, doctors discovered that Gould did not show signs of the many ailments from which he thought he was suffering.

Hear this unusual concerto recording in Glenn Gould: The Schwarzkopf and Bernstein Tapes at 2.30pm on Monday 12th February.

This article appeared in the February issue of Fine Music Magazine. Read the full magazine online here.

MUSICAL ERAS - PLACING COMPOSERS INTO CONTEXT

31/1/2018

Many people wonder where different composers belong in the musical timeline. On Fine Music we offer programs which cover every century of notated music. We also present programs focusing on designated periods such as Baroque or Classical or Romantic, plus those centuries before and after including this current one which, while still relatively new, has a wide variety of musical styles to offer.

The parameters of these periods of music are not precise, with many composers working in what we now call two different musical eras. For instance the dividing line between Renaissance and Baroque is somewhat blurred, and there are even early and late divisions within the Baroque, known as the Low and High Baroque. We regard the end of the Baroque as being about 1759-60 after the deaths of J.S. Bach, Handel and Rameau.

The Classical Era which follows tends to end with the death of Schubert who many think to be a Romantic but, in fact, wrote in Classical form. So much of his music sounds very romantic. The greatest composer of the Classical Era was Beethoven, who died a year earlier than Schubert and probably composed as much romantic-sounding music as Schubert. As you can see, the dividing lines are quite arbitrary but they give us handy labels to attach to composers and their music so that we can place them in the context of their times.

Even the Romantic Era had an early and a late period. Consider the differences in the music of composers such as Chopin and Schumann and then of composers towards the end of the 19th century such as Wagner and Richard Strauss. Also the division between that era and the Modern Era is rather blurred with a number of ‘romantic’ composers, including Elgar and Glazunov, ‘shuffling off this mortal coil’ in the 1930s.

To assist our listeners in placing some composers in context, we begin a new weekly domain called Periods and Their People. Each month, programmers of this domain will create programs on the same musical era progressing to the next time span over a period of six months.

- The Programming Committee

Periods and Their People will be heard every Saturday morning from 9.05am beginning in January with music of the Late Baroque (1700-1759).

This article appeared in the January issue of Fine Music Magazine. Read the full magazine online here.

AUSTRALIA DAY CELEBRATIONS

23/1/2018

It is very pleasing to find that Fine Music’s profile in the community has risen so significantly that the NSW Premier’s Department has appointed our radio station as a media partner to broadcast the Australia Day celebrations.

26 January, the anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet from Great Britain in 1788, is a day in which Australians from many diverse backgrounds come together to celebrate our national day. As we know, it is a controversial date for some of our first Australians but it is also a day when we can all reflect and rejoice in the nation’s achievements and its most successful multicultural identity as most of us are immigrants or descended from immigrants.

Fine Music will be broadcasting the official Australia Day Salute from 11.30am to 12.30pm. This ceremony will involve the Australian Army, Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force. The Governor of New South Wales, on board HMAS Canberra in Sydney Cove, will receive the salute which will be relayed from the ship to Fine Music. On the foreshores of Sydney Harbour, school choirs will sing the National Anthem.

In the afternoon, having resumed normal programming, we’ll have a chamber music program with fine Australian artists and an Australia Day Concert beginning, tongue-in-cheek, with a work celebrating that wonderful line in our National Anthem, ‘our land is girt by sea’: a joyous work of Richard Mills called Seaside dances. To celebrate the European heritage which has enriched our lives time and time again through migration, two works composed in 1788 will follow. Remembering that not all of the Australian heritage is from our first peoples or from Europe, we remind you that our broadcasting at other times encompasses the music of other cultures, particularly in the World Music programs heard every Sunday at 1pm.

We return to the live Australia Day celebrations at 7.30pm for another two hours before resuming our usual program. Live from The Quay is a harbourside show from Circular Quay with musical performances by an orchestra and many other entertainers. If you can’t be at the actual Australia Day events at Sydney Harbour, then let Fine Music be your companion in the celebrations of this special day.

Please join us as Fine Music participates in the Sydney celebrations of Australia Day on 26 January at 11.30am and 7.30pm.

This article appeared in the January issue of Fine Music Magazine. Read the full magazine online here.

Position Vacant - Office Manager

19/1/2018

Office Manager - (Part-time)

About the Role
Our busy, client-focused office needs a reliable, well-organised Office Manager to handle day-to-day finance administration and office operations with a focus on efficiency and time management. The Office Manager will be responsible for all finance administration, developing intra-office communication protocols, streamlining administrative procedures and inventory control. We’re looking for an energetic professional who doesn’t mind wearing multiple hats. This permanent position is part time (23 hours per week) and is based in our purpose built studios located at St Leonards.

About the Employer
Fine Music 102.5 is owned and operated by the Music Broadcasting Society of New South Wales Co-operative Limited. We are a member of the NSW Public Broadcasting Association and the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia. Apart from a small number of staff members, the station is entirely operated by hundreds of music lovers who generously volunteer their time and talents to organise and administer our extensive activities.

Candidate Requirements:

Proven office management, administrative or personal assistant experience
Proven accountancy and or booking keeping experience
Proficient in MYOB
Proficient in MS Office
Proficient in CRM data base administration (Salesforce preferable)
Knowledge of accounting, data and administrative management practices and procedures
Knowledge of office management responsibilities, systems and procedures
Excellent time management skills and ability to multi-task and prioritize work
Attention to detail and problem solving skills
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Strong organisational and planning skills
Knowledge of clerical practices and procedures
Knowledge of human resources management practices and procedures
Knowledge of business and management principles
Computer skills and knowledge of office software packages

How to Apply
Please contact Station Manager, Rebecca Beare for an application pack: stationmanager@finemusicfm.com

Applications close Friday 2nd February 2018 at 5pm.

CD Review - Yield: Preludes and Fugues for Piano

18/1/2018

YIELD: PRELUDES AND FUGUES FOR PIANO
Adrian Lim-Klumpes
OCD036
✶✶✶✶

Yield is a collection of works showcasing Adrian Lim-Klumpes’ unique ability to develop improvised ideas into fully rounded and complex works. The album is a selection of performances captured in one six-hour session on a Steinway piano and is awash with his signature blending of minimalist lyrical piano jazz harmony with sampling and effects to create textures which shift in mood from track to track. There are obvious influences from J.S. Bach’s piano work. The well-tempered Clavier with its arrangement into paired preludes and fugues which Bach composed ‘for the profit and use of musical youth desirous of learning, and especially for the pastime of those already skilled in this study’. Lim-Klumpes certainly fills this mould. The album speaks to the classical piano tradition but Lim-Klumpes makes it clear that he is using the original meaning of fugare, that is, ‘the chase’or ‘flight’, where one line pursues another. Yet equally, we hear influences from modern pianists Phillip Glass and Chris Abrahams. The tracks were created in pairs designed for the listener to hear corresponding echoes between pieces being led through a range of emotions from feelings of violence, loneliness and pain to those of peace, warmth, tenderness and fragility revealing new colours and dimensions with each hearing. Listeners will be enchanted by their transportation into Lim-Klumpes’ evocative aural world. This is highly recommended for lovers of digitally-manipulated piano harmonies executed creatively.
- Barry O’Sullivan

This article appeared in the January issue of Fine Music Magazine. Read the full magazine online here.

BERLIOZ AND THE ORCHESTRA

17/1/2018

ELAINE SIVERSEN WELCOMES THE RETURN OF A FAVOURITE

After reading the famous book by Hector Berlioz, Les soirées de l’orchestre (Evenings with the Orchestra), Rachel Pollock posted this on the internet: “Reading this book was like being in a dysfunctional relationship with a dead genius”. This book, a scathing satire of provincial musical life in 19th century France, is ingenious and entertaining and takes the form of tales, real or imagined we cannot say, by members of a small-town opera orchestra during mediocre performances of operas.

It was only one of many publications written by the composer, the most important being his Grand Treatise on Instrumentation and Modern Orchestration. Berlioz gained a reputation as a brilliant orchestrator, and for his own compositions he often specified huge orchestral forces and conducted several concerts with more than 1000 musicians including vocal soloists, choirs and instruments and sometimes a military band.

Berlioz began conducting out of frustration with other conductors who failed to understand his advanced progressive works with their extended melodies and rhythmic complexity. He travelled to London and many European cities, including St Petersburg and Moscow, in order to conduct his orchestral works and to present them to audiences as he intended them to be heard. His work as a conductor convinced Charles Hallé, Hans von Bülow and others that he was the greatest conductor of his era. A second edition of the Treatise was also published with a new chapter detailing aspects of conducting.

The Treatise established his reputation as a master of orchestration and the work was closely studied by Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss, both also recognised as amongst the great orchestrators. When he was a student, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, later also renowned as an orchestrator, attended the concerts which Berlioz conducted in Moscow and St Petersburg. He was greatly influenced by Berlioz’ writings when he was compiling his own textbook on orchestration.

Evenings with the Orchestra is more overtly fictional than his two other major books (the other being Mémoires), but the stories recounted are all the funnier due to the ring of truth as many of the 25 highly inventive tales were most probably based on factual incidents.

In January, Fine Music returns a favourite orchestral domain to our broadcasting. Evenings with the Orchestra was named after his book but was intended as a tribute to Berlioz as a conductor and orchestrator. The programming domain was first introduced in 2001 and was broadcast weekly for 13 years. Now, after a break of three years, the Programming Committee is bringing back this popular program. Unlike the satire in Berlioz’ book, there won’t be mediocre orchestras and soloists performing poorly but a wide variety of superb soloists, orchestras and conductors who will not disappoint.

Enjoy great orchestral concerts in Evenings with the Orchestra weekly on Fridays at 8pm.

This article appeared in the January issue of Fine Music Magazine. Read the full magazine online here.

Fine Music 102.5 Website Content Disclaimer: The information contained within this website is intended to be used as a guide only. This website and the information contained within it is for presentation purposes only and is subject to change without notice. Although measures are taken to ensure the information in our programming guide and on this website is as timely and accurate as possible, Fine Music 102.5 assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of such information or its relevance to a specific use or application.

It is important to note that apart from a small staff team, Fine Music 102.5 functions through the involvement of dedicated volunteers who generously contribute their time and talents across all aspects of the radio station. Actual broadcasting and programming content may vary based upon many factors, including availability and a variety situations which may arise that are beyond our control.

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