ANAM Radio

Episode 8, 2021: Vanhal’s Double Bass Concerto Friday 5 November 2021 Since the mid-18th century, the double bass has evolved considerably. One of the most prolific composers that are known for his Double Bass Concerto is Bohemian-born Johann Baptist Vanhal. During his time, there were different models of the double bass which made the degree of standardisation for the instrument a lot lower than it is today. Vanhal was writing for double basses tuned in the Viennese style, which is significantly different from the current-day style of tuning. The difference in configuration was one of the biggest challenges Ben Saffir (double bass, NSW) had to overcome when he was preparing for his first ANAM recital in 2020. In this episode of ANAM Radio, Ben talks to ANAM Music Librarian Phil Lambert about everything we need to know about the double bass and his own double bass created by Romeo Gabute in the Philippines in the mid-20th century. The performance video featured in this episode of ANAM Radio is from Ben’s 2020 Recital in the Musica Viva studios in Sydney, NSW. To watch Ben's performance, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Tp36cbf1Mk&list=PLbdnd7x5ydRe5IjD5fW0--WZZmey7832f&index=1

Episode 7, 2021: Boulanger’s Trios morceaux pour piano Wednesday 20 October 2021 Some might say that French composer Lili Boulanger could have done more in her lifetime if she did not die far too young at 24. Nevertheless, it is no doubt she was able to live a productive and colourful life in 20th century Europe. Hailing from an extraordinary family, Boulanger grew up with a father who was a musician, a princess for a mother, and an equally talented sister who was later recognised as one of the greatest female composers and music pedagogue, Nadia Boulanger. In 1913, Lili Boulanger became the first woman to ever win the prestigious Prix de Rome where she was awarded a year of artistic residency in the Medicci estate. It was during this residency that she composed her Trios morceaux pour piano or Three pieces for piano performed by ANAM pianist Hannah Pike (QLD) in her 2020 recital. According to Hannah, Boulanger is a very precise and detailed composer. When studying the pieces for her recital, she learned that Boulanger knew exactly what she wanted and was clear about how her music should be played. However, that did not make it easier for Hannah as Boulanger’s rich impressionistic harmonies asks the musician to play with a lot of density and control. This episode of ANAM Radio is accompanied by Hannah’s recital video of her performance of Boulanger’s work last year. Hannah’s performance won her the ADFAS Yarra Prize for the Most Outstanding Program in an ANAM Recital. To watch Hannah's recital, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSzhm0psXg4&list=PLbdnd7x5ydRd7-ANQQkJmed2HSGRsyrF-&index=9

Episode 6, 2021: Brahms’ Horn Trio Friday 8 October 2021 German composer Johannes Brahms’ Horn Trio is a unique contribution to chamber repertoire written originally for violin, piano and horn. Composed in 1865 after the his mother’s death, the piece is both nostalgic and melancholic interwoven with extra-melodic details of lullabies Brahms’ mother used to sing for him. This week, ANAM Music Librarian Phil Lambert talks to ANAM horn player Tim Allen-Ankins (QLD) about his experience performing this piece for his ANAM recital last year. Tim, who plays with a Modern Valve Horn, shares with us how he attempted to imitate the sounds of an Old Forest Horn which was the original instrument Brahms used when he wrote this composition. Tim’s efforts truly paid off as he received the 2020 St Silas Prize for the Most Outstanding Performance in an ANAM Recital for his performance. The video that is featured with this ANAM Radio episode is from Tim Allen-Ankins’ recital last year which was recorded in Queensland with fellow ANAM musicians, Claire Weatherhead (violin, QLD) and Amanda Pang (piano, QLD). To watch the video, click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-2QQXZY2S4&list=PLbdnd7x5ydRe5IjD5fW0--WZZmey7832f&index=16

Episode 5, 2021: Hindemith’s Kammermusik no. 1 Wednesday 22 September 2021 Born in Hanau, Germany in 1895, Paul Hindemith was cultivated as violist, violinist, pianist and percussionist. He was also “one of the most practical, but also the most overlooked composers of the last century.” Considered an avant-garde composer in the 20s, Hindemith’s Kammermusik no.1 features twelve solo instruments and reflects its composer’s Dadaist response to chamber music. In this episode of ANAM Radio, ANAM’s Head of Piano, Timothy Young (Margaret Johnson Chair of Piano) talks to Phil Lambert (ANAM’s Music librarian) about how he first came about Paul Hindemith and his works, and some of the things that he has learned about how to write music from the prolific musician and composer.

Episode 4, 2021: ANAM Radio Special Part II Monday 21 June 2021 “ANAM is really interested in the person, as well as the musician.”-Thea Rossen (percussion, 2016) In the second part of the ANAM Radio Special, alumna Thea Rossen, and current musicians Rachel Lau, Nathan Gatenby and Noah Rudd share fun anecdotes about their ANAM auditions and share hot tips on what to expect on the ANAM application process. Thea also chats with her former teacher Peter Neville, and other ANAM faculty members Virginia Taylor and Damien Eckersley about what kind of musicians ANAM is looking for. Applications for ANAM’s 2022 Program are now open! Visit www.anam.com.au/training for more information.

Episode 3, 2021: ANAM Radio Special Monday 7 June 2021 In this special episode of ANAM Radio, alumna Thea Rossen takes over the mic to chat with ANAM musicians and faculty about why ANAM is a unique and special place for young musicians. They also give us insights about what a usual week at ANAM looks like whilst musicians, faculty and guest artists prepare to play side by side in ANAM performances throughout the year. Applications for ANAM’s 2022 Program are now open! Visit www.anam.com.au/training for more information.

Episode 2, 2021: The Poet, Nature and the Dance (ANAM 2021 Opening Concert) Wednesday 28 April 2021 ANAM Head of Strings, Resident Cello Faculty (Chair of Cello, Supported Anonymously) and long-standing member of the Chambre Orchestra of Europe, Howard Penny talks to ANAM Music Librarian Phil Lambert about ANAM 2021 Opening Concert, The Poet, Nature and the Dance. Howard describes the program as all about “Romanticism with the capital R”. Compositions from the 19th century contained much more details than before, and he is keen to uncover the musical language behind the musical notations with ANAM musicians. In this episode of ANAM Radio, Howard and Phil explores the context and meaning behind Schumann’s Manfred Overture, the warm sounds of Bohemian countryside and the array of dances of the Danube in Dvořák’s symphony, and the Hungarian inflections in Strauss’s celebratory Polka Eljen a Magyar. Visit www.anam.com.au to know more about our concerts

Episode 1, 2021: Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier Thursday 25 March 2021 In 1911 Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier (The Cavalier of the Rose) premiered in Dresden, Germany when the aftermath of World War I caused the cultures of Vienna to fade. A bittersweet romantic comedy set in the 1740s in old Vienna, a half-real and half-imagined Utopia, one that Strauss and Der Rosenkavalier’s librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal are nostalgic of. In this new episode of ANAM Radio, Phil Lambert (ANAM Music Librarian) talks to renowned oboist Nigel Shore and former ANAM Artistic Director Nick Deutsch about Nigel’s wind arrangement of Der Rosenkavalier. Nigel discusses how the oboe, clarinet and horn are the protagonists in operas, just as much as the singers. Nick also shares his most memorable performances of this masterpiece throughout his career. Nigel Shore’s wind arrangement of Der Rosenkavalier will premiere on 1 April 2021 at The Good Shepherd Chapel, Abbotsford, Victoria. To purchase tickets, visit https://anam.com.au/whats-on/events/rosenkavalier.

Episode 17, 2020: Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to Orchestra Friday 11 December 2020 For his final year as ANAM’s Artistic Director, Nick Deutsch originally planned to start and end the year performing with the complete ANAM cohort and faculty. However, 2020 had other plans. Yet as he proved, “no pandemic will stand in our way”. In this special episode of ANAM Radio, Phil Lambert (ANAM Music Librarian) talks to the people who took on the mammoth task of putting together ANAM’s 2020 finale video from different living rooms and studios around the world. Nick and Alistair McLean (ANAM Recording and Online Coordinator) share how they worked with ANAM’s faculty and musicians to bring to life a brilliant performance of a piece that poses different challenges in the unusual 2020 set-up for musical performances. The performance you are about the see was premiered in ANAM’s 2020 end of year celebration on Zoom on 29 November 2020. Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to Orchestra is performed by the ANAM Orchestra, and edited by Alistair Mclean and Tom Marley by permission of Boosey and Hawkes Music Publishers Ltd., and all rights administered by Hal Leonard Australia. To watch the full performance, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bhurka41l4Y&feature=youtu.be

Episode 16, 2020: Antheil’s Ballet Mécanique Wednesday 18 November 2020 For ANAM Radio’s final 2020 episode, Phil Lambert (ANAM Music Librarian) and Peter Neville (ANAM Head of Percussion) talk about one of the 20th Century’s unique, bizarre and outrageous compositions, George Antheil’s Ballet Mécanique. Born in New Jersey, Antheil found himself in Paris in the 1920s along with other great American modernists of the time. In 1922, Antheil met Russian composer Igor Stravinsky who then had an idea of writing a piece for the pianola. The following year, Antheil came up with his own composition for 16 pianolas and percussion. Ballet Mécanique was premiered at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in 1926 to a sold-out concert attended by James Joyce and TS Elliott, but his eclectic musical experiments proved to be harder to pull off during his time resulting to a riot performance. After not being able to keep up with the complexity of the composition, it was believed that Antheil never tried to make anything as ambitious again and became a more conventional composer. Ballet Mécanique was conducted by Peter Neville and performed by ANAM musicians and guest artists in 2016. To watch the video recording of this performance, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saNoUX7o-pY&feature=youtu.be

Episode 15, 2020: Dvořák’s Quintet in A major Wednesday 4 November 2020 ANAM alumnus Laurence Matheson (piano 2016) and ANAM Music Librarian Phil Lambert agree that Dvořák was quite happy when he wrote his Quintet in A major in his country estate in Vysoká, Czech Republic in the summer of 1887. Yet, this light and folk-influenced composition finishes with a tone of pathos in the sudden slow section at the very end. While some might feel that the change does not quite fit the general mood of the piece, Laurence was drawn to the way Dvořák was able to bring the work together with a sense of gravitas. In this episode of ANAM Radio, Phil and Laurence talk about the Dvořák’s journey and influences when he wrote this piece, and why Laurence chose it to be part of his concert series. The video recording is from one of Laurence’s ANAM fellowship concerts in 2016 with ANAM musicians and guest artists.

Episode 14, 2020: Bottesini’s Double Bass Concerto Wednesday 21 October 2020 Giovanni Bottesini is considered to be one of the most colourful and mysterious celebrities of 19thcentury music. Although his Double Bass Concerto no. 2 is considered to be a staple in every double bassist’s repertoire, there is unfortunately no surviving orchestral score written in the composer’s hand. Bottesini’s lack of due diligence in preserving his manuscripts made him more interesting for modern bass players who continuously search for the missing compositions in the back streets of Italy. In this episode of ANAM Radio, ANAM alumnus Alexander Arai-Swale (double bass 2017) talks to Phil Lambert (ANAM Music Librarian) from Berlin, Germany where he gives his two cents on the mysterious world of the double bass, and shares interesting anecdotes of Bottesini’s time in Baden-Baden, Germany. Alexander is currently a scholarship holder at the Karajan Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker under the tutelage of Matthew MacDonald. The performance recording featured in this episode is from Alexander’s ANAM recital in 2016. To watch Alexander's full performance visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7M3OYvx5zo&feature=youtu.be