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Canberra Today 15°/16° | Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Music festival / Can it get any better than this?

Music festival director Roland Peelman. Photo by ANDREW FINCH
Music festival director Roland Peelman. Photo by ANDREW FINCH
THE new head of the Canberra International Music Festival, Roland Peelman, has achieved what every director aspires to – he has satisfied his audiences.

Over the past 10 days of 24 concerts, the festival has attracted record houses and standing ovations. Smoothly-run, it revealed no signs of panic or stress, and Peelman’s ubiquitous presence was calm and reassuring, even when he stepped on to the podium as conductor.

The decision to open with a marathon recital of all 32 Beethoven piano sonatas was a masterstroke, especially with the brilliant array of international artists he was able to assemble. Festival punters are now asking how he can equal this in 2016.

His choices of works were richly satisfying to serious music lovers, without making excessive demands upon them. The cleverly-devised series of programs were sometimes composer-focused, as with the JS Bach, Brahms and Philip Glass, and elsewhere, as with the Russian Masters, culturally-themed.

It was unfortunate that bitterly cold weather prevented audiences gathered at Mount Stromlo from fully enjoying the new works by composer-in-residence Kate Moore. Her ambitious opening-night “Beaver Blaze” commission, performed indoors, was more warmly received.

Naturally, a new director will introduce audiences to artists from his own musical sphere, but it was notable that Canberra-specific talent was rather thin on the ground, possibly resulting from the depletion of the ANU School of Music.

The dedicated followers of this festival are senior concert-going Canberrans, but it is to be hoped that Peelman will not shy away from making daring choices that might shock the socks off them – that is what festivals can do.

 

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Ian Meikle, editor

Helen Musa

Helen Musa

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