A divertimento is a light piece of music, written just to amuse. But it’s a slightly incongruous title for Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar’s portrait of the conductor and composer Zahia Ziouani, because the film tackles some pretty heavy themes. To use a current term, this is an “origin story”; telling how a teenage Ziouani went from the…
After 16 years, Todd Field makes a long-awaited return to the director’s chair with Tár. Having made two under-appreciated gems of the early 2000s with In the Bedroom (2001) and Little Children (2006), he hurtles back into the cultural conversation with this challenging but dazzling film. Tár is set in the rarefied world of Western…
This re-imagined production of Peter Schaffer’s Tony Award winning drama about the fictional rivalry between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri is being staged as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations for the Sydney Opera House. Classical music and opera are incorporated into Schaffer’s drama. Snippets of Mozart’s famous compositions and his operas, such as…
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 2 October 2020. Platinum-selling singer, songwriter, producer, and activist Aloe Blacc has released his newest album, All Love Everything via BMG. Inspired by his family, the new album is shaped around Aloe not only as a husband, but his…
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 21 February 2020. Melbourne band RVG have announced the release of their second album Feral which will be released on Friday 24 April 2020. They’ve also shared “I Used to Love You”, the second single from Feral; and an…
Our selection of the best new music across a range of genres from the week ending 8 November 2019. Ali Barter’s album Hello, I’m Doing My Best is out now. After a run around the world with shows in London, Paris, Dublin and more Barter is back in Australia as this month’s The Music Cover…
Janine Hosking’s The Eulogy provides a compelling portrait of an virtuoso Australian pianist who died far too young. This intriguing film is among the finest documentaries of the year. The starting point is the controversial eulogy former Prime Minister Paul Keating delivered at Geoffrey Tozer’s memorial service (which the ex-PM agreed to re-enact for this…
If you’re a sports fan, you’ll understand what a representative team is. Basically, the best available players are brought together for a specific game or tournament. The same idea has been applied to music by the Australian World Orchestra. And this month, lovers of classical music can see the AWO’s select “dream team” as it kicks…
