David Hockney
(National Gallery of Victoria, December 2016) An extensive selection of the later Hockney excluded his Californian scenes* of young men in swimming pools (à la Gods and Monsters) but featured a curiously enticing mix of media, from multi-layered tracing paper (by which he gets an almost phosphorescent effect in flowers or clouds hovering over Yosemite): …to mobile phone etchings and ‘joiners’ in bite-sized pastels: To cite the well-known phrase about Trollope, Hockney is the “chronicler of small beer,” and a post-pop artist to boot, but he does it with a fair dash of style: And his local landscapes of Yorkshire, where he…
Continue Reading →Richard Wagner Society of Victoria
(Federation Hall, Melbourne, 30 November 2016) The Varnished Culture was honoured to attend a soirée at the Victorian College of the (we trust, Beaux,) Arts on the eve of the 2nd cycle of Melbourne’s Ring. New President of The Richard Wagner Society (in Victoria) Inc., the urbane and congenial Mr. Trevor Clarke, who’s learned discourses on Wagner matters are well known, welcomed Wagnerites from all compass-points, including the Presidents and representatives of Wagner Societies in Singapore, Toronto and the great State of Western Australia. Over copious drinks and sandwiches on trays prettily bedecked in tussie-mussie, distributed by diverse and erudite Norns from the Society, TVC…
Continue Reading →Eight Days a Week
The Beatles (sans Ringo) at Adelaide Town Hall, 1964 (photo courtesy of "The News")
(Dir. Ron Howard) (2016) For any Beatles baby, or post-Fab Four folks who want to see what the fuss was about, this documentary, featuring engaging new footage but no new insights, is an entertaining and memorable review of the touring years of the World’s Most Famous Pop Group. The Beatles were an ‘event sociological’ in the 1960s: you can use them as a parlour game to track through that wacky decade: Cavern Club Brian Epstein Mop Tops Jelly Babies Yeah, yeah, yeah Pierre Cardin jackets Ed Sullivan Show Milkmen whistling their tunes “Rattle your jewellery” A Hard Day’s Night MBEs Help! Live…
Continue Reading →The Man Who Sold the World
StairMan
Songs in Our Heart # 55 The Man Who Sold the World (Midge Ure version) (written by David Bowie; released 1982) [Like a mad Piper, it just goes on for ever and ever – sublime.]
Continue Reading →Zukerman Unbound
Pinchas Zukerman and friends, 27 November 2016, Adelaide Town Hall. The famous Zukerman trio (the Big Z directing and on violin; Angela Cheng on piano and Amanda Forsyth on cello) and selected members of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra variously performed Debussy’s Cello Sonata; Franck’s Violin Sonata, and Mendelssohn’s Octet, impeccably, with real brio and élan. The Cello Sonata is a mess, frankly, an example of Debussy’s notorious musical impressionism, likely to be enjoyed only by the likes of free-former Scratchy Impasto. But then Mr. Zukerman strode onto the stage and with piano accompaniment, delivered a beautiful version of Cesar’s Franck’s intricate…
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