Agony and Ecstasy: Australian music from the time of Arthur Boyd
In association with the National Gallery of Australia’s major exhibition Arthur Boyd: Agony and Ecstasy, ABC Classics releases this album of Australian music, tracing key events in the artist’s life through the music of the time.
The album showcases the work of iconic Australian composers such as Peter Sculthorpe, Ross Edwards and Carl Vine, as well as important figures from Australia’s early musical history, including Percy Grainger, Peggy Glanville-Hicks, John Antill and Miriam Hyde. With music spanning eight decades of Australia’s cultural history, the album offers a fascinating journey through the changing musical landscape, exploring the different ways in which our composers have searched for and created a uniquely Australian musical language.
TRACKLISTING:
PERCY GRAINGER 1882–1961
1. Spoon River (1919)
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, John Hopkins conductor
MIRIAM HYDE 1913–2005
2. Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat minor (1933): II. Lento
Miriam Hyde piano, West Australian Symphony Orchestra,
Geoffrey Simon conductor
ALFRED HILL 1869–1960
3. Symphony No. 2 ‘Joy of Life’ (1941): I. Grave – Allegro
South Australian Symphony Orchestra, Patrick Thomas conductor
JOHN ANTILL 1904–1986
4. Corroboree – Suite from the ballet (1946): III. Rain Dance
Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Eugene Goossens conductor
PEGGY GLANVILLE-HICKS 1912–1990
5. Gymnopédie No. 1 from Three Gymnopédies (1953)
Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Myer Fredman conductor
PETER SCULTHORPE 1929–2014
6. Irkanda IV (1961)
Donald Hazelwood violin, Sydney Symphony Orchestra,
Stuart Challender conductor
MALCOLM WILLIAMSON 1931–2003
7. Sinfonietta (1965): II. Elegy
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Richard Mills conductor
DAVID LUMSDAINE b.1931
8. Shoalhaven (1982)
West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Albert Rosen conductor
ROSS EDWARDS b.1943
9. Arafura Dances – Concerto for Guitar and Strings (1995): III. Second Maninya
Karin Schaupp guitar, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra,
Richard Mills conductor
CARL VINE b.1954
10. Celebrare celeberrime – A celebration for orchestra (1993)
Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Edo de Waart conductor
RICHARD MEALE 1932–2009
11. Lumen (1998)
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Richard Mills conductor
Agony and Ecstasy: Australian music from the time of Arthur Boyd is available now.
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