This year, I have two works being performed at the 2010 Edinburgh Festival.
The first is “Energy”, the first movement from my recent ballet for the Birmingham Royal Ballet e=mc2, which will be performed by the Sydney Symphony conducted by Maesto Vladimir Ashkenazy. This concert is on 2 Sept.
The second piece is “Little Chrissietina’s Magic Fantasy”, performed by the amazing violin/piano duo, Duo Sol. This concert is on 3 Sept.
Tonight marks the premiere of the ballet score e=mc2, commissioned by the Birmingham Royal Ballet, as part of their Quantum Leaps programme. The premiere is 24 September 2009 at the Birmingham Hippodrome, conducted by Paul Murphy.
The piece is constructed as a symphony in four movements: Energy, Mass (Einstein), Manhattan Project and Speed of Light Squared (Constant).
It has been a great pleasure to work on this piece with choreographer David Bintley. His piece is thoroughly engaging, moving and extremely impressive.
The final movement of the Kalkadungu (co-composed by and featuring didjeridu virtuoso William Barton) was performed recently as part of the 2009 G’Day USA celebration concerts in Royce Hall, LA and Carnegie Hall, NY.
The performers were William Barton and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Arvo Volmer.
The concerts were favourably reviewed, including by the LA Times.
ABC Classic FM, Australia’s national fine music broadcaster, has released a wonderful series of historic recordings of Australian music on a new website, Australian Music Presented (AMP).
The ABC has recorded a significant number of Australian works throughout its history. This is a wonderful initiative in terms of making recordings of Australian music available to the world.
One piece of mine has been included in the initial tranch: In Memoriam (Concerto for Amplified Cello and Orchestra). This is from the premiere performance with soloist Nathan Waks and conductor Richard Gill with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
A CD containing the recording of my violin concerto has recently been released by Ancalgon, featuring internationally renowned violinist Lara St. John with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sarah Ioannides.
This is a really amazing recording in a number of ways. Firstly the performance is outstanding, as can be expected. Secondly, it is available not just as a normal CD but also in Super CD audio. Thirdly, there are some excellent other pieces on the disc: John Corigliano’s Red Violin Suite and also Liszt’s Totentanz arranged for violin instead of the normal piano by Martin Kennedy and Lara herself.
Audio Excerpts:
Excerpt from “Wind Turbine at Kooragang Island” (first mvt.):
Excerpt from “Westerway” (second mvt.):
Excerpt from “Grand Final Day” (third mvt.):
This disc is available through Amazon.com, through CD retailers worldwide and also through iTunes (search for Hindson in the iTunes store – they even have the complete liner notes).