Curators are Owen McKern, Tony Gould, Genevieve Lacey and Richard Mills.

3MBS Musical Portraits feature exclusive live performances from the 3MBS Marigold Southey Performance Studio and you can tune in to hear these programs on the third Thursday of each Month, at 103.5FM or via our streaming service.

Edited highlights of selected previous Musical Portraits are available on our Audio on Demand page.

Next Musical Portrait:
Thursday March 18, 6:00pm: Steve Magnusson

Steve Magnusson

Thursday March 18, 6:00pm

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David Jones

"I have always believed in the wonderful art of spontaneous musical improvisation, especially when it involves someone who thinks compositionally; which means having a concern for beauty, melody, dynamics, form, and of course rhythm. David is a master of all of these.

There are not many musicians who can create simultaneously highly complex rhythms-sometimes four distinct rhythms-one for each hand and each foot - and smile at you across the stage, as if it was easy! And then play an exquisitely simple piece.

He is equally at home in any musical environment - from Symphony orchestra to freely improvised compositions in small ensembles. He is also a deep thinker about music and life.

His tools for making music are vast and include tuned and non- pitched instruments-from many parts of the world.

To hear him talk and play is life enriching, which I am sure listeners will experience in this session.

I have no doubt that we will hear spontaneous compositions of variety and beauty."

~ Tony Gould, Musical Portraits Curator, February-April 2010

Broadcast Date: February 18

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Powerhouse

Performers: Stefan Cassomenos and David Paterson, Duo Pianists

Program:
Sibelius - Finlandia (Arr. David Paterson)
Graham Koehne - Powerhouse (Arr. S. Cassomenos)
Rachmaninoff - Elegy Op 3, No 1 (Arr. David Paterson)
Bizet - Carmen Suite (Arr. S. Cassomenos)
Tchaikovsky - Capriccio Italien (Arr. Langer)

This is a portrait of two young tyros harnessing the powerhouse of the full orchestra for two pianos.  These arrangements somehow render these colourful pieces in highly wrought black and white, enabling us to hear them from fresh perspectives.  The music from Bizet’s Carmen has undergone many transformations – from fantasies for violin and orchestra to paraphrases for strings and percussion.  Koehne’s Powerhouse embodies the spirit of the dance – and dance finds resonances in both Carmen and Capriccio Italien.  The block sonorities of Finlandia and the Elegy find themselves reinvented by the piano reduction.  It is worth remembering that in days gone by – before recordings – many had their first encounter with the symphonies of Beethoven and Brahms and the popular operas of the nineteenth century via arrangements such as we will hear in this program, in which the personality of the music speaks directly, unadorned by orchestral finery.

 ~ Richard Mills, Musical Portraits curator November 2009 to January 2010.  

Broadcast Date:  January 21

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Songs and Variations

Merlyn Quaife, Soprano (pictured left)
Caroline Almonte, Piano (pictured right)

This is a portrait of sharply etched dimensions; with songs inspired mainly from nature juxtaposed with the stringent abstractions of the Goldberg Variations with a sneak preview of Brett Dean’s new opera Bliss, and a concluding festive feature for Christmas.

The programme celebrates the artistry of two of Melbourne’s best loved performers who have created a great legacy for our city, not only through their concert giving but also through their teaching and mentoring. The chosen songs illustrate the formidable range of Merlyn’s singing and her excellent and fearless musicianship and also Caroline’s dual personalities – as both accompanist and soloist – as well the vocality of her approach to the piano and her wonderful capacity for legato and line. Both artists compliment each other on many levels in a programme of rich and often illuminating contrasts.

~ Richard Mills, Musical Portraits Curator, Nov and Dec 2009, Jan 2010

Broadcast Date: December 17th

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"2 x 2 x 5" feat. Monica Curro

This concert is an example of the chamber music culture of our city, with established professionals mentoring and encouraging the young and talented. This milieu has something in common with the German ideas of Hausmusik - playing chamber music as part of the daily fabric of living. All the music interior dialogues with the executants as well as experiences for the audience so the music speaks on two planes, initially and intimately to those who give the performance, and finally to those who listen. Although all music does this to some degree, highly wrought chamber music does so in an extended and specially singular sense: for the players, rehearsing the Schubert means connecting with the spiritual greatness of this work as a shared experience with friend in the course of daily activities. This habit of encountering the great literature of chamber music as a household routine is a mark of the vital and substantial musical culture which is a feature of our city.

~ Richard Mills, Musical Portraits Curator, Nov and Dec 2009, Jan 2010

Program:

Duos for Violin – Bartok
Canons for Two Celli – Telemann
Quintet in C Major – Schubert

Performers:

Richard Keunemann, Violin
Monica Curro, Violin
Tim Veldman, Viola
Chien-Hsiu Wung, Cello
Alister Barker, Cello

Broadcast Date: Thursday November 19

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Laura Vaughan

Laura Vaughan and Simon Martyn Ellis will present a program of baroque music including works by Marin Marais, Robert de Visee, Le Siuer de St Colombe, Le Sieur de Machy and Tobias Hume that showcase beautifully the unique timbres of the viola da gamba and theorbo.  Presented live-to-air from the 3MBS Marigold Southey Performance Studio, this Musical Portrait is the third to be curated by our special guest Genevieve Lacey.

Broadcast Date: Thursday October 15

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Tristram Williams

Our next Musical Portrait will be focused on trumpeter Tristram Williams. Tristram was the Associate Principal Trumpet of the MSO from the age of 21. In 2006, he made the brave and distinctive decision to leave this prestigious position to pursue a life as a freelance musician, in order to spend more time on his formidable career as soloist, chamber musician, and passionate advocate of contemporary music.

Repertoire in Tristram Williams’ 3MBS Music Portrait includes arias from Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre, and music by Japanese composers Yuasa (Observations on Weather Forecasts) and Nishimura. I hope you’ll join us to hear this unique musician.

Broadcast Date: Thursday September 17

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The Astra Pianists

"The exact repertoire details for the August 20 Musical Portrait are yet to be revealed! Co-ordinating a collaborative concert between four creative minds means no shortage of ideas. And, being a musician myself, I’m loath to push these fine players too early for a final programme confirmation, as I know that great ideas can emerge late in the piece, and the most inspired order often appears at the last moment. I can say for sure that the August Musical Portrait is a snapshot of the remarkable work of the Astra Chamber Music Society. The portrait will feature four outstanding pianists, Sonya Lifschitz, Joy Lee, Peter Dumsday and Peter de Jager. They’ll move between solos and duos in various constellations, and their repertoire will range as widely as Bach, George Crumb, Frescobaldi, Louis Andriessen and the fifteenth century Faenza Codex.

This Musical Portrait is one that’s dear to my heart. The community of musicians, artists and listeners who congregate around Astra is for me, one of the most important gatherings in Australia. Being asked to participate in an Astra concert is a great honour. Listening to an Astra concert is an experience of genuine sustenance. Born of the beautiful mind of Artistic Director John McCaughey and brought to light by General Manager Bobbie Hodge, Astra performances are a source of inspiration, challenge, and solace. In our current world, catch cries driving funding and arts policy call for growth, marketing savvy and corporate sponsorship. Many arts companies choose to allow these ideals to shape their artistic ideas and directions. Astra’s programming remains singular. It is an artist led, artist run, artist-realised vision. It is rare in its depth, intellectual integrity and beauty.

The Astra choir is generally at the centre of any Astra programme. Instrumentalists of the highest standing often join the choir. This concert focuses on the latest generation of Astra kindred spirits – four pianists of huge talent, and strikingly original minds. Sonya Lifschitz, Joy Lee, Peter Dumsday and Peter de Jager have promised us a boldly drawn Musical Portrait for August 20. Please join me in listening to them!"

~ Genevieve Lacey, Musical Portraits Curator, August – October 2009

Broadcast Date : Thursday August 20

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Stefan Cassomenos

The 3MBS Musical Portraits series continues in July with an intimate portrait of Stefan Cassomenos. Tune in during Thursday Intermezzo at 6pm on Thursday July 16 to hear Stefan perform live-to-air from the 3MBS Marigold Southey Performance Studio.

Stefan Cassomenos has steadily built a reputation as one of Australia’s brightest young pianists. In May of this year Stefan and the Yarra Trio were prizewinners (for best performance of the set work) at the Trio Di Trieste International Competition, beating some of the best established young groups from Europe. Cassomenos was also recently the Guest Artistic Director of the 2009 Piano Landmarks Festival at Melba Hall.

As a soloist Stefan has performed in St Petersburg, Tallinn, Warsaw, Krakow, Athens, Rome, Milan, Amsterdam, London, Bangkok, and Tokyo. His 2007 London debut was described by John Amis, as “alive, passionate, and dramatic … as if the pianist’s life depended on it. This was a prodigious London debut by a formidable talent.” Stefan is also a composer, and his works have been performed by the Symphony Orchestras of Melbourne and Adelaide.

For this Musical Portrait 3MBS will feature the various facets of this significant young Australian artist – as soloist, ensemble member and composer.

Broadcast Date : Thursday July 16, 2009

With thanks to Bernie’s Music Land for the Schimmel Konzert Grand Piano.

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Sarah Curro

For the second of the 3MBS Musical Portraits series we present an insight into the music practice of violinist Sarah Curro. Best known for her work with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Curro Quartet, Sarah is an artist who is always keen to explore new approaches to repertoire and the presentation of chamber music.

Listeners to the 3MBS ‘Alive’ Radio Festival will have heard Sarah’s “Shostakovich Plugged” concert on May 16, a thrilling presentation of Dmitry Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor performed on amplified semi-acoustic instruments. Over the last six months or so Sarah has also presented concerts under the title of “Volume”. For these concerts Sarah presents repertoire from contemporary composers that she has commissioned herself, as well as works that have been written specifically for her.

Sarah Curro believes that the concept of commissioning new works should not just be left to “intellectuals and government bodies” but should instead be embraced by the general population. Curro further believes that contemporary composition needn’t necessarily be challenging and experimental. Between 6pm and 7pm on Thursday June 18 Sarah Curro will explore new repertoire that is accessible, engaging and beautiful.

Sarah Curro continues to win admirers for her energy, her passion for music and her remarkable talent. Tune in to Musical Portraits on Thursday June 18 and find out why.

Broadcast Date: Thursday June 18, 2009

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Nick Tsiavos

For the first 3MBS ‘Musical Portrait’ contra-bassist Nick Tsiavos presented a series of intimate collaborations and solo etudes. Nick was be joined by soprano Deborah Kayser (Elision Ensemble), percussionists Eugene Ughetti and Peter Neville (Speak Percussion, the Glass Percussion Project) and saxophonist Adam Simmons (New Blood, Adam Simmons Quartet).

Broadcast Date: Thursday May 21, 2009

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Owen McKern

Curator May, June and July 2009

May: Nick Tsiavos
June: Sarah Curro
July: Stefan Cassomenos

Painting a Musical Portrait:

The idea of portraiture is nothing new.  For centuries, artists have been sketching, painting, and documenting the various physical, intellectual and emotional traits of people famous and familiar.  While the concept of portraiture has predominantly been the realm of the visual artist, there is also much that can be discovered from an aural portrait of those who create music.

From May 21 2009, the 3MBS Salon Series reaches yet another exciting stage in its development as we invite guest curators to join us in presenting a series of ‘Musical Portraits’ between 6pm and 7pm on the third Thursday of each month.  We are both excited and humbled that among our first curators are the virtuoso recorder player Genevieve Lacey, the brilliant Australian composer Richard Mills and the legendary pianist and improviser Tony Gould.

As with any successful portrait, the aim is to capture the very essence of the subject.  These musical portraits will not simply present a collection of works from each artist, ensemble or composer, but will also encourage the 3MBS listener to take an intimate journey into the musical soul of our guests.

I am personally honoured to be able to curate the first three of these Musical Portraits.  I am equally honoured that all of the musicians I have spoken with have been so thrilled to be involved.

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Genevieve Lacey

Curator August, September and October 2009

August: Astra Pianists
September: Tristram Williams
October: Laura Vaughan

“Melbourne is rich in music, and in musicians. The musicians I’ve chosen as my portraits are all exceptionally talented, but work in vastly different musical spheres. All of them have remarkable stories to tell.

Laura Vaughan is a viola da gamba player, who studied in the heart of the early music world in Holland. Fortunately for us, she chose to return home – a brave choice for such a gifted player who had many more musical opportunities in Europe. Tristram Williams had a precociously brilliant career as Associate Principal Trumpet with the MSO. He too made a courageous decision to leave this prestigious position in order to pursue a career as soloist and chamber musician, and to follow his passion for new music. John McCaughey and the Astra Chamber Music Society are revered among musicians in Melbourne. Astra’s series this year includes two concerts with outstanding young pianists Sonya Lifschitz, Joy Lee, Peter Dumsday and Peter De Jager, all of whom will join us in the studio.

I can’t wait to hear these concerts, and I’m equally excited to hear the treasures that my colleagues present, so I hope you’ll join all of us in the audience.”

Genevieve Lacey  Curator, 3MBS Musical Portraits Series - Aug, Sept and Oct 2009

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Richard Mills

Curator November, December 2009 and January 2010

November: 2 x 2 x 5 feat. Monica Curro
December: Songs and Variations
January: Powerhouse

“The 3MBS Musical Portraits Series has evolved as an expression of community, a place of encounter with some of the finest talents of our city. 

Melbourne has had a long tradition of chamber music practice going back to the early years of the 20th century.  It is a city which values ideas as an expression of civilization, ideas which take their place in the continuum of the imagination, respect for which has been a distinguishing feature of Melbourne life for many years and the reason for its cultural achievement.  These recitals embody the idea of community and are part of the tradition of Melbourne.  They are also part of the tradition of 3MBS as an organization which grew from a community and serves it so eloquently.

I look forward to not only curating my own recitals, but also to the pleasure, surprises and possibilities that I know will be part of the programs my colleagues devise.  This is both a unique curatorial initiative and a unique opportunity for the talented musicians of our city.”

Richard Mills Curator, 3MBS Musical Portraits Series -  Nov and Dec 2009, Jan 2010

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Tony Gould

Curator February, March and April 2010

February: David Jones
March: Steve Magnusson

“I am delighted to be a part of the Musical Portraits Series at 3MBS.  It is an uncommon if not unique concept and a truly creative one in the spirit of our beloved art.  Indeed, Melbourne has a long history in which art music speaks to the community, not the least which, is the extraordinary collection of improvisors that live here.  It is a city that entices musicians from all over the country and my fellow curators and I have an enormous pool of talent on which to draw for this series, guaranteeing performances of the highest quality.

The chance to hear these artists both talk about and perform music is a wonderful way to connect music with their listeners.  We are bound to hear extraordinary things about all manner of issues relating to performance practice, repertoire and no doubt, life as a musician living in these times.”

Tony Gould  Curator, 3MBS Musical Portraits Series - Feb, Mar, Apr 2010

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