Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) was a French composer, pianist, organist and teacher whose music links late Romanticism with early modernism. His best-known works include the Requiem, the Pavane, and a large body of songs and piano music.
Much of his finest writing lies in intimate forms: nocturnes and barcarolles for piano, mélodies such as Après un rêve and Clair de lune, the Sicilienne, and the four-hand Dolly Suite. Larger scores include the Requiem, with its serene In Paradisum, and late chamber works of spare harmonic refinement.
His earlier music is often prized for its charm and clarity; the later pieces grow more elusive and concentrated. That range—from salon grace to withdrawn intensity—keeps his catalogue a living presence in recital and concert programmes.
Compositions by Gabriel Fauré appear on
Crossing Paths
Ensemble Liaison and the Tony Gould Trio take turns across the programme: each piece is heard first in a scored reading, then in an improvised jazz response that opens the same melodic and harmonic material to fresh colour.
A Little French Cello
A charming collection from the rich French school of the late nineteenth century. Cello sonority and piano clarity make the programme both approachable and moving. Zoe Knighton and Amir Farid are masters of their art.
The Glass Soldier
Music from Hannie Rayson’s play The Glass Soldier. Based on a true story, it is a sincere tribute to Australians who fought in the Great War: people who had little, yet gave everything.
The Choir of Ormond College Live
A live retrospective for the Choir of Ormond College’s twenty-first year, gathering concert recordings from 1985 to 2000 under Douglas Lawrence, from Britten’s Festival Te Deum and Fauré’s Requiem to Bach, Palestrina, Poulenc and lively encores.
Tuba Magnifique
Ian King, painter, scientist and tuba player extraordinaire, joins pianists Margaret Schofield and Dean Sky-Lucas for a wide-ranging recital that is truly très magnifique, spanning Spanish dances, Bach, Fauré and Kreisler.
Poème: Music for the Romantic Violin
The internationally renowned violinist Miwako Abe and the pianist David McSkimming play works by French composers active in Paris at the end of the nineteenth century, sometimes inspiring each other and occasionally forming rivalries.
Teamwork
An eminently listenable collection of piano music for four and six hands. Romantic, brilliant and companionable by turns, it is an exciting, all-stops-out tour de force from the Team of Pianists.
Images
Prudence Davis, Jeffrey Crellin and Peter Lynch in French salon and Impressionist chamber music for flute, oboe and guitar: Fauré and Ravel pavanes, Giuliani’s Serenade, Coste miniatures, Ponce’s Sonata III, Debussy’s Syrinx and Rêverie, and Duarte folk settings.
Night Thoughts
During the long still nights of Melbourne’s Covid lockdowns, pianist Len Vorster listened widely and thought hard about what he heard. Those evening ruminations became this programme of fifteen nocturnes and night pieces, from Schumann’s circle to Copland.
Ringing the Strings
Melbourne’s Concordia Mandolin and Guitar Orchestra present a programme of original works and arrangements for plucked strings, including music by Sculthorpe and Fauré alongside pieces by the ensemble’s own Michelle Nelson.
Alchemy
Alicia Crossley, one of Australia’s leading recorder players, presents transcriptions that open classical, romantic, impressionist and contemporary repertoire to tenor and bass recorder.
Miscellany for Flute and Harp
Throughout history composers have been drawn to the flute and harp pairing, from the shepherd’s pan-pipes and Orphean lyre of ancient Arcadia to the French court of Marie-Antoinette and Mozart’s duo concerto for the two instruments.
Original Transcriptions for Piano
Piano transcriptions of rare originality and virtuosity. Australian pianist-composer Cameron Roberts turns orchestral showpieces and intimate songs into a solo-piano tour de force.
Matthew Kam introduces the new Schimmel K 230
A wide-ranging solo programme opens with Brahms’s demanding Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Handel. Matthew Kam and the Schimmel K 230 meet its musical and technical challenges with striking tonal beauty and colour.
Sparkling Keys
Sparkling Keys celebrates the creative partnership of the National Trust and the Team of Pianists. Over a decade that partnership produced Twilight Chamber Music at Rippon Lea and concerts at Como, Labassa, Illawarra and Barwon Park.
Sing to the Lord, ye Heavenly Hosts
The Choir of The Scots' Church offers sacred music from sixteenth-century Palestrina to twenty-first-century Australian composer Andrew Batterham, crowned by a rare performance of Widor's Mass for choir, baritone choir and two organs.
Hamilton
The Team of Pianists present a programme of excellent piano works for solo, duo and two pianos, spanning popular classics and Australian repertoire.