Through Tropical Stars

David Joseph’s Through Tropical Stars is a captivating collection of five works inspired by the natural world. From the vibrant, garden-like imagery of Concertino to the contemplative stillness of The Afternoon, Joseph’s compositions bring nature’s textures, patterns, and sounds to life.

Seymour Group performer
The Holland Trio performer
Trio Classico performer
Jennifer Newsome performer
Zdeněk Bruderhans performer
Nigel Sabin performer
Ian Cleworth performer
Michael Howell performer

David Joseph composer

Performed by leading ensembles including the Seymour Group, Zdenek Bruderhans, Jennifer Newsome, and Trio Classico, this album showcases Joseph’s unique ability to evoke beauty and emotion through music.

The album opens with Concertino for flute, viola, and percussion, performed by the Seymour Group. This vibrant piece offers a musical window into a lush garden, full of colour, light, and life, where the sounds of birds, sunlight, and nature’s rhythms are woven into intricate melodies and gestures. The title track, Through Tropical Stars, for 2 flutes performed by flutists Zdenek Bruderhans and Jennifer Newsome, takes a more abstract approach, unfolding in three short movements that explore the flautists’ technical prowess while capturing the essence of shifting patterns and textures.

Next, Sonata for Clarinet and 2 Percussionists provides a delicate exploration of the clarinet’s warm, woody tones, enhanced by the mallet percussion work of marimba and xylophone, creating a rich interplay of timbres. String Trio No 2, performed by the Holland Trio, further evokes the natural world, drawing on the sounds of birds, foliage, and the gentle hum of a garden throughout the day. The album concludes with The Afternoon, a contemplative work for piano trio performed by Trio Classico, which evokes the stillness and quiet melancholy of the late afternoon, bringing the collection to a serene close.

Through Tropical Stars is a testament to Joseph’s unique ability to translate the natural world into music, capturing moments of beauty, movement, and stillness with subtlety and sophistication.

Press quotes

“The flute duet Through Tropical Stars is an astonishing work ... Joseph has a vivid imagination and the skill to write a work that is bursting with energy and still he finds time to be lyrical. Indeed, it is this composer’s lyricism that is evident in the 5 works presented here ... Sonata for Clarinet and 2 Percussionists is an absolute ripper! Here we hear a composer brimming with ideas and exploring music with a virtuosic approach. Joseph references music from the early to mid 20th century and fashions it into his own voice. Both these works have stunning performances that bring the music alive. Zdenek Bruderhans and Jennifer Newsome in the flute duet dazzle whilst the clarinettist Nigel Sabin and percussionists Ian Cleworth and Michael Howell take your breath away in the Sonata for Clarinet and 2 Percussionists. A little breath of fresh air, indeed, a little gem is The Afternoon for piano trio. Barely three and half minutes it finishes just as it seems to be settling in for the long haul.”

— Alan Holley, ClassikON

“David Joseph’s Concertino for flute, viola and percussion (revised from a 1984 version of the score) (is) full of pulsations, figurations and continuities of traditional concert music. I certainly don’t mean that as a subtle form of denigration. While it is always possible that a creator with vigorous concepts will outdistance a more naturally music inventor, I see no reason to discount the significance of the musicality that may disclose itself abundantly in the work of a young composer.”

— Roger Covell, Sydney Morning Herald

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“Through Tropical Stars eschewed all avant-garde technical experimentation, concentrating on good tone, pitch flexibility and aural awareness of changing patterns. (It is) one of the most effective duets for two two flautists I have heard.”

— Johannes Roose, Adelaide Advertiser

Artist

David Joseph

Born in Melbourne in 1954, David Joseph showed no early musical aptitude. Early childhood musical influences, however, came from Russian music - Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev, the Red Army choir, Russian folk music and art. These influences remained all through life, and engendered a great love of Russian schools, especially Stravinsky, Borodin, Rachmaninov and the like.

Audio previews

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Track Listing

Concertino (1988) David Joseph
Through Tropical Stars (1977) David Joseph
Sonata for Clarinet and 2 Percussionists (1978) David Joseph
String Trio No. 2 (1991) David Joseph
The Afternoon (1991) David Joseph

Performers

Seymour Group · track 1
The Holland Trio · track 4
Trio Classico · track 5
Jennifer Newsome · track 2
Zdeněk Bruderhans · track 2
Nigel Sabin · track 3
Ian Cleworth · track 3
Michael Howell · track 3

Where to listen

Through Tropical Stars is available for streaming through Spotify and Apple Music. It can also be purchased through the iTunes Music Store.

Through Tropical Stars is available as a CD. It can be purchased online through Buywell Music or the Australian Music Centre which both offer online ordering.