REGISTERED BY AUSTRALIAN PUBLICATION NO QBH 4509 PROGRAM May 2008 GUIDE SPECIAL EVENT! Meet André Rieu and Mirusia in their contents debut Brisbane appearance! 2 See inside Feature Article – for details… Mirusia 4 15th Annual 4MBS Festival of Classics 8 Alexander Gavrylyuk 11 CD Reviews HOW THIS YOUNG LOCAL SINGER GOT TOMirusia RECORD WITH THE KING OF THE WALTZ NEWS From the General Manager Three weeks of composer. We provide you with opportunities that no other festival offers – such as A Day of Classics PROGRAM GUIDE the world’s greatest at QPAC on Sunday 25th May – when you can Editor music – the 15th hear three of Beethoven’s greatest symphonies rd Wendy Lang annual 4MBS Festival in the one afternoon – the groundbreaking 3 th [email protected] Symphony ‘Eroica’ , the mighty 5 Symphony of Classics. and the remarkable ‘Choral Symphony’ in the Reviewers his is one of the Concert Hall QPAC. Two choirs – the Queensland Jenny Dawson, Wendy Lang, Tmost exciting times Choir and the UQ Chorale – combine for the final Laura Mathison of the year for us here movement of the exhilarating Choral Symphony, at 4MBS Classic FM and we hope for everyone with four brilliant soloists Sarah Crane, Sophie Typists – Program Listings who loves great music. Wotton, Rosario La Spina and Jeffrey Black. This Carmel Gooding, Trish Johnson, is the first time anywhere in Australia that such Kathy Kao, Rachel Matthews, It’s time for the 4MBS Festival of Classics – in th an event has been presented so make sure you’re Marita Parkinson, Sarah Pirotta fact the 15 annual Festival of Classics – from the 11th to 31st May. This is a major milestone for there to enjoy it. Proofreader – Program Listings any festival and we continue with the format that Another unique festival experience is Beethoven Mark Bazeley has set the Festival of Classics apart from all other – Revolution and Romance at the State Library festivals in Australia. of Queensland on Saturday 17th May. The day 4MBS CLASSIC FM We select a composer to feature in the Festival starts with a free illustrated presentation by General Manager of Classics – this year it’s Beethoven. Twenty Stephen Emmerson from the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University entitled Gary Thorpe of the Festival’s twenty one events feature Beethoven, making it one of the largest Festivals Beethoven the Revolutionary. Then Angela Turner Broadcasts Manager ever presented in Australia celebrating this most and Brieley Cutting perform the Symphony No 1 Howard Ainsworth remarkable of composers. of Beethoven in the piano four hands arrangement Marketing Manager as well as the Appassionata Sonata. The day ends You will have the opportunity to hear all 9 of with another unique experience – a performed Peter McCahon Beethoven’s symphonies over the three weeks of [email protected] reading by actors from the 4MBS Classic Players, the Festival – a rare opportunity for music lovers including Tama Matheson recently returned Administration Manager anywhere. from engagements in Europe – of Shelley’s epic Maggie Findlay Six symphony orchestras are involved - a Prometheus Unbound. This will be accompanied by [email protected] wonderful display of co-operation between the music from Beethoven’s Creatures of Prometheus. Board Members various music organisations here in Queensland This is going to be a brilliant day of words and Bob Biggs to provide you with this marvellous experience. music at the State Library. Gordon Dean We welcome to the Festival of Classics The As well as the symphonies this year’s Festival of Derek Dixon Queensland Orchestra with their exciting new Classics brings you Beethoven’s great chamber Matthew Farrell Chief Conductor Johannes Fritzsch for two works including the remarkable ground-breaking concerts featuring Beethoven. Debbie Price String Quartet No 13 ‘Grosse Fugue’ as well as Colin Rich Treasurer Two of the symphonies – numbers 1 and 4 concertos – Piano Concerto No 4 and 5 ‘Emperor’ Warren Tegg – are to be performed in the piano four hands and the Triple Concerto. Beethoven’s religious Wendy Tyson Hon. Secretary arrangements. This is how most people became music is represented by his Mass in C performed Dr Kerry Vann familiar with the symphonies before the invention by the Brisbane Chorale in City Hall on Saturday 17th May – please note the starting time is 7.30pm Bill Yarrow AO Chairman of recorded sound and radio. Two brilliant Queensland pianists, Angela Turner and Brieley not 8pm as shown in the Festival brochure. Address 384 Old Cleveland Road Cutting, will be giving you this rare opportunity to This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Coorparoo QLD 4151 enjoy these two symphonies in this form. birth of Puccini so we are presenting a Puccini Phone 3847 1717 The 4MBS Festival of Classics is more than a Spectacular in St John’s Cathedral. You’ll hear collection of concerts brought together under the many of Puccini’s best loved arias as well as the Fax 3847 2773 banner of a festival. It is a unique opportunity to hauntingly beautiful Humming Chorus with the Email [email protected] immerse yourself in the life and music of a great Queensland Choir. The second half of the concert will be the entire Act 1 of Tosca with Jacqueline NUMBER ONE SUBSCRIBERS Mabardi as Tosca, Rosario La Spina as the painter Ian Heap and Kevin Burdon Cavaradossi and Jeffrey Black as Scarpia, the evil Chief of Police. The Brisbane Symphony Orchestra 4MBS Classic FM is supported by plus organ, church bells and chorus will all subscriptions, donations and sponsorships. combine for the Te Deum that brings Act 1 of this For further information visit our website powerful opera to a spectacular close. at: www.4mbsclassicfm.com.au So I hope to see you at this year’s Festival of Program Guides Classics – come along and share the love of the are produced by world’s greatest music with us. PC Graphic Art Thank-you to our 300+ volunteers who work around the clock to keep 4MBS Classic FM on the air! Gary Thorpe General Manager 4MBS CLAssIc FM PROGRAm GUIDE mAY 2008 1 UNIVERSAL mUSIc fEATURE The Mirusian Dream Performing to the masses and brings the massive crowd to silence, her pure voice soaring through the melody at a very slow, but recording a new album with André beautifully sustained tempo. Rieu; it’s a dream come true for So, was it her goal to be an opera star all along? Brisbane singer Mirusia. “As a singer you go from day to day, and you think, ‘Oh, where is it going to take me tomorrow?’. But onsidering it’s 8am in Holland and the temperature in the end, I just want to be a solo artist, I want is minus two outside, Mirusia Louwerse is C to be doing concerts like what I’m doing now with sounding awfully cheery over the phone. But then, André“. she has good reason. This young singer from the Brisbane suburb of Birkdale has recently turned 23, Her first major break came in 2006 when she won is in the midst of a world tour, and has just released the national Dame Joan Sutherland award for an album with one of the most popular classical performing the ‘Piangero’ aria from Handel’s Giulio musicians ever, Dutch violinist André Rieu. Cesare - she was the youngest singer ever to win. It gave her media exposure, and not long after, With striking eyes and golden locks, everything she recorded a demo album with the Cleveland about her story sounds like a fairytale. Legend has Symphony Orchestra. It was this recording, it that, after hearing her voice, the ‘King of the capturing the richness and warmth of her voice - I think when you’ve heard the whole CD, and the Waltz’ made a surprise phone call to her home that caught the attention of André Rieu. way that it flows together, you kind of understand and asked her to be his princess. (Actually, she had the meaning of it.” to fly to Holland first and audition, but she was Little did she know, on the other side of the world soon chosen to be a soloist in his massive musical her aunt had emailed André, suggesting he look So, what’s next for Mirusia? From here, she performs extravaganzas. And she did later play the role of at Mirusia’s website and listen to her recordings. with André in his World Stadium Tour ‘A Romantic a princess in his ‘André Rieu in Wonderland’ DVD It was André’s wife who first read the email and Night in Vienna’, hitting Amsterdam, Leipzig, Paris – complete with prince and white horse.) heard Mirusia’s voice, but she passed it on to André, and Brussels in the next few months. It’s no tiny show. Involving over 200 artists, including André’s The journey to be this princess of song was not quite and both were impressed with her talent. Back Johann Strauss Orchestra and Choir, vocal soloists, that simple of course, and Mirusia admits there was in Brisbane, Mirusia received a phone call from a dancers and ice-skaters, the production is set a lot of hard work involved. But the result is a dream strange Dutch man. against a life-size reproduction of the Schönbrunn come true for this charming soprano. It’s a dream “Suddenly I got this call at home, but I didn’t think it Castle in Vienna. The tour also has two ice rinks, she’s had for many years, and it all started once could be a prank because who would call and say, ‘I’m a golden coach with six white horses, and lots of upon a time… with a nursery rhyme.