Rajah Vyner of Sarawak

 

 

Headhunter dressed up for death-dance & skulls kept as trophies

 

 

The Brooke clan in an earlier era

Authentic signature of Charles Brooke (2nd White Rajah) from 1876

Rajah Vyner Brooke 1927 Sarawak coin

Astana Palace - river frontage

Main gate of the Astana Palace

Astana Palace in the distance with the colourful buildings of Kuching's Chinatown in the foreground

Astana Palace lit up at night

G20 Summit in Brisbane 2014 - some views of US & Chinese government airplanes on tarmac of Brisbane Airport

 Close encounter with a US government plane (personal photos)

Chinese President's plane at Brisbane Airport (personal photo)

Gandhi statue unveiled in Brisbane during the G20 Summit by India's Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi (personal photos)

Attending concert of Denis Matsuev with London Symphony Orchestra & Valery Gergiev in Brisbane QPAC 22 November 2014 (personal photos)

  Denis Matsuev plays Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No 2 Mvt 1 (excerpt) in  Brisbane QPAC (22nd November 2014) :-

 Some personal souvenirs from earlier years... 

Recently re-discovered ticket for a violin recital of Sir Yehudi Menuhin which I had the good fortune of attending in the Perth Concert Hall (Australia) on the 19th July 1988:-

Sydney Opera House backstage tour ticket (26th January 1994)

Hearing Boris Berezovsky play Rachmaninov's 3rd Piano Concerto with the Russian National Orchestra under Mikhail Pletnev in Cologne (8th May 1998)

Attending Lazar Berman's solo recital and masterclass in Hong Kong City Hall on 5th & 6th May 1999:-

The great Spanish master pianist Joaquin Achucarro graced the stage of Winthrop Hall at the University of Western Australia (Perth), presenting two solo recitals on the 4th & 6th of March 1999.  At the first one he played Chopin's Barcarolle, Sonata No 3 and pieces by Granados, AIbeniz, Scriabin and Debussy. The second programme consisted of Debussy, Albeniz, De Falla and assorted Chopin.  I went along to one of these recitals - an unforgettable experience!

Hearing Joshua Bell play Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in Perth Concert Hall (1999) - I don't have any souvenirs of that evening but here is a web reference:-

Other violinists I have been lucky to hear in the Perth Concert Hall (AU) include Nigel Kennedy, Ray Chen, Sarah Chang (got all of their autographs!), Baiba Skride, Michael Barenboim, Maxim Vengerov... and ca. 1989 a concert of Igor and Valery Oistrakh in the chapel of Christ Church Grammar School in Perth

The ABC broadcast Igor and Valery Oistrakh's performance in Adelaide (July 1989) of Mozart's Concertone in C major KV190 with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra under Muhai Tang:-

Rudolf Koelman (one of the last pupils of Heifetz), autographing CDs in Fremantle Town Hall on the 14th March 2010, following a performance of Glazunov's Violin Concerto with the Fremantle Chamber Orchestra under Jessica Gethin:-

Mischa Maisky signed this programme for me at his concert of 28th March 2015 in the Perth Concert Hall

Martha Argerich with the London Philharmonia under Vladimir Ashkenazy in Mandurah (near Perth) on 26th January 2000

I attended this concert (part of the Perth International Arts Festival) - but Argerich cancelled and was replaced by Ashkenazy as soloist.  He didn't play the originally programmed Chopin 1st Piano Concerto, but rather a Mozart Piano Concerto (No 20 perhaps).

Ashkenazy autographed this CD in Sydney in November 2009

Programme for a solo recital given by Alicia de Larrocha in the Perth Concert Hall on 11th October 1977.  Larrocha also performed Mozart's Piano Concerto No 25 K503 with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra under Sir Alexander Gibson on 7th & 8th October 1977 at the same venue.  Of course I didn't attend any of these 1970's concerts!  This programme was something I found in the State Library of W.A.

WATCH VIDEO: Alicia de Larrocha plays Mozart Piano Concerto No 25 with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (1st October 1977 Adelaide Festival Theatre)

Programme for Vladimir Ashkenazy with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra under John Hopkins of 2nd December 1977 in the Perth Concert Hall, performing Chopin's 1st and Beethoven's 4th Piano Concertos.  Another find at the State Library...

WATCH VIDEO:  Vladimir Ashkenazy plays Chopin Piano Sonata No 3 in Perth Concert Hall (December 11, 1982)

WATCH VIDEO:  Beethoven Piano Sonata No 28 Op 101 - Vladimir Ashkenazy in Perth Concert Hall (December 11, 1982)

ORIGINAL PROGRAM BOOK:  Vladimir Ashkenazy piano recital in Perth, Western Australia (December 11, 1982) [PDF]

Well, I copied a lot of other fascinating concert programmes from the W.A. State Library... Jorge Bolet, John Ogdon, Radu Lupu, Annie Fischer, Claudio Arrau, John Lill, Cecile Ousset, Michael Ponti, Michel Block, Stephen Bishop (Kovacevich), Lorin Hollander, Peter Frankl, Miriam Fried, Erick Friedman, Pinchas Zukerman, Kyung-Wha Chung... all played in Perth during the 1970s (the usual venue was Government House Ballroom until 1972, and from 1973 onwards the newly constructed Perth Concert Hall)

From earlier decades there are Perth programmes for Eileen Joyce, Shura Cherkassky (as early as 1928!), Claudio Arrau, William Kapell (1945 & 1953), Noel Mewton-Wood, Julius Katchen, Jascha Spivakovsky, Ruggiero Ricci, Isaac Stern, David Helfgott, etc.  Typical venues were the Capitol Theatre, His Majesty's Theatre, or the University of Western Australia (Octagon Theatre or Winthrop Hall)....

Claudio Arrau 1957 Australasian Tour LP

1957 Perth concert programs of Claudio Arrau - Beethoven Piano Concerto No 4 (26 & 27 July 1957, Capitol Theatre) & solo recital (30 July 1957, Capitol Theatre)

State Concert to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II - Jascha Spivakovsky performs Britten Piano Concerto etc. (6 June 1953, Capitol Theatre)

  Download the complete program for QEII Coronation Concert with Jascha Spivakovsky (1953 Perth)

 Royal Barge with Queen Elizabeth II & Prince Philip on the Swan River - Royal Visit to Perth (1954) 

1936 Perth concert programs of Eileen Joyce - solo works & Grieg Piano Concerto (April 1936, His Majesty's Theatre)

 "The Australian Broadcasting Commission has much pleasure in presenting to you Eileen Joyce, Australia's Genius of the Piano, who has created the most profound impression abroad." 

  Download the complete program for Eileen Joyce at His Majesty's Theatre (1936 Perth)

 Eileen Joyce plays Grieg's Piano Concerto with the London Philharmonia in the Royal Albert Hall, London (from 1951 movie "Wherever She Goes")

1987 Perth concert program of Shura Cherkassky - solo piano recital (June 8, 1987, Art Gallery of Western Australia)

Schubert Sonata D664, Schumann Kreisleriana, Rachmaninov Corelli Variations, Messiaen Ile de feu I & II, Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No 12

1987 Australian tour of Jorge Bolet  (Perth & Melbourne)

Beethoven Piano Concertos Nos 3, 4 & 5, Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No 2  &  Paganini Rhapsody, Schubert/Liszt Wanderer, Franck Symphonic Variations

(February-March 1987 with Melbourne & West Australian Symphony Orchestras)

Jorge Bolet also gave a solo recital in Melbourne Concert Hall on March 22, 1987

 2011 Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting — Perth Concert Hall Gala Concert 

  Live performance of  James Ledger's Indian Pacific  with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra under Brad Cohen  CHOGM Gala (October 25, 2011 Perth) :-

ABC Classic broadcast recorded from VAST satellite

Roger Woodward performed the complete works of Chopin in the Sydney Town Hall during the 1983-84 seasons

  Relive the experience of Roger Woodward playing Chopin's Waltzes Op 69/1 & 64/2 in the  Sydney Town Hall (22nd April 1983) :-

The legendary Roger Woodward in an all-Chopin recital marking the bicentenary of Chopin's birth in Winthrop Hall, University of W.A. (26th November 2010)

Watch Roger Woodward interview & Bach performance from ABC Sunday Arts June 8, 2008

Roger Woodward plays Rachmaninov Paganini Rhapsody & Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No 1 (excerpts)

1983 Official Opening Concert of the Sydney Entertainment Centre

     Listen to Fou Ts'ong play Chopin's 24 Preludes Op 28 & Op 45 / Op posth. from 1980 CBS studio recording 

Angela Hewitt autographed this masterclass programme in Sydney in May 2003.  Around the same time Olli Mustonen gave a masterclass in Sydney and signed my DVD of his Prokofiev 3rd Piano Concerto.

Attending Olli Mustonen's solo recital of March 2003 in Sydney

Another "autographic" encounter with Angela Hewitt, this time in Melbourne (September 2013)

The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra makes its Australian debut in the Perth Concert Hall under Sir Simon Rattle (14th November 2010)

Ticket for the Berlin Philharmonic in Perth

  Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra performs Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances under Sir Simon Rattle in the  Sydney Opera House (November 20, 2010) :-

ABC Classic FM broadcast

Konstantin Lifschitz solo piano recital in the Ballroom of Government House, Perth (27th February 2011)

Attending the solemn memorial concert of the Tokyo Symphony under Maestro Ken-ichiro Kobayashi honouring the victims of the earthquake & tsunami (Tokyo Suntory Hall, 26th March 2011)

Stefan Stroissnig recital of 11th May 2011 at the Callaway Music Auditorium, University of Western Australia

  Stefan Stroissnig plays Schubert's Impromptus D899 Op 90 Nos 3 & 4 in the  National Portrait Gallery, Canberra (May 16, 2011) :-

ABC Classic FM broadcast

"Alfred Brendel Pianist" - rare 1973 Radio Bremen TV portrait (45 minutes)

  Alfred Brendel plays Schubert's 3 Piano Pieces D946, Piano Sonata D894, Impromptus D935 Nos 1-4 in  Ludwigshafen (May 3, 1979) :-

Audience recording on reel tape (with thanks to B.N.)  {transfer by cvxmelody}

Lang Lang autographed this CD after his concert of 8th June 2011 at the Sydney Opera House

Lang Lang's masterclass at the Sydney Opera House (9th June 2011)

Attending all three of Evgeny Kissin's concerts at the Sydney Opera House (September 2011)

Sydney sunset (September 2011)

Murray Perahia's solo piano recital in Taipei of 20th October 2011

 Gala concert in Hong Kong City Hall (2nd Nov 2011) - 4 piano concertos performed by 4 soloists - Cristina Ortiz, Tigran Alikhanov, Peter Frankl, Gary Graffman, all conducted by Maestro Vladimir Ashkenazy

 Concerts of Garrick Ohlsson, Denis Matsuev, Olga Kern and Mischa Maisky in Seattle (2012) (I didn't attend any of them, but just took these photos!)

Massey Hall in Toronto (February 2012)

  Relive the experience of Vladimir Horowitz playing Mozart's Sonata in C K330 in  Massey Hall, Toronto (October 16, 1977) :-

Own digitization from bootleg reel tape recording (the tape was kindly gifted by Dr B.N. of Germany) -  playback equipment: AKAI 4000DS MK II

Marc-Andre Hamelin signs CD for me after his performance of Beethoven's 4th Piano Concerto in Singapore (3rd March 2012)

 Hearing Yundi Li perform Tchaikovsky's 1st Piano Concerto in Hong Kong Cultural Centre on 8th September 2012 (HK Philharmonic season opener)

There were a lot of interesting concerts around this time...  another highlight was attending the world premiere of Carl Vine's Piano Concerto No 2 at the Sydney Opera House on 22nd August 2012 with Piers Lane the soloist conducted by Hugh Wolff.  Carl Vine was present and appeared on stage to much applause.  There were additional performances of this concerto in Sydney and shortly after in Hobart but this was the very first one.

Earlier, Piers Lane had presented a wonderful solo recital in the City Recital Hall, Sydney (on 20th August 2012) with the complete Chopin Waltzes, etc.  The pre-concert talk was delivered by pianist/composer Ian Munro (whom I've been lucky to hear many times in concert).

Ian Munro played Ravel's Piano Concerto in G at The Concourse, Chatswood in October 2012 under Nicholas Milton

Australia Ensemble at the Sir John Clancy Auditorium, UNSW (October 2012)

 Ian Munro played Liszt's Piano Concerto No 1 at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne (22nd February 2012)

  Live performance of the rarely heard  Ignaz Friedman Piano Quintet in C minor  with Ian Munro et al. at the  Sanguine Estate Music Festival (1st March 2014) :-

ABC Classic VAST satellite recording made by cvxmelody

Two LP records autographed by Garrick Ohlsson in November 2012

I snapped this photo of Philip Glass, Maki Namekawa & Sally Whitwell on stage in the Perth Concert Hall (16th February 2013) after their world premiere performance of Glass's Complete Piano Etudes

 Joyce Yang with Tchaikovsky's 1st Piano Concerto at the Sydney Opera House (16th March 2013)

Attending the solo recitals of Joyce Yang and Ingrid Fliter in the City Recital Hall, Angel Place (18th March 2013 & 23rd September 2013)

Tamara Anna Cislowska solo piano recital in Hunter's Hill Town Hall (17th March 2013)

A selection of CDs from the late, great Geoffrey Tozer

Audio recording © "Fine Music 102.5" (all rights reserved)

Ingrid Fliter autograph of September 2013 at the University of Western Australia

Bizarre premonition!?  Motorbike with "ZUBIN" number plate which I spotted in central Melbourne on 18th July 2013

Snapped these pics of Lola Astanova at her solo recital in Brisbane (QSO Studio South Bank) on 13th October 2013. Also heard her play the Gershwin Rhapsody in Brisbane QPAC just days before with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra under Gerard Schwarz.  And earlier that year, I attended the Australian debut of "youtube star" Valentina Lisitsa - a solo recital at the Brisbane QPAC (8th June 2013), which absolutely surpassed my expectations.  Also very interesting were the Brisbane recitals of Sergio Tiempo (4th June) and Freddy Kempf (17th November)...

And I made it to the concerts of Marc-André Hamelin in Melbourne (25th & 27th September 2013) and Adelaide (22nd September 2013)

  Marc-André Hamelin plays his arrangement of Chopin's Waltz No 6 Op 64/1 in  Hamer Hall, Melbourne (30th September 2013) :-

LP record autographed for me by Pinchas Zukerman (November 2013)

This LP (not yet autographed) was originally a gift to me from D.S.

Behzod Abduraimov playing Beethoven's Emperor Concerto in Auckland (15th May 2014)

Abduraimov in Auckland Town Hall on 15th May 2014 - concert photos (below) from the live internet feed:-

Following this Auckland concert, I heard Abduraimov play Rachmaninov's 3rd Piano Concerto in the Adelaide Town Hall on 23rd May 2014 (which I suspect was his first public performance of this concerto anywhere - this has now been confirmed in an interview Abduraimov gave in Los Angeles, August 2017 - refer below).  Though my very first encounter with Abduraimov was in the Perth Concert Hall playing Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No 1 on 9th March 2012. It was the stuff of legend, and yup, I got his autograph.

Photos taken by me of Abduraimov rehearsing the "Rach 3" with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra under Martyn Brabbins on 23rd May 2014 in the Adelaide Town Hall:-

Abduraimov soloist in the "Rach 3" with Valery Gergiev in the Royal Albert Hall, London on 18th July 2016 (BBC Proms)

  Behzod Abduraimov Hollywood Bowl concert interview snippet (August 2017, Los Angeles) - confirming he played "Rach 3" for the very first time in Adelaide:-

Alexei Volodin playing Brahms 2nd Piano Concerto in Adelaide (9th September 2016)

 Henley Beach Jetty (September 2016)

Peter Jablonski performed Chopin's Piano Concerto No 2 at the Adelaide Festival Theatre on 21st May 2010 and signed this CD after the concert:-

Herbert Schuch autograph from July 2009 in Adelaide during the Beethoven Festival conducted by John Nelson

Jean-Efflam Bavouzet masterclass at Elder Hall, Adelaide on 23rd April 2012 (left) and autograph from his Debussy recital of 24th April 2012 in the same venue (right)

Yevgeny Sudbin solo piano recital in the Space Theatre, Adelaide of 6th May 2013.  A few days later (on the 9th) I also heard him play Beethoven's 2nd Piano Concerto in the Adelaide Town Hall.

  Lukas Vondracek plays Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto (Mvt III) under Alexander Lazarev in the  Perth Concert Hall (May 1, 2014) :-

 FLASHBACK   1978 Tchaikovsky Competition, Moscow - Alexander Lazarev with Mikhail Pletnev

  Yulianna Avdeeva plays Chopin's Nocturne Op 55/2, Fantasie Op 49, Four Mazurkas Op 17, Polonaise Op 44 in  Meany Hall, Seattle (December 1, 2015) :-

KING FM 98.1 (Seattle) webcast

  Alexander Gavrylyuk plays Schumann's Kinderszenen (I) as an encore in  Concertgebouw, Amsterdam (November 6, 2016) :-

  Ayako Uehara plays Bartok's 3rd Piano Concerto (complete) with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra under Martyn Brabbins in the  Perth Concert Hall (June 2017) :-

She performs Tchaikovsky Waltz as an encore

ABC Classic broadcast recorded from VAST satellite (Sydney feed)

 AYAKO UEHARA WINS GOLD MEDAL   @ 2002 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition, Moscow

  Tzimon Barto plays Schumann's Kreisleriana live in  Vienna (March 9, 1993) :-

  Khatia Buniatishvili short interview & piano recital: Chopin's Ballade No 4, Scherzi Nos 2 & 3, Liszt's Mephisto Waltz No 1 - Live in  Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney (May 1, 2011) :-

ABC Classic FM live direct broadcast

 MORE AUDIO FROM THE ARCHIVES OF CVXMELODY... 

●◊●  Embedded MP3 music files — playable on most web browsers  ●◊●

Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 3 with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra/Richard Gill

Laser Discs (remember those?!) - Ivo Pogorelich | Song Without End (The Story of Franz Liszt) with soundtrack by Jorge Bolet | Bernstein West Side Story

 Deutsche Grammophon video catalogue 1991-92

Top End etc.

Lake Eyre (26th April 2012)

Hot air ballooning in Alice Springs (28th April 2012)

 The Olgas (1st May 2012)

 Palm Valley in The Northern Territory (2nd May 2012)

 Ayers Rock aerial perspective (3rd May 2012)

Point Lookout and Guyra in New South Wales (19th August 2012)

Mother of Ducks Lagoon in Guyra - high altitude wetlands (19th August 2012)

Gold Coast, Sydney, Darwin (August 2012)

Mindil Beach sunset in Darwin (30th August 2012)

Kakadu National Park in The Northern Territory (28th August 2012)

Me (on the right) standing at the summit of Bluff Knoll with my sister - Stirling Range National Park (1981)

The Pinnacles (January 2013)