Presented by the Sydney Conservatorium Art Song Festival
Featuring three stunning cycles by Richard Mills, Luke Severn and Keith Humble, this performance represents Songmakers Australia vast influence and commitment in support of Australian Art Song.
More information here
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
During his years of exile, Wagner tried, unsuccessfully, to ‘make it’ in Paris.
His influence on composers was almost non-existent, but he gathered great support by other artists with similar aesthetic ideas about the correlation between words and music. Charles Baudelaire was a great admirer of Wagner and would have great influence on a later generations of composers who would embrace the greatness in a very French way.
For Baudelaire, Wagner’s work embodies “an awareness of the magical power of suggestion of music”, which replicated the musicality of many of his own poems in ‘Les Fleurs du Mal’ (The Flowers of Evil).
More information here
Presented by Art Song Canberra
Songmakers Australia presents a program of quartets by Schubert and Brahms, and a rarely performed extended version of Schumann’s ‘Spanisches Liederspiel’ including gems such as the breathtaking ‘Hoch, hoch sind die Berge’ and the cheeky ‘Der Contrabandist’.
Tickets available here
This performance in Primrose Potter Salon celebrates 200 years of Die schöne Müllerin (The Fair Maid of the Mill), a song cycle based on 20 poems written by Wilhem Müller.
‘I feel myself to be the most unhappy and wretched creature in the world. Imagine a man whose health will never be right again, and who in sheer despair over this ever makes things worse and worse, instead of better; imagine a man, I say, whose most brilliant hopes have perished, to whom the happiness of love and friendship have nothing to offer but pain… My peace is gone, my heart is sore, I shall find it never and nevermore… I may well sing now, for each night, on retiring to bed, I hope I may not wake again…’ With these poignant words Schubert described his state of mind after writing Die schöne Müllerin.
Tickets on sale here
The year is 1863 and the Emperor Napoleon III has decreed that all paintings rejected by the Salon’s judges can be exhibited in a nearby room “wishing to let the public judge the legitimacy of the artists’ complaints”. Thus was born the first Salon des Refusés and the seed of Impressionism was planted.
Using 5 famous paintings as focal points, this program explores French poetry and music inspired by them through songs by Debussy, Fauré, Duparc and duets by Chausson.
Looking to future generations of painters and composers, we pay tribute to Poulenc with a performance of his monumental song cycle 'Le Travail du peintre'.
Tickets on sale here
This performance in Primrose Potter Salon presents passionate works from Wagner and Berg. Love is the greatest inspiration for poetry and songs. ‘To the Angel who has lifted me so high’ – with those words Wagner dedicated his only song cycle to his muse, poetess and paramour, Mathilde Wesendonck.
Berg’s Seven Early Songs were also inspired by the love in his life, his wife Helene. Emotionally and musically attached to the great German Romantic style, it reflects Berg’s obsession with driving back to the beginning.
ARTISTS
Merlyn Quaife, soprano
Christina Wilson, mezzo-soprano
Andrea Katz, piano
PROGRAM
Richard Wagner
Wesendonck Lieder WWV 91
Alban Berg
Piano Sonata Op.1
Sieben frühe Lieder
Tickets on sale here
fortyfivedownstairs Music Series
Nostalgia: a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past. Artistic Director Andrea Katz goes back to her homeland Argentina in a soul searching voyage to the music that shaped her youth. Nicholas Dinopoulos sings songs and tangos by Gardel, Mores, Piazzolla and Ziegler threaded together with some of the most iconic Argentinian piano pieces.
Tickets on sale here
Music at McClelland
Nostalgia: a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past. Artistic Director Andrea Katz goes back to her homeland Argentina in a soul searching voyage to the music that shaped her youth. Nicholas Dinopoulos sings songs and tangos by Gardel, Mores, Piazzolla and Ziegler threaded together with some of the most iconic Argentinian piano pieces.
Tickets on sale here
After a three years hiatus, the 2022 PFSMF hosted 3 Songmakers Australia concerts: Nostalgia (homage to Piazzolla and Argentinian music), Lauris Elms Tribute, and Closing Gala celebrating Vaughan-Williams anniversary with a performance of Serenade to Music.
Schubert's last song cycle was published after his untimely death at the age of 31. It comprises songs by Ludwig Rellstab, the only 6 Heine settings by Schubert and his very last song, Die Taubenpost, a fitting message of love to all of us.
Schubert’s intentions for the publication of these songs, including the order for their performance, is not clear. Hence, Songmakers conception for a cycle after Schubert’s earlier models – a journey there and back again, traversing an emotional gamut ranging from love hopeful and/or renewed, fearful foreboding to bitter disillusionment.
As part of our 10th anniversary celebration, this performance in the Primrose Potter Salon celebrates fearless soprano Merlyn Quaife’s life, career and unwavering love and support of Australian Art Song.
Featuring four stunning cycles by Johanna Selleck, Richard Mills, Luke Severn and Keith Humble, the performance represents aspects of her vast influence and commitment spanning three generations of composers.
Merlyn Quaife, soprano
Andrea Katz, piano
PROGRAM
Selleck: The prospect and bower of bliss
Mills: Here where death and life are met
Severn: 2 Goethe Songs
Humble: Cabaret Songs
Tickets on sale here
Nostalgia: a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past. Artistic Director Andrea Katz goes back to her homeland Argentina in a soul searching voyage to the music that shaped her youth. Nicholas Dinopoulos sings songs and tangos by Gardel, Mores, Piazzolla and Ziegler threaded together with some of the most iconic Argentinian piano pieces.
Ginastera Cuyana
Gardel y Lepera Mi Buenos Aires querido
Piazzolla y Ferrer Balada para un loco
Villoldo (arr. Bacalov) El choclo
Cobián y Cadícamo Nostalgias
Mores y Discépolo Uno
Piazzolla y Ferrer Oblivion
Piazzolla Tzigane Tango
Piazzolla y Ferrer Chiquilín de Bachín
Piazzolla y Ferrer Balada para mi muerte
Ziegler Sandunga
Ziegler y Balducci Rojotango
Nicholas Dinopoulos, bass-baritone
Andrea Katz, piano
Nostalgia: a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past. Artistic Director Andrea Katz goes back to her homeland Argentina in a soul searching voyage to the music that shaped her youth. Nicholas Dinopoulos sings songs and tangos by Gardel, Mores, Piazzolla and Ziegler threaded together with some of the most iconic Argentinian piano pieces.
Tickets on sale here
Leading vocal ensemble Songmakers Australia captivates with a garland of songs, dedications and serenades. The delightful collection of flower-inspired songs features duets and trios by great masters, including Robert Schumann’s romantic Mit Myrten und Rosen (With Myrtles & Roses), and English and Australian classics, such as Percy Grainger’s lovesick Willow, Willow. Dedicated to its fans and newcomers on the 10th anniversary of Songmakers’ debut, this enchanting concert is a perfect fit for the intimate beauty of the Primrose Potter Salon.
Merlyn Quaife, soprano
Christina Wilson, mezzo-soprano
Nicholas Dinopoulos, bass-baritone
Andrea Katz, piano
PROGRAM
Schumann: Mit Myrten und Rosen
Schumann: Du bist wie eine Blume
Schumann: Herbstlied
Schumann: Aus den oestlichen Rosen
Schumann: Die Lotosblume
Schumann: Ich bin dein Baum
Mendelssohn: Herbstlied
Mendelssohn: Maiglöckchen
Mozart: Due pupille amabili, K.439
Mozart: Mi lagnerò tacendo, K.437
Mozart: Più non si trovano, K.549
Linda Phillips: Plum tree
Roger Quilter: Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal
Roger Quilter: Blossom Time
Alan Tregaskis: Vision
Benjamin Britten: The Salley Gardens
Percy Grainger: Willow, Willow
Massenet: Le poème des fleurs
Tickets on sale here
A beautiful collection of songs and duets by Brahms, Dvořák, Roger Quilter and Cole Porter in a special summer sunset program for a warm and beautiful Melbourne twilight.
Merlyn Quaife AM, soprano
Nicholas Dinopoulos, bass-baritone
Andrea Katz, piano
PROGRAM
Brahms: Spannung Op. 84 No. 5
Brahms: Feldeinsamkeit Op. 86 No. 2
Brahms: Nicht mehr zu dir zu gehen Op. 32 No. 2
Brahms: Sapphische Ode Op. 94 No. 4
Brahms: Unbewegte laue Luft Op. 57 No. 8
Brahms: Die Mainacht Op. 43 No. 2
Brahms: Weg der Liebe Op. 20 No. 1
Dvořák: Four Moravian Duets from Op. 32
Porter: Love Song Medley
Wood: The Roses of Picardy
Quilter: Summer Sunset
Quilter: Windy Nights
Tickets on sale here
Festival favourites, the sensational Songmakers Australia, return to bring us a heart-warming exploration of great repertoire written for one of music’s most winning combinations – clarinet, soprano and piano. In the midst of German vocal and chamber music tradition, they present Francis Poulenc’s mellifluous clarinet sonata, as well as showcasing the beautiful work of prolific Australian composer Margaret Sutherland, before concluding with Franz Schubert’s much-loved Shepherd singing his song of longing for a distant sweetheart, consoled only by his dreams of a Springtime reunion.
ARTISTS
Merlyn Quaife AM, soprano
Andrea Katz, piano
David Griffiths, clarinet
PROGRAM
Spohr Six German Songs op 103
Poulenc Clarinet Sonata
Sutherland The Orange Tree
Schubert The Shepherd on the Rock
Tickets on sale here
This seminar is specially designed for singers and pianists who are in the final stages of preparing repertoire for performance, competitions and exams.
You will work with international expert Andrea Katz and fellow members of Songmakers Australia soprano Merlyn Quaife AM and mezzo-soprano Christina Wilson on in-depth study, analysis and performance of Lieder and Art Song repertoire.
Their combined expertise will cover all aspects of performance, language and pronunciation, relationship between singer and pianist, balance and sound projection for a complete preparation of your competition and performance repertoire.
'Thank you for an amazing 3 days of workshops! I am so full of new knowledge and rich experience that I will always cherish - you've taken me to a new level and I feel pumped - even had a breakthrough in my vocal freedom as I was singing on the way home!!' Helen Ling, 2016 participant.
GLOBAL SCHEDULE
Thursday April 9 - 10.00am to 5.00 pm
Friday April 10 - 10.00am to 5.00 pm
Saturday April 11 - 10.00am to 1.00 pm
Attend full-time from Monday to Wednesday, or select those days that suit!
Final concert will take place at the Camberwell Uniting Church on Saturday April 11 at 5pm.
Nick and Andrea revisit some of their favourite songs in this special
broadcast as part of the new Melbourne Digital Concert Hall series.
Quirky vignettes by Poulenc sit alongside some of the most heroic and beautiful Schumann settings of poems by Heinrich Heine.
The program also includes Franz Schubert’s final settings in the lieder genre and a selection of beloved English Art Songs.
Nicholas Dinopoulos - Bass-Baritone, Teaching Artist & Conductor
Andrea Katz, Pianist Down Under
PROGRAM
Benjamin Britten: The Salley Gardens
Roger Quilter: Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal
Francis Poulenc: Le Bestiaire
Robert Schumann: Die beiden Grenadiere
Robert Schumann: Three Heine Settings (from Mythen, op. 25)
Franz Schubert: Six Heine Settings (from Schwanengesang, D. 957)
Franz Schubert: Die Taubenpost
Ralph Vaughan Williams: Silent Noon
Charles Villiers Stanford: Homeward Bound
Tickets on sale here
In a recital from the formidable Bass-baritone Nicholas Dinopoulos, accompanied on piano by the Artistic director of Songmakers Australia Andrea Katz, the duo returns to Healesville to perform a collection of "Schwanengesang" or "Swan songs" from poems by German poets (Rellstab, Heine, Seidl) set to music by Schubert; these are enhanced by several lied by local wunderkind composer & performer Alexander Owens using poems by Heinrich Heine (who provided material for Schubert). This Autumn concert will fasten upon the passionate 19thC Romantic era of "Sturm und Drang".
3MBS Fine Music Melbourne celebrates the 250th birthday of one of the world's most recognised and influential composers, Ludwig van Beethoven.
Concert 4 includes a selection of Scottish Songs op 108, performed by Artistic Director and pianist Andrea Katz, and 2019 Young Songmakers Development Program members, soprano Emilia Bertolini, tenor Alastair Cooper-Golec and baritone Stephen Coutts.
Tickets available here.
Fabulous British ensemble The Gesualdo Six meets Songmakers Australia on their very first tour Down Under
The ensembles will present some of their favourite repertoire individually, and join forces for performances of Brahms' Zigeunerlieder op. 103 and Calvin Bowman's Crossing the Bar.
PROGRAM
The Gesualdo Six:
Johannes Brahms Nachtwache Op. 104 # 1
Franz Schubert Die Nacht
Max Reger Nachtlied
Songmakers Australia:
W.A. Mozart 6 Notturni for 3 voices and piano
The Gesualdo Six & Songmakers Australia:
Calvin Bowman Crossing the Bar
~ Interval ~
The Gesualdo Six:
Owain Park Fantasia on English Children’s Songs
Songmakers Australia:
Antonin Dvorak Die Vöglein
Robert Schumann Ich bin dein Baum, o Gärtner
Felix Mendelssohn Herbstlied
The Gesualdo Six & Songmakers Australia:
Johannes Brahms Zigeunerlieder op 103
A festival celebrating the music of Franz Schubert!
A weekend filled with some of his most beloved songs, including Gretchen am Spinnrade, Du bist die Ruh, An die Musik, his most famous song cycle, Winterreise, and some chamber music gems such as The Trout Quintet, his haunting Fantasie in F for piano 4 hands and his last composition, Shepherd on the rock.
Songmakers Australia core members Merlyn Quaife AM, soprano, Christina Wilson, mezzo-soprano, Nicholas Dinopoulos, bass-baritone, are joined by guest Rachael Beesley, violin, Simon Oswell, viola, Luke Severn, cello, Damien Eckersley, double-bass, Blake Cutler, clarinet, and Alan Hicks, piano, curated by pianist and Artistic Director Andrea Katz.
it is part of the Schubertiade tradition to nurture young talent giving the audience the opportunity to make some exciting new discoveries and our 4 Young Songmakers will join in with joyous duets and quartets.
Melbourne Recital Centre - Local Heroes Series
Merlyn Quaife, soprano
Nicholas Dinopoulos, bass-baritone
Andrea Katz, piano
Let us take you on a guided tour of German, French, and Russian songs of the nineteenth century from the perspective of Mignon, Goethe's tragic heroin, one of the most beguiling and mysterious figures of modern literature.
Victorian Opera - 5 Fridays in August
Merlyn Quaife, soprano
Brenton Spiteri, tenor
Andrea Katz, piano
Soprano Merlyn Quaife AM and tenor Brenton Spiteri, together with pianist and Artistic Director Andrea Katz, explore the songs of opera composers Rossini, Dvorak, Puccini and Donizetti, together with less known repertoire by de Falla, Weill and Duparc, culminating with some Operetta gems by Lehar and Kalman.
Tickets on sale here.
Presented by Art Song Canberra
Merlyn Quaife, soprano
Christina Wilson, mezzo-soprano
Andrew Goodwin, tenor
Andrea Katz, piano
Nursery rhymes and lullabies are insightful windows into the parent-child relationship. Love and death, desires and fears are reflected in the lyrics, some of them allegoric, some outright confronting. Songs and duets by Tchaikovsky, Glinka, Mussorgsky and Kabalevsky frame the centrepiece of this program, Shostakovich’s most touching, unusual and melancholy song cycle From Jewish Folk Poetry, Op.79.
Melbourne Recital Centre - Local Heroes Series
Merlyn Quaife, soprano
Christina Wilson, mezzo-soprano
Brenton Spiteri, guest tenor
Nicholas Dinopoulos, bass-baritone
Andrea Katz, piano
Join us in the intimate setting of the Primrose Potter Salon for a feast of Mediterranean music and songs from France, Spain and Italy that will make your heart sing!
For the fourth consecutive year our Easter masterclass is back!
This seminar is specially designed for singers and pianists who are in the final stages of preparing repertoire for performance, competitions and exams.
You will work with international expert Andrea Katz and fellow members of Songmakers Australia Merlyn Quaife AM and Nicholas Dinopoulos on in-depth study, analysis and performance of Lieder and Art Song repertoire.
All the passion and beauty of the Bohemian landscape in the intimate setting of a Richmond Salon.
Merlyn Quaife, Nicholas Dinopoulos and Andrea Katz present an engaging program of songs and duets by Dvorak, Mahler, Schubert, Piazzolla, Kalman and more.
Bookings essential!
Songmakers Australia core members bass-baritone Nicholas Dinopoulos and pianist Andrea Katz, perform Schubert's glorious song-cycle Winterreise in the intimate salon at Ampico Towers in the heart of Newtown.
The wonderful Merlyn Quaife and Andrea Katz bring life to love
across the ages. From Schubert to Selleck and featuring music by
acclaimed Australian composers, this concert will take you on a
journey of all things love.
