Why the music

A wealth of good quality music-making is going on in this country; to my mind, much of what we hear can possess a distinction and finesse that stand successfully alongside much on offer in both major and minor European and American centres.

The number of concerts and recitals that deserve notice has been increasing steadily, especially over the last decade during which this country has enjoyed an explosion in chamber music activity, to specify one thriving field.

However, print-press coverage of serious music events in a surprising number of major European cities has dwindled to a point nearing non-existence. Australia is no different.

Faced with this dilemma – more music prepared and performed, less space to write about it – this blog, ‘O’Connell the Music’, offers a sort of solution: a supplementary coverage format, specifically for those recitals and concerts no longer considered major enough to warrant reviews in the arts sections of Australian dailies.

To that end, these pages provide, to whatever public is there for them, a long-time music-writer’s observations and evaluations, offered with amity to those remarkable people who persist in following tricky career-paths and who deserve continual recognition of their accomplishments.

Clive O’Connell