Alexandra Mathew
Alexandra Mathew is from Readings State Library Victoria
Review — 28 Jan 2019
Handel: Italian Cantatas by Sabine Devieihe & Lea Desandre
The violent and confronting tale of Lucretia’s rape at the hands of the evil Tarquinius has, for reasons I’d rather not ponder, inspired countless works of great art. Paintings, plays…
Review — 26 May 2016
Sounds and Sweet Airs by Anna Beer
Every page of Anna Beer’s Sounds and Sweet Airs – a study of forgotten female composers – contains a tempting distraction. With each reference to a composition, I reach over…
Blog post — 15 Nov 2018
The best classical CDs of 2018
Every year our staff vote for their favourite books, albums, films and TV shows of the past 12 months. Here are our top 10 classical CDs of the year, voted…
Review — 21 Oct 2018
Schmelzer: The Emperor's Fiddler
Relatively little is known about Austrian composer Johann Heinrich Schmelzer (1623–1680), despite being described during his lifetime as ‘the famous and just about foremost violinist of all Europe’. Indeed, his…
Review — 23 Sep 2018
Into the Fire: Live at Wigmore Hall
For me, the drawcard of mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato’s latest album, recorded live in Wigmore Hall, is not Jake Heggie’s song cycle Into the Fire, but DiDonato’s moving Richard Strauss…
Review — 23 Sep 2018
Calling the Muse: Old & New Pieces for Theorbo
Bruno Helstroffer is a master theorbist. In Calling the Muse he draws on his experience as blues guitarist and early music specialist, depicting a broad landscape for the repertoire of…
Review — 23 Sep 2018
Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 5 & Pieces for Solo Piano
Eight years ago, on a trip to Paris, I visited Saint-Saëns’s tomb at Montparnasse Cemetery. Not out of some kind of morbid curiosity, but instead to commune with a composer…
Review — 22 Jul 2018
Handel: Acis and Galatea
No sooner have Acis and Galatea declared their love than the evil giant (read: sexual predator) Polyphemus tears their union asunder. After doggedly but unsuccessfully pursuing Galatea, a jilted Polyphemus…
Review — 22 Jul 2018
Debussy: Songs Volume 4
Lucy Crowe, it would seem, is the soprano of the hour. I admit, I am biased in her favour after witnessing her glorious 2017 performance in the title role of…
Review — 27 May 2018
Bach & Telemann: Cantatas for Baritone
Despite his mature sixty-two years, Christoph Prégardien possesses a voice of youthful agility. I first heard Prégardien singing Schubert’s ‘Die Schöne Müllerin’ in his delectable tenor register, but for this…