Kate Rockstrom
Kate Rockstrom regularly reviews classical music for Readings. She also performs as a flautist, as well as writing about music and books.
Review — 8 Nov 2020
Carl Maria von Weber: The Clarinet Concertos
Beautiful, lush romantic strings set this recording off. Then the clarinet enters, with a wailing sound – not at all what I was expecting. There is an edge to the…
Review — 8 Nov 2020
Antonio Vivaldi: Lost Concertos for Anna Maria
There was a time in Venice when baby girls could be dropped through a slot, similar to a libraryreturns chute, and so be abandoned to be raised in a convent…
Review — 30 Sep 2020
Vivaldi: Works for Clarinet and Orchestra Martin Frost & Concerto Koln
Historians believe that the clarinet was first invented around 1700. At the time, composers were demanding more from their musicians, and trumpeters were not able to cope with the fast…
Review — 30 Sep 2020
Brahms: Symphonies 3 & 4 Richard Tognetti & Australian Chamber Orchestra
There is nothing in the world quite like an electrifying live performance. I know we have all been missing that feeling of sitting in the middle of the music, hearing…
Review — 31 Jul 2020
Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 5 & Finzi: Clarinet Concerto by Michael Collins
He hath given me rest by His sorrow and life by His death. – Bunyan
Written above the third movement of Vaughan Williams’s Fifth Symphony, Romanza, these words are…
Review — 27 Jun 2020
Death and the Maiden by 12 Ensemble
Fans of the Australian Chamber Orchestra will instantly recognise the oeuvre of 12 Ensemble. They are a string orchestra that performs as a chamber ensemble, with no conductor. This brings…
Review — 27 Jun 2020
Aspects of America: Pulitzer Edition by Oregon Symphony & Carlos Kalmar
As many people would be aware, classical repertoire can take a long time to work its way into the hearts of listeners (J.S. Bach being an obvious one, only becoming…
Review — 29 Mar 2020
Vasks: Works for Piano Trio by Trio Palladio
We listen to, we look for, and we learn about classical music all the time. And yet, somehow, sometimes we miss a gem. This is what discovering Peteris Vasks has…
Review — 29 Mar 2020
Beethoven: The Piano Concertos by Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
Happy 250th Birthday Beethoven! The classical music world is going mad for all new Beethoven recordings and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra is jumping on that bandwagon. Teaming up with fellow…
Review — 23 Feb 2020
14 Histoires de guitares by David Jacques
You know someone is a music nerd when they discuss the fact that they collect guitars from a period spanning four hundred years and have more than ten guitars in…