I was in a terribly bad mood when I sat down to listen to this recording. Not the best way to experience new repertoire, but as the first track, ‘Forty Reasons to Be Cheerful’, evolved, it was like the sun came out and my bad mood fell away. Although this ‘Festive Fanfare’ is only six-and-a-half minutes long, the rest of the recording was equally as fulfilling and, the only way I can truly describe it, beautiful. This is some stunningly gorgeous music.

After the bright opening we move into the gentle ‘Persistence of Memory’ with soloist David Nuttall, principal oboe of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, sharing the spotlight with Jun Yi Ma and Sue-Ellen Paulsen. The trio deliver a soulful beginning to the work and hearing their performance slowly dissolve into a full orchestral work is like watching a cake bake: you can see it taking shape and know it’s going to be delicious. ‘Divertissement: Trios Pieces Bourgeoises’ surprised me with the colours it seems to send wheeling around the orchestra, however it’s not really until ‘Between Two Worlds’ expands over six movements that we get some faster melodic ideas thrown into the mix. Finishing with the title piece, ‘Time is a River’, Paul Dean compels as a soloist who works with the orchestra as a team rather than one who hogs the spotlight. Together they make a new and beautiful musical experience.

Each work has a different story behind its composition and a couple have been rearranged from earlier Koehne works into new forms. The Divertissement was originally a string quartet and ‘Between Two Worlds’ is a suite comprising music from Koehne’s ballet ‘Fly Away Peter’. Each work’s story is interesting and distinct, but where they don’t differ is in Koehne’s indelible style shaping every note. The soloists and the musicians of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra are terrific, and with Richard Mills at the helm, this music sings.

Kate Rockstrom