14 January 2002
Happy 2002!
Happy New Year all! Well here we are in 2002 - I was beginning to think I'd never make it through 2001. I've been working in the corporate sector for over a year now, and my contract's been renewed, so I guess I must be doing something right!
But enough of this mindless chatter. On to more important things. 2002 is Shostakovich year in Sydney: A highlight of the Sydney Festival is the live performance of Shostakovich's score to Eisenstein's classic film Battleship Potemkin. Around Easter the Sydney Symphony Orchestra is presenting their Shostakovich Project, to be held over three nights in the Sydney Town Hall, and more Shostakovich to be had later in the year from Opera Australia who are (hooray!) going to be presenting his Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk as part of their wonderful 2002 season - the most compelling lineup of works they've had for years. What joy!
Like a large proportion of the rest of the world, I revisited the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, having indulged in buying myself editions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (last read when I was 11) as a post-Christmas present. Very worthwhile - I can't wait to see the film. In the reading hollow following The Lord of the Rings I am back at work on Michael Holroyd's biography of Lytton Strachey, a marvellous work, but extremely dense.
I've got a couple of website redesign projects on the boil at the moment too - I'm revamping the whole of Erik Satie's Crystal Ball, which has remained shamefully static for an obscene amount of time. I'm also working on a facelift and update for the Musicological Society of Australia - Sydney Chapter site - a new look to go with its new, more memorable URL!
Perhaps most exciting of all, I attended the Australian Guild of Screen Composers' annual award night at the beginning of December, with my composer cousin Ross McLennan. Ross' music for the documentary "Ricardo Carpani: The artist in difficult times" won the coveted "Best Music for a Documentary" award - congratulations Ross! Visit his website at www.lobe.com.au to hear some of his work.
