I have used the rather poncy title as I am expecting this to cover the usual musical matters and some other lectures and exhibitions.

Piano at Melba Hall

This was part of the regular Monday concert series. It would be nice if I could give the name of the guy who gave the recital but they left it off the program, both the paper version and - as far as I can find - online. A pity as he was rather good.

The first work was Beethoven “Piano Sonata No. 31 in A-flat major, Op. 110” with three movements and the second “César Franck “Prélude, Choral et Fugue, FWV 21” which despite the 3 words was played as one movement. I found it very pleasant music to hear and being in the front row the loudness sufficient to keep me awake in the rather warm venue even though I had taken off my parka.

The pianist was very energetic! At some points in the second work I was a little concerned that his hand movements were such that he was going to knock himself out. It was also the first time I have seen the force of the performer's movements lift him off the piano stool.

An interesting aspect of this concert was the number of people in the audience using walking frames and/or wheelchairs. This is in no way an issue but merely an observation on the demographics.

The Light on the Hill

This was a talk at the Prahran Mechanics Institute (PMI) Library by Ross McMullin talking about the revised version of his history of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The first edition was published in1991 to celebrate the centenary of the ALP and the revised edition adds in details of the last 30 years as well as making a few revisions to the earlier material.

The PMI had a display of several of their political histories, including the first edition of this work, in the entrance to the auditorium,

Ross set out copies of a few of his books on a table, ready for sale at the end of the talk (I was first in line - the discounted price was attractive as was the content - and he looked to be doing good trade.

Ross made no bones about being a staunch member of the ALP but considered the book a warts and all history. He commented that in his University studies of law he took a course under Gareth Evans in which the assessment was by a long essay on a topic of the student’s choice. The feedback from Biggles was “Good history and good politics but not enough Law.”: he felt it a good thing he became a historian rather than a lawyer.

When the first edition was published he had a battle with the publisher to use the title which references a speech by Ben Chifley in 1949 and the phrase re-used by Gough in the 1972 campaign. While getting my book signed I asked Ross what alternative was offered by the publisher: he couldn’t remember as it became irrelevant.

The talk was very interesting and amusing but I didn’t take notes. The revised edition was launched by Anthony Albanese (Albo - PM) at the recent ALP Conference. Ross had been unable to attend as he was in hospital with pneumonia, but his planned speech was delivered by Jim Chalmers. This was followed, followed (sic - he did use the politicians trick of repeating key phrases) by a State Launch on 5 August 2026 at 6:30 pm in the Solidarity Hall at the Victorian Trades Hall in Carlton, featuring readings and guest speakers Jenny Macklin AC and Tanya Plibersek MP. (A definite decision to have this launched by two eminent women.

I shall do a review of the book when I have finished it: as it is 800 pages it may be a while.

Max Dupain and Ansel Adams

I have included some material about a photographic exhibition on Max Dupain and Ansel Adams in this blog post.

Early music at Melba Hall

This was another of the Monday concerts. Before getting into the hall we heard the dulcet tones of a helicopter coming in to land at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

My guess was that the helipad was on a roof somewhere and this was confirmed from Google Earth. Melba Hall yellow and Helipad red: I am unsure if the helicopter image is on the pad or something added to Google Earth.

To comply with the Conservatorium’s request not to take photos in the performance here is a shot of the instruments on stage before the start.

Before the performance started one of the staff called out about the concerts being livestreamed, which I don’t remember hearing before. So on returning home I checked and - about 40 minutes after the concert ended the stream was there! So here is a grab of the three performers: Harrison Whelan, traverso flute, Sebastian Spillane, baroque cello and

Justice Karol, harpsichord.

A pleasing feature was that the cellist spoke briefly before each piece. The first work by Michel Corrette was in 4 movements and described as a French composer using an Italian style, This was very jolly and the 2nd movement in particular was causing some sparks in my memory. (They have since gelled into reminding me of some Fado tracks by Christina Branco so add Portuguese into the melange!) Balance is everything, and the second work - just flute and cello - was by an Italian composer, Giuseppe Tartini, writing in more of a French style. The third work, with harpsichord back on deck, was by the German composer Christoph Schaffrath. This was described as being a particularly baroque work with much ornamentation of the ‘conversation’ between the instruments.

A very enjoyable concert.

Andrea Lam: Sonatas

This was a concert in the Hanson Dyer Hall series listed as sonatas as stories. The pianist was Andrea Lam, who we have heard performing before and know to be very good. Here is a picture, snipped from the livestream, of her explaining what the concert is about.

The hall was very close to being full: probably sold (OK it was free, but you know what I mean) out with a few no-shows.

She mentioned that both of the works were in 4 movements and took 40 minutes each, which she noted was quite a long time to sit in one place! The sonata form was explained, but I am afraid I don't have skill to follow the shifts between themes etc when a piece is being performed.

The works were

Franz Schubert: Sonata in A major, D. 959
Sergei Prokofiev: Sonata No. 6 in A major, Op. 82

There was a 10 minute interval to allow Andrea to catch her breath between the works.

I am not normally a fan of Schubert as the bulk of his work - I think Andrea mention over 700 pieces were lieder which are normally declaimed by Very Serious Singers (who could be described as boring). This work was very pleasant, although the second, slower, movement was not as appealing to me.

On returning after the interval Andrea greeted the audience with "How are you all going?" in a rather broad Australian accent. She then said how much she enjoyed Schubert and commented that the first work was beautiful “ .. but the Prokofiev piece isn’t…”. It is one of his War Sonatas and she explained it was written during the (Second World) War. It is possible to hear sirens and explosions in the music. In contrast to the Schubert with a slow second movement this work had a fast second movement and a slow third.

The first movement was indeed a bit discordant , but still interesting to listen to. The second I could almost describe as ‘jolly, bouncing along, and indeed Andrea appeared to be enjoying herself as she played.

After the finish of the piece she received a large ovation and talked a little more saying that she felt she ought to play something else to calm things down. This was a Chopin Nocturne which was indeed very melodic and peaceful.

We had decided to sit on the far side of the hall which meant we were more involved in the scrum on leaving than when getting to the centre row (although we arrived 30 minutes before kick off there was a queue and we were too late to get in there).