November already, my head is spinning!

November 11th isn’t the big deal in Australia that it is in Europe but there is a Remembrance Day concert being held at St Patrick’s Basilica in Fremantle. Dominic Perissinotto will give an organ recital with works by Liszt, Franck, Elgar, also Thalben-Ball’s Elegy, famously performed at Princess Diana’s funeral. A solemn, poignant and elegant way to acknowledge war and the pursuit of peace.

If an American hotdog is one of your ‘Favourite Things’ head to WASO on Nov 2nd and 4th for their Rogers and Hammerstein tribute. Jacqui Scott and Andrew Halliday will star as the Captain and Maria among other favourite roles, accompanied by the orchestra and yes I wasn’t joking about the hotdogs at interval!

Slightly more serious the following week when the orchestra are joined by the LA Guitar Quartet playing Rodrigo’s Concierto Andaluz, ole! It’s a hot program which also includes Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite and Ravel’s Mother Goose suite and the Australian premiere of Osvaldo Golijov’s Sidereus. I have the feeling the orchestra are going to enjoy this one.

The ACO return on Nov 14th with a Russian program AND ex-WASO trumpet player David Elton who will feature with British pianist Steven Osborne in Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No 1. The ACO promise an immensely virtuosic performance with flexibility and humour veering on craziness. This is my pick for the month.

The following night Musica Viva bring to Perth Anthony Marwood (piano) and Aleksandar Madzar (violin) who apparently belong together like wine and cheese. The publicity brags they are musical soulmates – big claims but I guess when you’ve been playing together for twenty years it begins to show. Repertoire includes Beethoven, Debussy, Schubert and Kerry.