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Early to Rise

Historically informed music is taking off in Australia, but it needs a more finely tuned philosophy if it is to thrive.

…new enthusiasm has provided a powerful commercial reason to take early music seriously. Now the likes of the Sydney Symphony are offering more intimate concert series featuring baroque music. ABC Classics is getting in on the act too, launching its own early music label, Antipodes. All these initiatives mean more opportunities for musicians with a special interest in historically informed performance.

Even the instrument makers are thriving. Access to appropriate instruments has long been a stumbling block for students of early music, but in recent years Australian craftsmen such as Fred Morgan, Carey Beebe and Simon Brown have been making instruments that now attract worldwide demand.

So what is it that makes Australians so good at music created by long-dead Europeans?…

Article by Harriet Cunningham
Limelight December 2003

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