Here is the first performance of Wind Farm Music Dedicated to Tony Abbott https://youtu.be/fbLiBCdZyBg
And here is another: https://youtu.be/ky-w9qrCO-E
Lots more to follow, I hope
The score and parts are available, free of charge, here: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/zgkxv0xa8xwpp/Wind_Farm_Music
I recently commissioned Sydney-based composer Lyle Chan to write a short piece for piano trio.
We were chatting at the Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition. I thought about commissioning him to write something. Normally when I commission a piece, I give the composer a completely free hand. But for the first time, I had very specific requirements: I wanted a short piece of music for piano, violin and cello, which must contain quotes from famous pieces of classical music, and must be called “Wind Farm Music, Dedicated to Tony Abbott”.
Lyle completed the piece within a week, and wrote the following epigraph to the score:
“This music is a vision of happy wind turbines, high in the air, soaking up the sunshine, catching fragments of music that rise into the sky after it leaves the ears of the people who listen to them. The music tangles up in their airfoils and the turbines are laughing, delighted. “
From the windmills of the middle ages to the first electricity producing turbine in the 19th century, human beings have ground grain and pumped water with wind power. This music – the music of Beethoven, Bach, Vivaldi, Schubert, Rossini – was around at that time, and the music is still here today, reminding us that it witnessed humans who knew a kinder and more loving way of fulfilling its needs.
Political? Of course. There is a long and honourable tradition of art in service of political protest. That’s why politicians are a bit jumpy about funding the arts.
This music is intended to counter the absurd idea that wind farms are “ugly”; a reminder that harnessing the wind to help save the planet is a fine thing. It is a reminder of our obligation to future generations
Lyle and I hope that piano trios around Australia will perform the piece (just the right length and tone for an encore). We encourage them to record it and put it up on YouTube. We want everyone to hear it.
The piece is subtitled “A quodlibet for piano trio”. A quodlibet is a musical work made up of fragments of other music. Great composers throughout history wrote them, including famous examples by Bach and Brahms.
Wind Farm Music Dedicated to Tony Abbott will have its world premiere by Seraphim Trio at 12.30 on Wed 19 Aug 2015, at the State Library of Victoria.
Wind Farm Music Dedicated to Tony Abbott is available online.
You can download the score, parts and a digital playback from this folder:
https://www.mediafire.com/folder/zgkxv0xa8xwpp/Wind_Farm_Music
Performances here https://youtu.be/fbLiBCdZyBg and here: https://youtu.be/ky-w9qrCO-E
Lots more to follow, I hope
Hello Julian, and congratulations on the commissioning of Lyle Chan’s ‘Wind Turbine Music, dedicated to Tony Abbott’.
This is my plan to broaden the audience for new Australian music.
Briefly, I’m a writer and television documentary maker – I recently delivered a project celebrating the creation and commissioning of public art. ‘BigArt’ is a six part series about Brisbane company Urban Art Projects, run by twin brothers Matt and Dan Tobin. The films tell the stories behind the commissioning, fabrication and installation of public art works by Fiona Foley, Nike Savvas, Lindy Lee, San Franciscan Ned Kahn and gallery pieces by Penny Byrne. It will screen on SBS and in the UK later this year.
Inspired in no small way by your Penny Glanville-Hicks address, I am now researching a documentary film about the many ways in which music is being commissioned in Australia today.
This would be a film to humanise, even Australianise, the commissioning process – to personify it, and hear its many voices – explore stories of crowdfunding and competitions, individuals and institutions, friends and festivals.
The audience should finish the film in some way planning their own commission of new music – how they might play a role building something greater, something valuable, something generously Australian.
Your experience in music patronage would be extraordinarily valuable to this project. To assist my research phase for this project, can you make time for a discussion about music commissioning?
I hope to hear from you,
Nicholas Searle
Dear Julian,
I love that you have joined with this trio. They are great musicians arn’t they?
Julian, I have been involved in lobbying for environmental care of our precious Earth for a very long time, in the area of low environmental impact earth housing. So I appreciate any moves to publicise the Earths problems to the general public.
May I also take this opportunity to congratulate you on all your humanitarian work and efforts. Thank you so much Julian, for all you do for others.
Great piece and fabulous idea. Any chance there is (or could be) a student version to be played by secondary students?
Brilliant! What a wonderful idea. Thanks Julian and Lyle for a beautiful and meaningful piece of music.