Michael League must have patience and efficiency to burn. His band, Snarky Puppy, varies between nine and 12 members, and the larger the group, the greater the demands on those qualities from its leader. That would apply even if the band just played clubs, but League, also the bassist and…
Category: Features – Archive
The name was a statement of intent. Eighteen years ago four young Brooklynites named their string quartet Brooklyn Rider, nodding to the eclecticism of Wassily Kandinsky’s pre-World War I Blue Rider artistic movement. Since then they’ve not only given exceptional performances from the 300-year-old quartet repertoire, but they’ve commissioned many…
Olivia Ansell has proved a shrewd appointment as Sydney Festival’s artistic director. If arts festivals are intended to surprise us and present performances we’d otherwise be unlikely to see, then Ansell’s three events accumulatively outshine all since Fergus Linehan’s 2006-09 burst. But 2024 was not her best. It’s not just…