Often on homeward travel, radio 3MBS has been my go-to station, where evocative new musical works have made me pause, delighted with hearing new forms by Australian composers, inspiring listeners to chase those recordings and printed music. 3MBS is widely appreciated for its commitment to broadcasting classical music for all seasons, with a talented, passionate and knowledgeable team that includes many volunteers, volunteers with a lifelong interest in fine music and the promotion of Australian artists and local community events.
In 2025, 3MBS held their first Gala Concert, marking the 50th year of the radio station’s life in Melbourne. Today, the second Gala Concert was hosted by the finely spoken presenter Amanda Smith, who gave a nod to the Gala’s Artistic Director, Stephen Pyk, giving a most warm welcome to performers, composers, and audience members, introducing the full music program as being inspired by the images of the changing natural and human seasons of life.
Accompanied by pianist Coady Green, mezzo-soprano Chloe James opened the programme, demonstrating a most clear and colourful vocal timbre, with robust strength in pitch and projection and polished delivery. Her set of five songs opened with Berlioz’ popular “Villanelle” from Les Nuits d’été, communicating a joyful vibrato and dramatic fullness in her high register, nicely expressing the renewal of love and the blossoming of Springtime. The audience was moved by “A Chloris”, the French composer Reynaldo Hahn’s short but gorgeous poetic art song, today given a highly sensitive piano accompaniment. Impressive delivery of musical detail and expression by both artists was equally sincere and tender in Roger Quilter’s lovely art song “Now sleeps the Crimson Petal”. With Sibelius’ “ Var det end rom” Op. 37 No. 4 (Was It a Dream?) a trembling, rippling piano accompaniment enhanced the more dramatic power of the Swedish text, supporting James’ engaging expression as she also filled the large hall with a strong dynamic to close the set with Tosti’s dramatic “Aprile”.
Collide Ensemble, Yasmin Rowe (piano), Yelian He (cello), Joseph Lallo (saxophones), brought the changing colours and textures of the Japanese influenced Snow Moon and Flowers (2018) by Camille Pepin, its calming gentle minimalism of themes and blended tone colour inspiring thoughts of the calming flow of nature. Always popular, their second work was an arrangement of Grainger’s Molly on the Shore, less of a vigorous, earthy folk-dance, allowing Lallo’s soprano sax to lead in a “straight” ahead, light and clean classical concert form. Joyful fresh colours bloomed for this new arrangement.
Fanfare-like, orchestrally shaped piano chords by Coady Green introduced a special arrangement of Alice Chance’s Salve Regina for voice and piano, given its premier today. Kathryn Norman is a popular and engaging soprano, consistent with her angelic purity of tone in extreme softnesses and pitch in quite spectacular celestial work. Following endearing moments of peacefulness and reflection, most admirable today, was Norman’s delivery of no less than 40 seconds of sustained high A, a feat almost surpassed by a further rise to a glorious top C-sharp. Norman later praised Chance’s work as “sounding like a modern-day Hildegard” (of Bingen).
Always a champion of new and rarely heard works, Coady Green played two refreshing works for solo piano, the first by Australian composer Robert McIntyre, whose short piece, Crossed Stars, offered thoughtful, curious musical shapes of connectedness and separation, “exploring the duality between the black and white keys of the piano”. Then Green took our imaginations to a distant Alpine landscape with Liszt’s “Vallée d’Obermann” from Années de pèlerinage: Suisse, described in 3MBS’ fine program notes as “a great meditation of the Romantic era, tracing an inner landscape as vast as the Alpine valley that inspired it”. From his extensive Pilgrimage Suites, No. 6 Lento Assai opened with repeated right hand dark chords above prominent, re-appearing slow descending scale patterns, conveying depth, grandeur and passion in turbulent forthright double octaves and rhapsodic harmonies. Liszt spoke of travel and nature stirring deep emotions in his soul, and Green fully produced those emotions at the extremes of the keyboard, also colouring the alpine landscape well in contrasting lighter lyricism in high shimmering harp-like chords leading to the softest close.
The Choir of Trinity College Melbourne has a highly acclaimed history and today comprised 22 young voices under the direction of Christopher Watson. In Eric Whitacre’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” the ensemble portrayed finely impressive and floating diminishing dynamics in a peaceful, snowy landscape. Past Choir Director and composer for the second work, Michael Leighton Jones, spoke to the audience, introducing his composition “Lenten is come with love to towne”, its dancing style and syncopated rhythms allowing the sopranos to shine with confidence and clarity in this beautifully balanced ensemble. With lyrics reflecting on wonder, loneliness and the healing power of nature, Morten Lauridsen’s “Sure on this Shining Night” opened with warmly united male voices introducing a popular work to close this very heartening and soulful Gala concert celebrating 3MBS music broadcasting for 2026.
Image supplied.
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Julie McErlain reviewed the 3MBS Gala Concert – Music of the Seasons, presented at Hawthorn Arts Centre on March 28, 2026.
