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Some of Andrew Ford's books are no longer available in bookshops. Contact Andrew directly to purchase a copy of Speaking in Tongues - the Songs of Van Morrison (AUD 25 + postage).
See also: the Books page.
Australian Aphorisms
for The Song Company
- premiere 17 May 2013
April 2013. The Song Company will give the first complete performance of Andrew Ford's commissioned work, Australian Aphorisms in the Canberra International Music Festival on 17 May. The cycle consists of settings of aphoristic poems and lines by seven Australian writers: Les Murray, John Forbes, Judith Wright, David McCooey, Maria Takolander, Barbara Blackman and David Campbell. The first setting – of Les Murray's 'The Averted' – was composed in 2010 and first performed by the Song Company at the ISCM Festival in Sydney that year, while the last, of David Campbell's touching poem 'Hear the Bird of Day' was sung at last years Canberra International Music Festival.Four of the song were composed this year.
Learning to Howl - a CD of Andrew Ford's music
just out from ABC Classics
April 2013. ABC Classics has released a recording of Andrew Ford's double award-winning song cycle, Learning to Howl, sung by the soprano Jane Sheldon. The piece sets words by Lorrie Moore, Sappho, Emily Dickinson, Christina Rossetti, Emily Bronte, Queen Elizabeth I, Ann Timony Jenkin and Elizabeth Smart (among others) and represents a woman's life from childhood to old age.
The CD also includes the 'single' version of a song from the cycle, the Rossetti setting 'The Birthday of My Life', together with Snatches of Old Lauds, for bass clarinet and drone, and Sounds and sweet airs, for flute and clarinet. The other major work on the disc is the Prix Italia runner-up Elegy in a Country Graveyard, recently featured in Tony Williams and Anna Hewgill's film, A Place Called Robertson.
> Buy the CD from ABC Shop
Bright Shiners
in Hong Kong
 March 2013. The Hong Kong Sinfonietta will open their morning concert on 10 April with Andrew Ford's Bright Shiners for solo violin and string orchestra. Commissioned by the Australian Chamber Orchestra in honour of Richard Tognetti's 20th anniversary as artistic director, the piece was designed to run straight into Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No 3 and that's how it was first performed by the ACO with Pekka Kuusisto in 2009. Ford is currently working on a revision of the piece (so that it need not always keep company with Brandenburg 3), but meanwhile the performance in Hong Kong City Hall under James Cuddeford will be of the original version, followed by the Bach.
Image: James Cuddeford with his violin in
the Hong Kong Sinfonietta concert
poster (detail).
Watch, listen & share: Tony Williams's beautiful
video of Elegy in a Country Graveyard
Andrew Ford discusses his Prix Italia-shortlisted piece Elegy in a Country Graveyard in two extracts from Tony Williams and Anna Hewgill's film A Place Called Robertson (Four Donkey Films). Shot in the Southern Highlands of NSW where Ford lives, the film also features local artists including Carlos Barrios, Enrique del Val and Ben Quilty
> Watch and share the film on Vimeo
> Watch also: Elegy in a Country Graveyard Part 1, with a longer interview with Andrew Ford about this work.
Jocelin Pan, soloist in The Unquiet Grave. Photo © Arthur Moeller.
Ford and the viola - New York, Sydney, Brescia
September 2012. It's no secret that the viola is one of Andrew Ford's favourite instruments. Three concerts in a month underline the fact. On 22 September, Ford's viola concerto, The Unquiet Grave, had its American premiere in New York from soloist Jocelin Pan with the New Juilliard Ensemble under its founder and music director, Joel Sachs. (Read the New York Times review.)
The same week, Roger Benedict together with Daryl Pratt gave the first performance, in Sydney, of Ford's duo for viola and percussion, You Must Sleep, but I Must Dance. In four movements, described by the composer as 'sleep, dance, sleep, dance', the piece was commissioned by the Sydney Conservatorium of Music to mark its centenary. On October 20, the Italian dėdalo ensemble launches its 2012/13 season at Teatro Sancarlino, Brescia, with a program that includes On Winter's Traces. Commissioned in 2009 for the Australia Ensemble's 30th anniversary, this work is dedicated to the group's violist, Irina Morozova, and features the viola as the most prominent instrument in a mixed septet.
New book August 2012:
Try Whistling This
August 2012. Andrew Ford's new collection of writings about music is published on 1st August by Black Inc. In Try Whistling This, Ford traces the concept of dirty dancing back to the 16th century, marvels at the weirdness of Percy Grainger and considers the decision of Wilhelm Furtwängler to keep conducting under the Nazis. He explores the intersection of words and music, the bugbear of Australian musical identity, and the fundamental importance, in music and in life, of listening.
There are essays based on Ford's acclaimed radio series Music and Fashion, as well as illuminating examinations of music-makers from Mozart to Messiaen, Elgar to Brett Dean, Cole Porter to Sondheim, Bob Dylan to Randy Newman.
> Buy the book online from Readings, Melbourne.
Bomb damage in Liverpool in 1942. Queen Victoria's statue was left standing (detail - see full photo). Photo © Imperial War Museum, UK - see licence.
Marko Letonja to conduct premiere of Blitz with TSO
August 2012. Andrew Ford's new orchestral work for the the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra features the voices of people from Liverpool, Hamburg and Berlin, recalling bombing raids during World War II. Blitz began when Ford interviewed his own parents, aged 12 and nine at the start of the war, and two of their friends about their childhood memories of the Luftwaffe's raids in 1940 and 1941. Ford then travelled to Hamburg to record an interview with a survivor of the 1943 fire-bombing of Hamburg by the RAF, and then recorded two further interviews (in Hobart) with people who had lived through the bombings in Hamburg and Berlin. These interviews, greatly edited, form solo lines within the orchestral texture of Blitz. The piece will receive its premiere under the TSO's new chief conductor, Marko Letonja, in Federation Hall, Hobart on 18th August.
> Hear extracts from the interviews at the TSO's website
> Read more about the piece itself in Ford's essay for the Australian Music Centre's online magazine, Resonate.
The Robertson Graveyard
in Hong Kong
May 2012. The Hong Kong New Music Ensemble presents an afternoon concert of music by Andrew Ford on Sunday 20 May at its new home, SOUTHSITE in Aberdeen. Ford will introduce and present the radiophonic version of Elegy in a Country Graveyard, framed by performances of two early works: Swansong (played by William Lane) and Like Icarus ascending (played by James Cuddeford).
> Event details (Hong Kong New Music Ensemble website)
> Robertson Cemetery image gallery
C.P. Cavafy's poem provided Andrew Ford the text for his new work Waiting for the Barbarians.
Barbarians at the gate
in Sydney and Parramatta
May 2012. The Sydney Philharmonia Symphony Chorus under guest conductor Graham Abbott will give the first performances of Andrew Ford's Waiting for the Barbarians on 20-21 July 2012 at St Patrick's Cathedral, Parramatta and St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney. Commissioned jointly by Sydney Philhamonia Choirs and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Ford's setting of the C.P. Cavafy's famous poem had been contemplated by the composer for the best part of 40 years. The piece, for mixed a cappella chorus, uses a new version of the poem made by Ford himself.
> Event details (Sydney Philharmonia Chorus website)
Illegal Harmonies back in print
October 2011. Coinciding with the republication of Andrew Ford's book Illegal Harmonies by Black Inc., in a revised third edition, ABC Classic FM is currently rebroadcasting the original radio series each Sunday lunchtime until the end of November. First heard in 1997, the radio version of Illegal Harmonies consists of ten 90-minute episodes, each covering the music of one decade in the 20th century. The series can also be streamed from ABC Classic FM.
> Listen to episodes online
> Buy Illegal harmonies from Readings (Melbourne)
Andrew Ford's history of 20th century music, Illegal Harmonies, based on his celebrated radio series of the same name, has been republished in an updated, 3rd edition by Black Inc.
> Buy Illegal harmonies from Readings (Melbourne)
New book:
The Sound of Pictures
 November 2010. Andrew Ford's new book is The Sound of Pictures: Listening to the Movies, from Hitchcock to High Fidelity. Published on 22 November 2010 by Black Inc., the book looks at the ways directors have used music and other sounds in more than 400 films. How did Alfred Hitchcock use music to plant clues in his films? Why do some 'mix-tape' soundtracks work brilliantly and others fall flat? How do classics from A Clockwork Orange to The Godfather, Cinema Paradiso to High Noon, use music and sound effects to enhance what we see on screen?
In addition to Ford's own essays, there are his interviews with five composers Ennio Morricone, Richard Rodney Bennett, Dick Hyman, Lalo Schifrin and Howard Shore) and five directors (Bruce Beresford, Sally Potter, Wim Wenders, Peter Greenaway and Peter Weir).
> Buy The Sound of Pictures online from Readings, Melbourne
Premiere of Black Dyke
Band Commission
November 2010. The world-famous Black Dyke Band will give the first performance of Andrew Ford's The Rising at Manchester's annual Festival of Brass on 28 January 2011. Commissioned by Black Dyke, The Rising is Ford's first work for brass band and was inspired by the terrifying natural phenomenon of Australian bush fires.
The composer will attend the premiere at the Royal Northern College of Music, which will be conducted by Black Dyke's Principal Conductor and Director of Music, Dr Nicholas Childs. In March 2010, Andrew Ford visited Black Dyke's headquarters in Queensbury, West Yorkshire, to see the historic band room for himself. In rehearsal, the band still uses the original wooden music stands made for it 155 years ago.
> Read a program note of The Rising.
For more news, please see the News archive. |
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Performances 2012
January 21:
Broadway Boogie-Woogie, Philip Eames (piano), Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, UK
February 23:
The Tears of Geertje Dircx, Ashley William Smith, Gleb Kanasevich (clarinets), Sudler Hall, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
February 26: world premiere
Hear the Bird of Day, The Song Company conducted by Roland Peelman, Hunter Baillie Memorial Presbyterian Church, Sydney
May 6:
Five Studies in Radiance, Marshall McGuire (harp), Aurora Festival, St Finbar's Church, Glenbrook, NSW
May 7:
Three Shakespeare Songs, Michael Halliwell (baritone), David Miller (piano), Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Sydney
March 8:
Composition in Blue, Grey and Pink, Genevieve Wilkins (gongs), Kettle's Yard, Cambridge, UK
May 10:
Hear the Bird of Day, The Song Company conducted by Roland Peelman,
Government House, Yarralumla, Canberra
May 16:
The Averted; Hear the Bird of Day, The Song Company conducted by Roland Peelman, Canberra International Festival of Music, High Court of Australia, Canberra
May 18:
The Averted, The Song Company conducted by Roland Peelman, Canberra International Festival of Music, Australian War Memorial, Canberra
May 20:
Swansong; Elegy in a Country Graveyard; Like Icarus ascending, James Cuddeford (violin), William Lane (viola), Southsite, Aberdeen, Hong Kong
June 15:
The Birthday of My Life, Jane Sheldon (soprano), Genevieve Lang (harp), St James's, Sydney
June 16:
The Birthday of My Life, Jane Sheldon (soprano), Genevieve Lang (harp), St James's, Sydney
June 27:
The Birthday of My Life, Jane Sheldon (soprano), Genevieve Lang (harp), St John's, Robertson, NSW
July 5:
The Birthday of My Life, Jane Sheldon (soprano), Genevieve Lang (harp), Nolan on Lovel Gallery, Katoomba, NSW
July 15:
The Tears of Geertje Dircx, Megan Clune and Peter Jenkin (clarinets), Alaska Projects, Sydney
July 20: world premiere
Waiting for the Barbarians, Sydney Philharmonia Symphony Chorus conducted by Graham Abbott, St Patrick's Cathedral, Parramatta, NSW
July 21:
Waiting for the Barbarians, Sydney Philharmonia Symphony Chorus conducted by Graham Abbott, St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney
July 22:
Waiting for the Barbarians, Sydney Philharmonia Symphony Chorus conducted by Graham Abbott, Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle, NSW
August 18: world premiere
Blitz, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Marko Letonja, Federation Concert Hall, Hobart
August 24: world premiere
Cradle Song, Michele Walsh (violin), Stephen Emmerson (piano), Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Brisbane
September 5:
The Spirit of the Staircase, Seraphim Trio, Art Gallery, Ballarat, Victoria
September 6:
The Spirit of the Staircase, Seraphim Trio, Elder Hall, Adelaide
September 9:
The Spirit of the Staircase, Seraphim Trio, Independent Theatre, Sydney
September 10:
The Spirit of the Staircase, Seraphim Trio, Melbourne Recital Centre, Melbourne
September 17: world premiere
You Must Sleep, But I Must Dance, Roger Benedict (viola), Daryl Pratt (percussion), Conservatorium of Music, Sydney
September 22:
The Unquiet Grave, Jocelin Pan (viola), New Juilliard Ensemble conducted by Joel Sachs, Peter Jay Sharp Theatre, The Juilliard School, New York, USA
October 13:
Cradle Song, Anna McMichael (violin), Tamara-Anna Cislowska (piano), Port Fairy Spring Music Festival, Lecture Hall, Port Fairy, Victoria
October 20:
On Winter's Traces, dėdalo ensemble conducted by Vittorio Parisi, Teatro Sancarlino, Brescia, Italy
November 4:
The Scattering of Light, Sonus, Independent Theatre, Sydney
November 14:
Getting Blue, Ensemble Offspring, City Recital Hall, Angel Place, Sydney
Performances 2013
January 18:
Cradle Song, Anna Mcmichael (violin), Tamara Anna Cislowska (piano), Mona Foma, Baha'i Centre, Hobart
January 19:
Cradle Song, Anna Mcmichael (violin), Tamara Anna Cislowska (piano), Mona Foma, Baha'i Centre, Hobart
January 28:
The Art of Puffing, Caroline Wüst and Fabio Kapeller, Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst, Joseph Haydn Institut für Kammermusik und Spezialensembles, Vienna, Austria
February 20:
The Waltz Book (excerpts), Sally Whitwell (piano and toy piano), Famous Spiegeltent, Arts Centre, Melbourne
February 23:
Spinning, Sally Walker (alto flute), Inner City Winemakers, Newcastle, NSW
March 18:
Female Nude, Lina Andonovska (alto flute), Canberra Museum and Gallery, Canberra
March 25:
String Quartet no 4 (workshop performance/preview), the NOISE, Watters Gallery, Sydney
April 10:
Bright Shiners, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, James Cuddeford (violin and director), City Hall, Hong Kong
May 4:
You Must Sleep, but I Must Dance; The Birthday of My Life (arr. for viola and vibes), Roger Benedict (viola), Daryl Pratt (percussion), Sassafras, Arts in the Valley, Kangaroo Valley, NSW
May 8:
Nine Fantasies about Brahms, Sutherland Trio, Salon, Melbourne Recital Centre, Melbourne
May 17: world premiere
Australian Aphorisms, The Song Company conducted by Roland Peelman, Canberra International Music Festival, Albert Hall, Canberra
June 4:
Broadway Boogie-Woogie, Philip Eames (piano), Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, UK
August 17: world premiere
Uproar (WP); The Cloths of Heaven, Brass players of Queensland Conservatorium directed by Ben Marks, Brisbane Contemporary Church Music Festival, St John's Cathedral, Brisbane
September 6: world premiere
String Quartet No 5, Australian String Quartet, Adelaide Town Hall, Adelaide
September 9:
String Quartet No 5, Australian String Quartet, Perth Concert Hall, Perth
September 11:
String Quartet No 5, Australian String Quartet, Melbourne Recital Centre, Melbourne
September 16:
String Quartet No 5, Australian String Quartet, Queensland Conservatorium Theatre, Brisbane
September 17:
String Quartet No 5, Australian String Quartet, City Recital Hall, Angel Place, Sydney
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Latest CD
Learning to Howl (ABC Classics)
April 2013. ABC Classics has released a recording of Andrew Ford's double award-winning song cycle, Learning to Howl, sung by the soprano Jane Sheldon. The piece sets words by Lorrie Moore, Sappho, Emily Dickinson, Christina Rossetti, Emily Bronte, Queen Elizabeth I, Ann Timony Jenkin and Elizabeth Smart (among others) and represents a woman's life from childhood to old age.
The CD also includes the 'single' version of a song from the cycle, the Rossetti setting 'The Birthday of My Life', together with Snatches of Old Lauds, for bass clarinet and drone, and Sounds and sweet airs, for flute and clarinet. The other major work on the disc is the Prix Italia runner-up Elegy in a Country Graveyard, recently featured in Tony Williams and Anna Hewgill's film, A Place Called Robertson.
> Buy the CD from ABC Shop
See also: the CD subpage
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Latest books
Try Whistling This - writings about music
Black Inc., August 2012
Andrew Ford's new collection of writings about music is published on 1st August by Black Inc. In Try Whistling This, Ford traces the concept of dirty dancing back to the 16th century, marvels at the weirdness of Percy Grainger and consider the decision of Wilhelm Furtwängler to keep conducting under the Nazis. He explores the intersection of words and music, the bugbear of Australian musical identity, and the fundamental importance, in music and in life, of listening.
There are essays based on Ford's acclaimed radio series Music and Fashion, as well as illuminating examinations of music-makers from Mozart to Messiaen, Elgar to Brett Dean, Cole Porter to Sondheim, Bob Dylan to Randy Newman.
> Buy the book online from Readings, Melbourne.
The Sound of Pictures
Black Inc., November 2010
The Sound of Pictures: Listening to the Movies, from Hitchcock to High Fidelity looks at the ways directors have used music and other sounds in more than 400 films. How did Alfred Hitchcock use music to plant clues in his films? Why do some 'mix-tape' soundtracks work brilliantly and others fall flat? How do classics from A Clockwork Orange to The Godfather, Cinema Paradiso to High Noon, use music and sound effects to enhance what we see on screen? In addition to Ford's own essays, there are his interviews with five composers Ennio Morricone, Richard Rodney Bennett, Dick Hyman, Lalo Schifrin and Howard Shore) and five directors (Bruce Beresford, Sally Potter, Wim Wenders, Peter Greenaway and Peter Weir).
> Buy The Sound of Pictures online (Readings)
More information about Andrew Ford's books.
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