Stephanie Eslake

Stephanie Eslake

Stephanie Eslake is a Tasmanian writer with degrees in both Media and Music. She has strong connections with members of her local music community. She has been published in the Mercury, TasWeekend, The Saturday Magazine, The Sunday Tasmanian, The Dwarf, Aphra Magazine and also worked as Warp Magazine’s Subeditor. founded Stephanie founded CutCommon in 2014 as Australia’s only online magazine for the young classical musician.


Articles by Stephanie Eslake

CD and Other Review

Review: Scriabin, Janáček: Sonatas and Poems (Stephen Hough)

Scriabin’s wife Tatiana wrote in a 1907 letter that his Piano Sonata No 5 was “extraordinary”. The same can be said of Stephen Hough’s rendition in new release Scriabin & Janácˇek: Sonatas & Poems. Hough opens the album with this musical concoction of chaos and bliss, exhibiting power through his overtly expressive and dynamic performance, before progressing to Janácˇek’s cycle On the Overgrown Path. Though a comparatively delicate work, Hough’s presence isn’t diminished. His performance of A Blown-away Leaf (Book 1, No 2) is a sentimental caress, later offset by a startlingly intense The Frydek Madonna (Book 1, No 4). Scriabin soon returns with a jolt in his Deux Poèmes, Op. 32 – a musical contrast in fine taste which is felt throughout the release as the two composers’ works are interwoven. In fact the differences between Scriabin and Janácˇek grow fainter as the album progresses, with Hough’s musical approach and impeccable performance creating a sense of unity between them. Janácˇek’s Piano Sonata 1.X.1905 is a highlight and, well placed in the latter part of the album, it reveals Hough’s brooding dramaticism, preparing him for a final joyous release in the concluding Piano Sonata No 4 in F Sharp by Scriabin. Stephen Hough…

February 18, 2016
CD and Other Review

Review: Alchemy (Alicia Crossley)

Bach’s Cello Suite No 1 opens Australian recorder player Alicia Crossley’s latest release, Alchemy, with a shock to the system. Performed on bass recorder, the familiar work is removed entirely from its comfort zone. Crossley takes the suite at a quick pace, her loud breaths a reminder of the realities of performing on such a colossal instrument. The work is followed by Telemann’s Fantasia No 10 on the naturally louder tenor recorder. Although she’s well suited to the baroque, Crossley demonstrates her versatility across a variety of cultures and eras, each work transcribed to suit her needs. Australian composer Anne Boyd’s Goldfish Through Summer Rain introduces exquisite harp textures in a Japanese-sounding work inspired by a Korean poem. Debussy’s Syrinx – originally for flute – is performed expressively with vibrato altering timbre rather than pitch. Takemitsu’s Toward the Sea follows with extended techniques such as ‘finger shading’ and ‘fluttement’ (finger-vibrato) in a spiritual pairing with guitar.  A dreamy Sicilienne by Fauré reintroduces harp, but you’ll have to wait for the end to reach the standout – JacobTV’s The Garden of Love. Of all the unlikely pairings, who knew tenor recorder and Boombox could work so well? The composition challenges Crossley…

December 14, 2015
CD and Other Review

Review: The Sky is Melting (Marianne Rothschild, Glenn Riddle)

★★★☆☆ In The Sky is Melting Linda Kouvaras responds to the heat of the Australian summer – an idea translated into sound with great success by Australian duo Marianne Rothschild (violin) and Glenn Riddle (piano), whose new album is an impressionistic journey taking in a range of compositions from contemporary Melbourne. The title track opens with dreamy piano themes reminiscent of Debussy before Rothschild’s striking melody takes the forefront. The first of Stuart Greenbaum’s Six Occasional Pieces reveals Rothschild has little intention of colouring her tone to suit the feel of different works, and the pure consistency of sound does evoke a sense of aural fatigue, but hers is an attractive tone nevertheless. Riddle’s piano gives the piece a contemporary feel, with repetitive cycles of chords commonly heard in modern song. Life Cycles was written for a funeral, though the solo violin lament lacks sensitivity. But a refreshing pizzicato and charmingly simple melody represents an “occasion” of childbirth in For Alette – an uplifting celebration of new life.  Argentinian Etching by William James Schmidt was inspired by a 1970s artwork by Stefan Strocen of a figure reaching toward a sun-like orb, and the duo make it a well-executed rhapsody with…

July 24, 2015
CD and Other Review

Review: Sonorous Sonatas (Peter Sheridan)

★★★☆☆ Peter Sheridan’s Sonorous Sonatas reveals the rarely heard sounds of the lower flutes. Commissioned by Sheridan himself, the works feature alto, subcontrabass, and pretty much every flute in between.    Gary Schocker’s bubbly Music for a Lost Planet opens the album with Sheridan’s alto flute vibrato rhythmic in Above. The piano is so strikingly similar in range that the instruments seem to blend into one, but the aggressive Burn reaches more familiar realms with flute playing at a higher register.  A flutter-tonguing bass flute opens Taran Carter’s Owls Sfutel. The Allegretto movement initially seems an expression of random madness – but stick with it, as it soon falls into a jazzy rhythm. Con Molto Energy is announced by a metronomic pounding of the piano – not a style the ears are accustomed to after half an hour of ‘sonorous’ flutes! Andrew Downes’ Sonata for contrabass flute is far warmer – though it’s a shame about the clicky keys. Carolyn Morris’s Forest Over Sea features gorgeous harmonies. The album finishes with Houston Dunleavy’s bizarre Clumsy Dances – an opportunity to hear the subcontrabass flute, yes, but a poor fit for the release.  Everyone should invest time into listening to rarer…

June 26, 2015
CD and Other Review

Review: Hush Live in Concert (Hush Collection Volume 14)

Hush Live in Concert is the 14th in a series of albums released to calm and comfort families facing stressful medical procedures. It’s a compilation of Hush Foundation recordings selected by former ABC Classic FM presenter Emma Ayres. Opening with two of Paul Grabowsky’s Ten Healing Songs, it is apparent that this is anything but the conventionally soothing ‘Debussy for Daydreaming’ or ‘Relaxation Made Easy’ album. Andrea Keller’s A Castle for All is oddly uplifting as it cycles repetitively through the same series of chords. Brass, wind and percussion instruments appear to improvise around Keller’s piano, and while it has plenty of musical tension, the overall feel is not a dark one. Tony Gould’s Gentle Conversations is as it sounds – a smattering of percussion, a gentle pulse, and a layering of instruments simulate just that. Though magnificently played by the Grigoryan brothers, Songs with Strings is perhaps a touch too intense and emotionally confronting for this album. Mark Isaacs’ romantic and visually evocative The Wind in the Willows is more fitting; one can imagine a little bushland animal emerging from the tooting of Geoff Collins’ flute. The childlike journey… Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month…

May 8, 2015