Diary of a Culture Hedonist

Longrain is a short trot away from the Sydney CBD, and it's well worth the journey. Its long shape dining room is matched by long rectangular tables and benches with a long bar and seating area. When I walked in, I was surrounded by the smell of decent Asian cooking. Recognising my singularity, the waiting staff helpfully recommended a few dishes for me to sample - deep friend soft shell crab on a bed of green papaya, slow roast beef shin and diced prawns on bental leaves. The Red Dragon cocktail (chili, coriander, cranberry juice, vodka)  went very well with the whole meal. I finished it off with a scoop of their very aromatic coconut sorbet.

The last time I was in a concert hall in Australia, I was a performer on the stage of Perth Concert Hall. So it's nice for a change to be front of house at the relatively new City Recital Hall at Angel Place yesterday evening. It has the look and feel of Symphony Hall in Birmingham - except it's about 1/3 smaller. The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra started the evening with a Sinfonia by Brescianello - which showed off the acoustic quality of the hall - resonant and bright, not sloppy at all. The star of the evening then appeared to sing a setting of Stabat Mater by Marco Rosano (an Italian film and TV composer). The work by and large had an alla breve quality with mostly slow movements. The writing was probably best described as mock-Baroque. While the work showed off the voice of its dedicatee Andreas Scholl, the music became tedious quite quickly - somehow it lacked the richness of musical styles or architecture that one expects to find in a genuine Baroque work. An...