It would be nice to think that an Australian composer as skilful as Phillip Wilcher need only write his music, then leave its promotion to others.But this is Australia, the land of just a favoured few in composers.Ergo, Wilcher must promote his own work.
Now comes along his first CD, a collection of piano pieces performed confidently by Jeanell Carrigan and recorded at the University of Queensland. It is not 'avante garde' music - that fashion died some time ago. Wilcher is more into the tonalities of Debussy and Chopin. I find him at his most impressive in sparsely-textured pieces, well-shaped, and possessing a memorable stillness and intensity. Such pieces as White Jade and Kumoi Prelude.
I wish that program notes could have been included, though an added cost, for some titles are fairly esoteric and there are the odd links to past masterpieces (e.g. Chopin's 2nd Prelude and Liszt's Lake of Wallenstadt). It pays to concentrate on each piece, not play through the disc non-stop.
The CD costs only $20 from the Australian Music Centre, PO Box N690, Grosvenor Place NSW 1220 (where the scores are also available).KB
Review source:The Australian Society for Keyboard Music: KEY VIVE Summer Issue, January, 2002
