| Success on National Tour for Melba Artists |
To much acclaim, Melba's new recording artists, the Adelaide-born Ng brothers, have finished their first extensive Australian tour. Performing alongside established Melba artist, pianist David Tong, the twin cellists featured the world premiere of a new work Phoenix Story by Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin in a programme including music by Chopin, Rachmaninov and Barrière. Supporting young, talented musicians by offering them the most international of platforms in dedicated, state-of-the-art recordings has been a vital part of Melba’s mission since the label was launched in 2000. Already making an international name for themselves as cellists of extraordinary virtuosity and emotional insight, 24-year-old Pei-Jee and Pei-Sian (who was named Commonwealth Musician of the Year as winner of both the First Prize and Gold Medal at the 2007 Royal Over-Seas League Music Competition) have also already begun to make their mark at home, with leading Australian composer Graeme Koehne writing a double cello concerto for them. Some of the extraordinary press response to the tour is below. TOUR REVIEWS AND MEDIAInterview - Brisbane Courier Mail (14 July 2007) "Now, they’ve decided that their days of competing against one another are over. 'It causes too much pressure at home ... It’s much more supportive if we simply enter cello competitions without each other and just look on as the other does it.'” Review - Sydney Morning Herald (13 July 2007) "As the brothers Ng swapped phrases and effortlessly crashed through showers of notes the work became more and more compelling, like a novel you can’t put down. It’s a piece which, one imagines, will serve this unique duo well on the road to stardom." Review - Adelaide Advertiser (4 July 2007) "Playing together, they fit as snugly as the complementary halves of a Filipino almond ... Phoenix Story for 2 Cellos, a new commission from Elena Kats-Chernin ... [its] repeated motifs and themes with vaguely oriental flavour invited rapt contemplation of the sheer beauty of two beautiful instruments beautifully played." Interview - The Age (2 July 2007) "These artists are at a level few achieve ... and they commit to their cellos in an almost ecstatic state, eyes closed, expressing everything through their instruments." Interview - ArtsHub (22 June 2007) "There’s always the problem of developing a solo career while we have this duo thing ... How do we develop both at the same time, and not focus on one to the point where the other is lost? That’s a challenge for us, but at this early stage we’re happy to wait and see which one develops more quickly. But obviously we want to establish ourselves as individual artists. It’s very important."
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