Sandra Bowdler
Readers of my article ‘Handel Down Under III: the Last 35 Years’ (Handel News, No.67, 2016) may recall my comment that ‘during the late 1990s, a veritable slew of Handel operas was almost single-handedly produced by conductor Graham Abbott’. They comprised 38 performances of five works (Giulio Cesare in Egitto, Alcina, Ariodante, Orlando, Agrippina), spread over the years 1995 to 2000. Neither Ariodante nor Agrippina had been seen in Australia previously. While one of Graham’s runs of Giulio Cesare was under the auspices of Opera Australia (OA) which tends to dominate Australian opera performance generally, the rest were for smaller regional companies (West Australian Opera, Perth; Queensland Opera, Brisbane; Stopera, Canberra), thus bringing Handel operas to a wider audience than OA’s usual Melbourne and Sydney.
Graham’s contribution has not been limited to opera, however. He has conducted many of the oratorios – Saul, Alexander’s Feast, Joshua, Solomon, Athalia, La Resurrezione (both Australian premieres), Israel in Egypt, and Belshazzar with extracts from Samson and A Song for St Cecilia’s Day in concerts, not to mention opera excerpts from Rinaldo and Scipione. Other vocal works under his baton have included Dettingen Te Deum, Utrecht Te Deum, Funeral Anthem for Queen Caroline, Roman ‘Carmelite Music’ of 1707 (complete, including Dixit Dominus), Cecilia, Volgi un Sguardo and many performances of the complete Coronation Anthems. Orchestral works include concerti grossi, organ concerti, and many performances of the Water Music and the Royal Fireworks. He is also a fine keyboard player.
Graham’s major effort has been with respect to Messiah: 74 performances to date, spread across all the Australian capital cities except, not surprisingly, Darwin – better known for cyclones and crocodiles than Baroque music. Graham has conducted the Symphony Orchestras of Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Tasmania, Western Australia, Queensland and New Zealand, with such prominent soloists as the late lamented Deborah Riedel, Leanne Kenneally, Sarah Macliver, Paul McMahon, Robert Macfarlane, Elizabeth Campbell, Graham Pushee, Christopher Field, Sally-Anne Russell, David Hansen, Donald Shanks, Daniel Sumegi and John Wegner. His performances are notable for his deep understanding of the text as well as the music, and respect for the composer, unlike some Australian (and not just Australian) conductors who treat the various versions as a smorgasbord from which variations can be extracted at will. Graham, like Handel, chose versions which suited the forces at hand.
Graham Abbott was born and educated in Sydney, studying at the Sydney Conservatorium and being awarded the ABC(1)/Willem van Otterloo conducting scholarship in 1985. In 1986 he was appointed Conductor-in-Residence at the Elder Conservatorium of Music at the University of Adelaide, and made his professional orchestral debut with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in 1987. Many such engagements have followed. While Handel is his passion, he has conducted an enormous range of composers and styles of music, from opera to chamber works, spanning the 18th to 20th centuries. He is also well known as a choral conductor.
Graham has, since a lad, been fascinated by musical history covering all periods and styles. With this background, he inaugurated a programme for ABC Classic FM entitled ‘Keys to Music’ (KTM): one hour a week devoted to exploring a particular composer, period, style or technical aspect of classical music – such as, indeed, musical keys. Several KTMs were devoted to aspects of Handel, including a three-part episode on Messiah which was released as a CD set, another on Saul, a programme on Handel’s London operas and more. Many Australian topics were explored. These programmes were immensely popular, being delivered in a friendly communicative fashion which in no way patronised the audience but was directed at beginner and seasoned musical aficionado alike.
Last year, however, the ABC decided to change its whole approach to its Classical FM station, in what appears to be a desperate bid to alienate its considerable number of dedicated followers. From being one of the absolute treasures of cultural life in Australia, it is now it seems trying to attract a young clientele who would on the whole no more want to listen to it than sit through re-runs of ‘Are You Being Served’ and are in any case well catered for elsewhere.
It’s with sadness that I report that KTM will end in mid-January. I was informed of this today. Thank you to everyone for 15 great years!
— Graham Abbott (@GrahamAClassic) 2 November 2017
There are many other examples of the destruction of ABC Classic FM, particularly the removal of anything resembling advance listings of music from every possible medium, but the sudden demise of KTM was a singular blow for many. A deluge of dismayed comments was evident on many Facebook, Twitter and other forums.
Graham of course continues to perform as conductor and teacher in other venues, and will no doubt will delight us with many more Messiahs and other Handelian treasures; for a conductor, he is young yet! To this point, however, his contribution to Handel reception in Australia is already second to none.
Note
(1) Australian Broadcasting Corporation: a government agency responsible for various radio, television and online services. ABC Classic FM is a radio station devoted to classical music.