2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the death of Michael Easton and a celebration of what would have been Easton’s 70th Birthday.
Easton wrote many compositions celebrating the life and love of his adopted country Australia. His wit and sense of humour, and his exuberance for life are evident in his Concerto on Australian themes for Piano and Orchestra became a Naxos Best Seller and enjoys regular performances in Europe.
An Australian in Paris is being performed in Germany in 2024, by the Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie in the German cities of Koblenz, Neuwied and Boppard. As a response to Gershwin’s An American in Paris, in An Australian in Paris, Easton outlines how Paris may be portrayed to an unsuspecting Australian visitor.
Moving south, Easton creates a compositional impression of Gaudi’s architectural styles of Casa Battló, Casa Mila and Casa Vicens in his string orchestra work Three Images of Gaudi.
Easton’s Overture to an Italianate Comedy is a light-hearted classical orchestral work. Inspired by a reading of E.M. Forster’s A Room with a View, it starts with a sparkling opening theme which is passed around from instrument to instrument before settling on a more lyrical idea.
Easton’s compositional output contains many chamber and vocal works. Sonatina for Clarinet is an immediately accessible piece. It has been recorded by Deborah de Graaff and Len Vorster on the CD ‘A Clarinet Collection’.
Cocktail Suite for Two started life as a film score for singer with string quartet, but subsequently morphed into a suite of works, based on favourite cocktails, for two pianos. Three of the ‘cocktails’ may be found on the CD ‘Sun Fun and Other Disappointments – The Music of Michael Easton’.
