Australian Music

Eugene Goossens & the Witch of Kings Cross

By Shane Maloney

Sir Eugene Goossens was a man who liked a little magic in his life. Sex magic, to be specific.Goossens was a world-famous conductor and composer, a friend of Picasso and Stravinsky. "My heart just loosens when I listen to Goossens," wrote his pal Noël Coward. In 1947, aged 54 and at the height of his career, he was lured to Australia to take charge of the newly formed Sydney Symphony Orchest

Augie March’s 'Moo, You Bloody Choir'

The Exford Dregs

By Robert Forster

Charles MacKarras and the quest for authenticity

The Interpreter - If alive, will play

By Stephen Fay

Sir Neville Cardus, the legendary cricket writer and music critic, chose to spend the World War II years in Sydney rather than London. Young Australian musicians would seek him out at his home in Kings Cross and ask if he thought they would be able to make a career in Europe when the war was over. One young oboist said that what he wanted most was to become an opera conductor. “Absolutely hopeless,” said Cardus. “Don’t dream of