Tall Poppies The Podcast
39 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 year ago -Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe and Mel Gibson. That Hollywood spotlight ensures that most of us know the name of these celebrity Aussies, but what about those many other Australians who have forged impressive careers around the globe? Artists, academics, sportsmen and women, scientists and no doubt many, many more professions. People like the Melbournian Barrie Kosky, who is today one of the world’s most-celebrated opera directors, conductor Simone Young, who directs international orchestras and Sydney-born singer-songwriter Kat Frankie, a popular performer at top music venues all over Germany. As a journalist working internationally for decades, I’m constantly amazed at the number of Australians – high profile or otherwise – living outside Australia – who have remarkable careers and what’s more, remarkable stories to tell. In Tall Poppies I’ll be sitting down with one of these inspiring Aussies each episode to chat about their work, living abroad and their passage to international success. Of course we will also look at how growing up in Australia influenced them in the past and even today in their work.
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Episodes
Special: Poetry and Music with Alice Miller & Matthew McDonald
April 21, 2023 04:00 - 1 hour - 41.2 MBSend us a Text Message. The poets Matthew McDonald and Alice Miller join Breandáin O'Shea to talk about poetry and ponder music's curious relationship with the spoken word.
Alma Moodie Part I
January 14, 2023 15:00 - 1 hour - 41.2 MBSend us a Text Message. This is part I of two podcasts featuring the life and music of Alma Moodie. She was born in 1898 in rural Australia, and moved to Europe early last century. She became a student of the legendary Carl Flesch, who referred to her as his favourite student. The violinist collaborated with renowned composers, among them Stravinsky, Pfitzner and Reger, and cultivated friendships with aristocracy, philanthropists and the poet Rainer Maria Rilke. Alma Moodie’s influence a...
Alma Moodie Part II
January 14, 2023 15:00 - 1 hour - 41.3 MBSend us a Text Message. This is the second of two podcasts featuring the life and music of Alma Moodie. Moodie was born in rural Australia, but moved to Europe early last century and eventually became a student of the legendary Carl Flesch, who referred to her as his favourite student. The violinist collaborated with renowned composers, among them Stravinsky, Pfitzner and Reger, and cultivated friendships with aristocracy, philanthropists and artists including German poet Rainer Maria Ril...
Liza Lim, Composer
November 10, 2021 23:00 - 1 hour - 41.5 MBSend us a Text Message. On this episode of Tall Poppies, The Podcast Breandáin meets the composer Liza Lim. She is Professor of Composition at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where she also runs the Composing Women Program. Liza has created compositions for many of the world’s leading orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, BBC Symphony, and the SuedwestRundfunk Orchestra and her music has been featured at many notable festivals. She was born in Perth, but spent much of her...
Matthew McDonald, Principal Bass Berlin Philharmonic
April 30, 2021 07:00 - 1 hour - 42.2 MBSend us a Text Message. In this edition, Matthew tells Breandáin about his journey from Canberra to becoming a principal player with one the world’s most prestigious music ensembles. He reflects on the effects the current pandemic has had on musicians and shares a hilarious story about taking a swim at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on his way to perform a Mahler Symphony with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Matthew Larkum, Neuroscientist
April 29, 2020 13:26 - 1 hour - 46.1 MBSend us a Text Message. Away from the challenges the world is facing during this pandemic, we are also living through another one of the greatest of scientific endeavours – that is - the attempt to understand the most complex object in the universe, the brain. Researchers are devoting massive amounts of time and energy to exploring what brains do and new technology is enabling them to both describe and manipulate that activity. It came as a surprise to discover that here in Germany, one of ...
Stanley Dodds - Violinist and Conductor
March 09, 2020 21:15 - 1 hour - 58.9 MBSend us a Text Message. Stanley Dodds grew up in Adelaide and has been a violinist with the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra since the early 90s. He is also a conductor and frequently directs ensembles of the Berlin Philharmonic and in 2014 was appointed Principal Conductor of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra. He is dedicated to working with youth and amateur orchestras and is in charge of the Berlin Philharmonic Schools Orchestra Concert and Youth Composition Workshop. Stan Dodds is also a membe...
Gail Jones, Author
January 31, 2020 12:31 - 54 minutes - 37.6 MBSend us a Text Message. Gail Jones one of Australia's most celebrated writers who has a special place in her heart for Berlin. At home, her work has received several major accolades including the 2019 Australian Prime Minister's prize for literature, while abroad Gail's fiction has been translated into fifteen languages and long-listed for esteemed prizes, such as the Man Booker Prize and the Orange Prize.
Tall Poppies, The Podcast Trailer December 2019
December 19, 2019 21:53 - 1 minute - 1.02 MBIntroducing Series II of Tall Poppies the Podcast, commencing in 2020
Tall Poppies Postcard: Remembering Joan Sutherland (1926 -2010)
September 02, 2019 10:30 - 14 minutes - 10.3 MBSend us a Text Message. Not many opera singers could match the achievements of the Australian soprano, Joan Sutherland. Her brilliant career stretched over four decades and the legendary singer was celebrated in opera houses and concert halls around the world. Yet, despite her worldwide fame and the many international honours she received during her lifetime, Joan Sutherland remained unaffected by it all. Breandáin met Dame Joan in 2000, during the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in Belg...
Shannon Barnett, Jazz Trombonist
August 09, 2019 12:20 - 49 minutes - 34 MBSend us a Text Message. In this podcast, the extraordinary jazz trombonist Shannon Barnett joins Breandáin to talk about her phenomenal career in music, the challenges she continues to face as a female musician and about the inspiration she finds through teaching the next generation of musicians.
Tall Poppies with Shannon Barnett, Jazz Trombonist
August 09, 2019 12:20 - 49 minutes - 45.3 MBIn this podcast, the extraordinary jazz trombonist Shannon Barnett joins Breandáin to talk about her phenomenal career in music, the challenges she continues to face as a female musician and about the inspiration she finds through teaching the next generation of musicians.
Tall Poppies Postcard with Adam Elliot, Animation writer, Director and Producer
August 02, 2019 14:15 - 15 minutes - 11 MBSend us a Text Message. Adam Elliot’s films have been featured at hundreds of festivals and have received numerous awards, including an Academy Award for his film, “Harvie Krumpet”. Adam calls his films “Clayographies,” and by that, he means clay-animated biographies. Their themes are bittersweet and often venture into domains that many filmmakers might normally shy away from. While being hilarious and poignant, they explore friendship, autism, taxidermy, obesity, kleptomania, religious di...
Tall Poppies Postcard with Robert Gray, Poet
July 26, 2019 17:35 - 17 minutes - 11.7 MBSend us a Text Message. Tall Poppies Postcard with Poet Robert Gray Over the next few weeks, “Tall Poppies: The Podcast,” will feature a series of 10 minute excerpts from archived interviews with renowned Australians. We are calling these, Tall Poppies Postcards. The first features the Australian poet, Robert Gray, an outstanding landscape poet and alongside Les Murray, has been one of the most significant Australian poets of the last decades. Indeed, the late Les Murray said of Robert ...
Tall Poppies with Heather Betts, Painter
April 15, 2019 08:00 - 1 hour - 63.8 MBIn this episode Breandáin O'Shea meets the Sydney-born painter Heather Betts, who has been living in Berlin, since 1984. She is a graduate of Sydney’s Fine Arts Institute, she also studied viola at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Heather moved to Berlin with her husband musician, Brett Dean. Heather has had over forty solo exhibitions, as well as numerous group exhibitions. The influence of her viola studies is omnipresent, as music is a leitmotif of much of her work. Heather talked abo...
Heather Betts, Painter
April 15, 2019 08:00 - 1 hour - 47.9 MBSend us a Text Message. In this episode Breandáin O'Shea meets the Sydney-born painter Heather Betts, who has been living in Berlin, since 1984. She is a graduate of Sydney’s Fine Arts Institute, she also studied viola at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Heather moved to Berlin with her husband musician, Brett Dean. Heather has had over forty solo exhibitions, as well as numerous group exhibitions. The influence of her viola studies is omnipresent, as music is a leitmotif of much of her ...
Tall Poppies with Siobhan Stagg, Singer
February 02, 2019 16:07 - 54 minutes - 49.9 MBSoprano Siobhan Stagg studied at Melbourne University and later at the Wales International Academy of Voice in Cardiff. Her many accolades include first prize at the 2014 International Mozart Competition. She is a member of the ensemble at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and frequently been a guest at many other opera houses, including London’s Royal Opera House, the Dutch National Opera, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. On the concert platform, Siobhan has appeared as a soloist at events the likes...
Siobhan Stagg, Soprano
February 02, 2019 16:07 - 54 minutes - 37.4 MBSend us a Text Message. Soprano Siobhan Stagg studied at Melbourne University and later at the Wales International Academy of Voice in Cardiff. Her many accolades include first prize at the 2014 International Mozart Competition. She is a member of the ensemble at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and frequently been a guest at many other opera houses, including London’s Royal Opera House, the Dutch National Opera, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. On the concert platform, Siobhan has appeared as a so...
Tall Poppies with Cathy Milliken, Musician
October 11, 2018 09:10 - 1 hour - 62.3 MBCathy Milliken has been an artist many young Australian musicians have looked up to when they have travelled abroad to continue their studies in Europe. A renowned oboist, composer and music educator, Cathy has held key positions with two of the world’s leading music ensembles, Ensemble Modern and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Breandáin caught up with Cathy in Berlin, where she talked about her illustrious musical career, working alongside many of the world’s leading musicians, composin...
Cathy Milliken, Musician
October 11, 2018 09:10 - 1 hour - 46.8 MBSend us a Text Message. Cathy Milliken has been an artist many young Australian musicians have looked up to when they have travelled abroad to continue their studies in Europe. A renowned oboist, composer and music educator, Cathy has held key positions with two of the world’s leading music ensembles, Ensemble Modern and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Breandáin caught up with Cathy in Berlin, where she talked about her illustrious musical career, working alongside many of the world’s le...
Peter Singer, Philosopher
July 06, 2018 23:08 - 51 minutes - 35.3 MBSend us a Text Message. Breandáin caught up with the renowned Melburnian, Peter Singer, in Berlin at the presentation of the 3rd annual “Peter Singer Award,” an accolade given to those working on strategies to relieve the suffering of animals. Much of Peter Singer’s career has been devoted to social and political causes, most notably animal rights, but also famine and poverty relief, environmentalism and reproductive rights. But perhaps he is best known for his 1975 book, Animal Liberatio...
Tall Poppies with Peter Singer, Philosopher
July 06, 2018 23:08 - 51 minutes - 47.1 MBBreandáin caught up with the renowned Melburnian, Peter Singer, in Berlin at the presentation of the 3rd annual “Peter Singer Award,” an accolade given to those working on strategies to relieve the suffering of animals. Much of Peter Singer’s career has been devoted to social and political causes, most notably animal rights, but also famine and poverty relief, environmentalism and reproductive rights. But perhaps he is best known for his 1975 book, Animal Liberation, A New Ethics for Our T...
Tall Poppies with Paul Kildea, Conductor and Author
June 07, 2018 22:00 - 1 hour - 63.5 MBIn this edition of Tall Poppies, Paul Kildea talks about his latest book, "Chopin's Piano, A Journey Through Romanticism," and rising to the challenge of finding the right words to describe music. He also recalls the time in his life when the adjective – Australian - was not a positive one and shares his insatiable passion for Australia. “I have always tried to work out a way of coming up with a single image or analogy or a metaphor, that makes it really clear to a non-specialist, the pheno...
Paul Kildea, Author & Musician
June 07, 2018 22:00 - 1 hour - 47.6 MBSend us a Text Message. In this edition, Paul Kildea talks about his latest book, "Chopin's Piano, A Journey Through Romanticism," and rising to the challenge of finding the right words to describe music. He also recalls the time in his life when the adjective – Australian - was not a positive one and shares his insatiable passion for Australia. “I have always tried to work out a way of coming up with a single image or analogy or a metaphor, that makes it really clear to a non-specialist, ...
Tall Poppies with Rhys Martin, Dancer, Choreographer & Educator
March 29, 2018 19:01 - 47 minutes - 43.8 MBThe Tall Poppies podcast this week features dancer and choreographer, Rhys Martin, who hails from Newcastle, New South Wales. A graduate of Sydney University, Rhys initially studied literature and fine arts. He began his career in the theatre with Sydney’s pioneering underground company, “One Extra Dance.” In this Tall Poppies’ episode, Rhys recalls his encounters in the 1970s with many of the leading figures of the Australian dance scene before travelling to work in Britain and, subsequentl...
Rhys Martin, Dancer, Choreographer & Educator
March 29, 2018 19:01 - 47 minutes - 32.9 MBSend us a Text Message. The Tall Poppies podcast this week features dancer and choreographer, Rhys Martin, who hails from Newcastle, New South Wales. A graduate of Sydney University, Rhys initially studied literature and fine arts. He began his career in the theatre with Sydney’s pioneering underground company, “One Extra Dance.” In this Tall Poppies’ episode, Rhys recalls his encounters in the 1970s with many of the leading figures of the Australian dance scene before travelling to work in...
Tall Poppies with Kat Frankie, Singer-Songwriter_ Short Edition
March 06, 2018 09:21 - 8 minutes - 6.07 MBSend us a Text Message. In this episode, Kat Frankie tells Breandáin about how an idea becomes a wide-ranging musical composition and how she enjoys the creative process a little more than performing. We also sample a little of Kat's latest album, "Bad Behaviour". Find out more at http://tall-poppies.com/
Tall Poppies with Kat Frankie, Singer-Songwriter
March 06, 2018 09:00 - 42 minutes - 38.7 MBIn this episode of Tall Poppies Kat Frankie tells Breandáin about how her ideas becomes wide-ranging musical compositions and how she enjoys the creative process a little more than performing. We also get the chance to sample some of the music from her latest album Bad Behaviour. Find out more at: http://tall-poppies.com/
Kat Frankie, Singer-Songwriter
March 06, 2018 09:00 - 42 minutes - 29 MBSend us a Text Message. In this episode of Tall Poppies Kat Frankie tells Breandáin about how her ideas becomes wide-ranging musical compositions and how she enjoys the creative process a little more than performing. We also get the chance to sample some of the music from her latest album Bad Behaviour. Find out more at: http://tall-poppies.com/
Brett Dean, Composer, Short Edition
February 19, 2018 11:05 - 7 minutes - 5.23 MBSend us a Text Message. In two decades, the musician Brett Dean has risen from being an orchestral violist who once wrote music on the side, to one of the world’s most celebrated composers. In fact, Brett Dean’s music is championed internationally by orchestras and leading conductors, including Simon Rattle, Andris Nelsons, Simone Young and Daniel Harding.
Tall Poppies with Brett Dean, Composer, Full Edition
February 19, 2018 04:54 - 1 hour - 55.5 MBIn two decades, the musician Brett Dean has risen from being an orchestral violist who once wrote music on the side, to one of the world’s most celebrated composers.
Brett Dean, Composer, Full Edition
February 19, 2018 04:54 - 1 hour - 41.6 MBSend us a Text Message. In two decades, the musician Brett Dean has risen from being an orchestral violist who once wrote music on the side, to one of the world’s most celebrated composers.
#04_Simone Young - Conductor_Short Edition
February 08, 2018 11:33 - 8 minutes - 5.63 MBSend us a Text Message. There have been many highlights in Simone Young's career. Alongside conducting most of the world’s great orchestras including the London and New York Philharmonic Orchestras, the City of Birmingham Symphony, and the BBC Symphony at the BBC Proms, she was also the first woman to conduct at the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic, two orchestras she regularly returns to conduct today. In 1983, at just 22, Simone Young had already joined the staff of Opera...
Simone Young - Conductor, Full Edition
February 08, 2018 11:16 - 46 minutes - 32.1 MBSend us a Text Message. There have been many highlights in Simone Young's career. Alongside conducting most of the world’s great orchestras including the London and New York Philharmonic Orchestras, the City of Birmingham Symphony, and the BBC Symphony at the BBC Proms, she was also the first woman to conduct at the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic, two orchestras she regularly returns to conduct today. In 1983, at just 22, Simone Young had already joined the staff of Opera A...
Tall Poppies with Simone Young - Conductor, Full Edition
February 08, 2018 11:16 - 46 minutes - 42.8 MBThere have been many highlights in Simone Young's career. Alongside conducting most of the world’s great orchestras including the London and New York Philharmonic Orchestras, the City of Birmingham Symphony, and the BBC Symphony at the BBC Proms, she was also the first woman to conduct at the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic, two orchestras she regularly returns to conduct today. In 1983, at just 22, Simone Young had already joined the staff of Opera Australia. She studied a...
#02_Barrie Kosky _ Stage Director _Short Edition
February 01, 2018 06:26 - 5 minutes - 5.33 MBThere are not many stage directors in the world who, in the space of six months, have directed Wagner’s “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg,” Debussy’s “Pelléas et Mélisande” and the musical, “Fiddler on the Roof.” But that is exactly how Barrie Kosky spent the second half of 2017. What’s more, this is a typical schedule for the energetic Melburnian.
#02_Barrie Kosky _ Stage Director _Short Edition
February 01, 2018 06:26 - 5 minutes - 4.03 MBSend us a Text Message. There are not many stage directors in the world who, in the space of six months, have directed Wagner’s “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg,” Debussy’s “Pelléas et Mélisande” and the musical, “Fiddler on the Roof.” But that is exactly how Barrie Kosky spent the second half of 2017. What’s more, this is a typical schedule for the energetic Melburnian.
Barrie Kosky, Stage Director, Full Edition
January 31, 2018 23:25 - 42 minutes - 29.5 MBSend us a Text Message. There are not many stage directors in the world who, in the space of six months, have directed Wagner’s “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg,” Debussy’s “Pelléas et Mélisande” and the musical, “Fiddler on the Roof.” But that is exactly how Barrie Kosky spent the second half of 2017. What’s more, this is a typical schedule for the energetic Melburnian.
Tall Poppies with Barrie Kosky, Stage Director, Full Edition
January 31, 2018 23:25 - 42 minutes - 39.3 MBThere are not many stage directors in the world who, in the space of six months, have directed Wagner’s “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg,” Debussy’s “Pelléas et Mélisande” and the musical, “Fiddler on the Roof.” But that is exactly how Barrie Kosky spent the second half of 2017. What’s more, this is a typical schedule for the energetic Melburnian.