Corridors of Power: Cheating, Lying, Stealing

Politics can inspire more than frustration and annoyance. Performing Big Decisions and The Keating Tangos, Topology shows that politics is also a wellspring for music.

Thirty-six years ago, Gough Whitlam headed the first Labor government in 23 years. Australia’s most dramatic political moment happened only three years later, when the Governor-General dismissed the government. Robert Davidson captures this event in his composition, Big Decisions.

Reminiscent of a mini-opera, Big Decisions stars the recorded voicesof Gough Whitlam, Sir John Kerr andMalcolm Fraser. The effect is thatthe politicians are heard to sing,with Whitlam waltzing his way through“Well may we say God save the Queen”.

Composer Russell Gilmour uses the tango as inspiration to illustrate the personality and political style of Paul Keating. When Keating became the Former Prime Minister in 1996, Gilmour invited a clutch of composers to write tango portraits to mark the event. The resulting Keating Tangos is a dramatic portrayal of Australia’s self-styled Placido Domingo.

Big Decisions and The Keating Tangos are features of Topology’s performance. The concert also goes beyond Australia’s shores to worldwide politics.

"Topology strays off the well-beaten path chosen by traditional chamber groups and contemporary ensemble. Risk and wild spontaneity enthrals the audience,” Gillian Wills, the Australian 2008.

Duration: 75mins no interval.