four hands organ
Douglas Lawrence and Elizabeth Anderson
Biographical notes
Elizabeth Anderson and Douglas Lawrence met in a garden at the University of Melbourne. Douglas had just returned to Australia from a period of study at the Vienna Academy with Anton Heiller, and was teaching organ at the University. Elizabeth was a harpsichord student. Three years later they gave their first four-hands organ and harpsichord recital at the National Gallery in Melbourne, and four years after that, they were married in the Chapel of Ormond College, where they had first met. As an organ duo, they have made 12 concert tours of Europe and Japan. On alternate years they tour Europe with the Choir of Ormond College, which they started together in 1982.
In addition to her activities as the upper half of an organ duo with Douglas Lawrence, Elizabeth Anderson gives solo recitals on harpsichord. In 2001, she appeared in the City of London Festival, and in previous years, she has appeared in the Dublin Early Music Festival, Glasgow Mayfest, Printemps Carougeouse (Switzerland), Concerti in Ville (Italy) and the Sorø International Festival (Denmark). She has become known particularly for her performances of Bach's Goldberg Variations, for her many concerto performances, and for her crossover programmes.
She has performed the major harpsichord concertos of the 20th century (Poulenc, Martin DeFalla), in some 40 performances with Australian orchestras in the past few years. Her recording of DeFalla's Harpsichord Concerto on the Naxos label, released in 1998 won an Editor's Choice listing in Gramaphone Magazine. In the crossover area, her CD entitled Bizarre or baRock has been a best seller on Australia's Move label.
Douglas Lawrence's first important concert was in 1972, on the world's oldest playable organ in Sion Switzerland, which was then newly restored. That instrument was built about 1390. Douglas has since returned 6 times to give concerts at Sion, as he has to many other venues, such as Stephansdom, Vienna, St Paul's Cathedral, London, San Marco, Venice, Hong Kong Performing Arts Centre, and the Heligaands Church, Copenhagen to name a few. He has made several solo organ recordings on the Move label, most recently The Rieger at Scots.
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Douglas and Elizabeth can be heard playing 4-hands on the organ of the Melbourne Concert Hall on a CD entitled Bolero. Hear a sample of Ravel's famous Bolero in streamed (mono) RealAudio in high quality mp3 format. |
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Douglas Lawrence and Elizabeth Anderson teach organ and harpsichord at the University of Melbourne. In addition, Douglas is Master of the Chapel Music at Ormond College, the University of Melbourne and Director of Music to the Scots Church. He founded and directs the Australian Baroque Ensemble, and is a sessional lecturer to the United Faculty of Theology. In 1992 he was awarded an Order of Australia for services to music.
Copyright © 2003-6 Elizabeth Anderson. All rights reserved.