Catalogue

Summary:

Rusted Earth, Sapphire Sea features Australian flautist Sally Walker in four world-premiere recordings of concertos by her compatriots, three of which were commissioned by or for her, and one arranged by her. Jessica Cottis conducts the Canberra Symphony Orchestra.

All things Australian infuse Rusted Earth, Sapphire Sea, an album as pictorial and programmatic as the title implies and as the vast continent itself. Headlined by the dynamic, prize-winning flautist Sally Walker, who is backed by the Canberra Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jessica Cottis, the album features four world-premiere recordings, three of which were commissioned by or for Sally, and one arranged by her. The music spans generations of composers and reflects the range and breadth of Australian landscapes, seascapes and peoples, united by a common theme of hope.

Alex Turley represents the new generation. He has worked with all of Australia’s major orchestras and collaborated across multiple genres from alt-rock and electronica, rap and singer-songwriter. His “Concerto for Flute”, commissioned for and premiered by Sally in 2025, unfolds over five seamless movements, alive with additive rhythms, jazz-inspired melodies and shimmering sound scapes coloured by harp, celeste and vibraphone. Christopher Sainsbury’s “Concertino for Flute”, commissioned for and premiered by Sally in the same year, is the first Australian Indigenous flute concerto. Employing alto and C flutes, the three-movement work evokes lost songs of the Dharug/Eora people including one about a dolphin which mirrors Sally’s musical encounters with the marine mammals!

A decade earlier, Sally commissioned and premiered “Night and Now” by Uzbek-born, Australian émigré Elena Kats-Chernin. The large-scale concerto draws upon the composer’s upbringing back in the USSR, channelling her experiences into the flute’s wide-ranging sonorities, from brilliant and piercing to mellow and whispering, from rich and mystical to virtuosic, from a full tone to a sigh. Visionary 20th-century composer Peggy Glanville-Hicks blended ancient musical traditions with those of her time, influenced by international studies with Ralph Vaughan-Williams, Egon Wellesz and Nadia Boulanger. Sally’s arrangement of Peggy’s “Concerto Romantico”, originally for viola and chamber orchestra, remains as faithful as possible to the original and with the hope that the work will reach a wider audience.

With this release, the orchestra of Australia’s capital city, the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, celebrates its 75th anniversary, affirming its rich legacy of dedication to Australian composers and performers. Chief Conductor and Artistic Director Jessica Cottis brings her exceptional musical leadership and visionary programming to the podium.

Rusted Earth, Sapphire Sea is a 2-CD set enhanced with interviews and audio commentary by the composers.

Tracklist:

ALEX TURLEY (b. 1995)
Concerto for Flute (2025) – 21:37

CHRISTOPHER SAINSBURY (b. 1963)
Concertino for Flute (2025) – 15:40

ELENA KATS-CHERNIN (b. 1957)
Night and Now Flute Concerto (2015) – 20:17

PEGGY GLANVILLE-HICKS (1912–1990) (arr. Sally Walker 2025)
Concerto Romantica (1956) – 23:40