An Australian in Paris (1995)
(Australian in Paris)

Taking as his cue George Gershwin's 1928 tone poem An American in Paris, Michael Easton's four-movement suite, An Australian in Paris, outlines the impressions that famous city may be supposed to have made on another visitor. A dreamy, somewhat melancholy waltz suggests memories of a love affair On the Boulevard St Michel, while jaunty, off-centre rhythms catch the bustle and nervous energy of a journey On the Metro. Echoes of Erik Satie herald the plaintive dialogue between oboe and flute which opens the third movement, Alone and Lonely. The music, a freely unfolding melody in waltz time, rises to a passionate climax, only to subside again in preparation for the last movement's rumbustious free-for-all, which will be only too familiar to anyone who has driven in that most lively of cities. The work was commissioned by the Malvern Symphony Orchestra, conductor Christopher Martin, and first performed on 13th March, 1995.