Nothing beats this retro classic hotel for a schlep-free family ski holiday
Listening to the wild weather soundtrack while dining on delicious calamari fritti and perfectly plated lamb with chimichurri is a "pinch me" moment. We have hypnotic front-row seats to a raging weather symphony that is buffeting the outdoor Australian and US flags (Perisher is owned by Vail Resorts). Meanwhile we're snug as bugs by the open fireplace, with a talented piano player and candlelight adding to the ambience. Mid sugar rush my youngest declares her hot chocolate the world's best and breakfast is equally exceptional, a fuelling feast for a day on the ski slopes of a la carte and buffet options.
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The Age
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Sydney Morning Herald
29 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
What it takes to master ‘the best job in the world'
Conductor Benjamin Northey is reflecting on more than two decades leading major orchestras here and overseas. 'There's nothing like it. It's got to be the best job in the world. You're in this privileged position where you get to connect with these amazing works of art all the time.' Now he is aiming to pass on that privilege – and all the complex skills needed to exercise it – to the next generation, having been appointed inaugural professor of conducting at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. He adds that job to his current roles as principal conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and conductor in residence of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. 'It's a tremendous opportunity,' he says. 'It was unexpected in many ways but I was thrilled. 'This role offers me the chance to help shape the future of Australian music, ensuring the next generation understands and values music's essential role in our society.' Northey's appointment comes at a time of growing interest in the art of conducting, brought on in part by the high-profile success here and overseas of Sydney Symphony Orchestra chief conductor Simone Young as well as other young rising stars such as Sydneysider Sam Weller. Northey came to conducting by a circuitous route. Initially, he studied woodwinds, playing saxophone, flute and clarinet professionally in his 20s before enrolling in a conducting course at Melbourne Conservatorium. In 2001, he won the Symphony Australia young conductor of the year award and went on to study at Helsinki's Sibelius Academy, 'the global mecca of conductor training'.
The Age
an hour ago
- The Age
The ‘good omen' that heralded an afterlife army's arrival in Australia
The Shaanxi terracotta warriors guard the tomb of the Qin dynasty emperor who united China 2000 years ago, with 'one law, one coin, one script and one measure'. Described as 'the afterlife army' of Emperor Qin Shihuang, the 8000 clay warriors stand forever to attention in a celestial military camp unearthed accidentally in 1974 by a farmer tilling his fields. Ten of the clay army figures – eight warriors, a seated attendant and a saddled horse – now feature in Terracotta Warriors: Legacy of the First Emperor, a major exhibition of 225 objects loaned from Emperor Qin Shihuang Mausoleum Site Museum and from 17 other museums across China to the Western Australian Museum. 'We're told it's the largest exhibition of its kind outside China,' says museum director Alec Coles, whose team began discussions seven years ago with the Shaanxi Provincial Bureau of Cultural Heritage, the Emperor Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum and other sites to collate Terracotta Warriors. While Victoria has previously hosted a terracotta warrior show, Coles says the current objects – spanning a 1000-year period – have never previously been assembled in one place. 'Nearly three quarters of the objects have never been seen in Australia and we're told almost half have never before left China.' All are genuine artefacts, from the terracotta warriors to bronze bells, jade dragon pendants and even pottery bath scrubbers. Only two life-size horse-drawn chariots are replicas because the real ones – painstakingly reassembled from fragments – are too fragile to tour. A few items will have their first ever public showing, like an emperor dowager's gold ornaments that Perth visitors will see ahead of even the Chinese public. Some borrowed items are unlikely to travel again, like a dainty life-like swan loaned to Perth because it mirrors Western Australia's state emblem, the black swan. 'We've had a lot of license to ask for material ... I think the enduring relationship between WA and China has played a part, particularly because of the resources industry.' WA Museum director Alec Coles 'We were desperate to get it because when the Chinese delegation came over, they were intrigued by our black swans,' says Coles. 'We took them to Perth Zoo to get an idea of Australian wildlife, and it was funny to see a black swan following us around the whole time. I think it was a good omen.' The swan is among priceless bronze-cast waterfowl – 20 swans, 20 geese and six cranes – that were unearthed in the early 2000s with their terracotta animal handlers, whose 'serene faces and delicate hands' identify them as bird keepers. Exhibition curator Tonia Eckfeld, a Chinese art history professor from Melbourne University, has witnessed the 'birth' of Shaanxi province's extraordinary archaeological finds. 'I've seen the objects coming out of the earth, including objects that are in this exhibition. I was doing my doctoral work in China in the 1990s when they were excavating pits of stone armour and lifting them out, 80 suits of them,' Eckfeld says. 'They had all been on wooden racks which decayed. You can imagine dealing with 600 stone pieces per suit of armour, once linked by silk thread or metal wire. So the archaeologists put stickers on each piece, with numbers, one, two, three, took them out and reassembled them.' She says the best clues to reassembling the armour – one of which is displayed in Perth – came directly from the warrior figures. 'They bore many different configurations of armour, and so the experts were able to put the 80 suits back together.' A single magnificent suit of armour was for a horse; 'we presume it was for the horse of the emperor himself.' The Terracotta Warriors are only one aspect of the exhibition narrative, often captured in immersive audio-visual screens – how X-rays of the bronze waterfowl revealed that China had learned from Western casting techniques. Clues to ancient global animal trade, a warmer climate and denuded bamboo forests lie in relics of live animals that were buried in grand tombs – like ill-fated Asian tapirs, African ground hornbills and once abundant, over-grazing giant pandas. 'These objects all live in the present day,' says Eckfeld. 'They're not just old things from the past. They're very culturally alive, but they also do have a place in the present. They're part of all of our lives.' The inner core of Emperor Qin Shihuang's tomb has never been excavated. Does Eckfeld look forward to learning its secrets? 'I'm sure that it will be excavated one day. But at the moment, I guess the fact is there's just so much else to do. Inside the core there's likely to be the most precious material – that could mean very delicate silk textiles, brocades and things like that. So you need to be ready to deal with it when it comes out. 'Preservation comes before everything, because a top priority in China is to look after the material heritage. I've watched their conservation and material science develop in the decades that I've been working there – it's cutting edge now.' Coles says Terracotta Warriors will have an unusually long run in Perth, until Chinese New Year in February 2026. 'We've sold more advanced tickets probably by a factor of five or six than any other exhibition we've ever done. We know people are buying tickets from the east coast and from overseas to come here,' he says. 'We've had a lot of license to ask for material, to select material, and the authorities have been very accommodating. I think the enduring relationship between WA and China has played a part, particularly because of the resources industry. We know that China is by far our biggest trading partner, three times the US for instance. 'Soft diplomatic relations are really important in order to work together, and the number of items and long loan time are a reflection of the bond of trust we built up with our Chinese partners.'
