{"id":2361,"date":"2018-01-16T16:04:52","date_gmt":"2018-01-16T05:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/?p=2361"},"modified":"2018-01-16T16:06:28","modified_gmt":"2018-01-16T05:36:28","slug":"stuart-challender","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/2018\/01\/stuart-challender\/","title":{"rendered":"Close to the Flame: The Life of Stuart Challender"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The cover of the book<\/p><\/div>\n

Remembered for his contributions to music and his courage in being Australia’s first celebrity to reveal his struggle with HIV-AIDS,\u00a0Close to the Flame<\/em> is an homage to a humble and hardworking genius:<\/h5>\n

Stuart Challender had already proved himself as the most\u00a0talented conductor of his generation, with invitations\u00a0beginning to flow in to conduct renowned international\u00a0orchestras, when he was diagnosed with AIDS . Bravely, he\u00a0chose to become Australia\u2019s first celebrity to reveal his\u00a0struggle with the disease to the public.<\/p>\n

A new definitive biography of Challender, Close to the\u00a0<\/i>Flame<\/i>, explores his remarkable career, cut short when he\u00a0was only forty-four years old.<\/p>\n

Challender joined Opera Australia after twelve years of\u00a0study and work in European opera houses. He was then\u00a0taken up by the ABC and appointed artistic director and\u00a0chief conductor of Australia\u2019s leading orchestra, the Sydney\u00a0Symphony.<\/p>\n

Challender was a great champion of the music of\u00a0contemporary Australian composers and responsible for\u00a0the premieres of many important Australian works.\u00a0In his final years, Challender struggled to continue to\u00a0work while disease ravaged his body. His decision to go\u00a0public about his condition brings the story to a moving\u00a0conclusion.<\/p>\n

A review<\/a> by Matthew Westwood of\u00a0The Australian<\/em> reveals the depth of the impact Challender had on music in Australia in his short-lived career:<\/p>\n

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‘Challender\u2019s legacy lives on in a few cherished recordings, not least his performances of Voss<\/i>, orchestral music by Peter Scul\u2013thorpe and Carl Vine, and Mahler\u2019s Resurrection<\/i> symphony. And there\u2019s a little bit of Challender on the hour at the head of ABC news bulletins. The Majestic Fanfare<\/i> is the arrangement by Richard Mills, performed by the SSO in 1988, with Challender conducting.’<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n