Syd and George
DR 2007
Radio inside a Violin: A gift to Jon Rose by the marketing department of WDR Cologne
  • Produced for Manfred Mixner and Deutschland Radio in 2007 by Jon Rose
  • Recordings of George the Lyrebird by Syd Curtis
  • Recordings of Syd Curtis by Jon Rose
  • All string quartet music derived from George's vocalisations and composed and played by Jon Rose

This is the story of the relationship between Syd Curtis, a member of Homo sapiens and retired park ranger; and George, an Albert's Lyrebird or Menura alberti, who lived in Lamington National Park, Australia. They are both sadly no longer with us. In later parts of the composition, both species tend to morph into each other. (extract only)

What's New

April 2023
'Rock/Paper/Scissors' - first performance of a radical new interface between violin improvisation, composition, orchestra, and conductor. Highlights here.
KNM, Berlin
March 2023
'Beak' - Kronos Quartet plays the world premiere, a composition based on the song of a Pied Butcherbird by Jon Rose and Hollis Taylor.
Adelaide Festival
March 2024
'Night Songs' celebrates an interspecies multi-media engagement between the ancient music of a uniquely Australian songbird - Cracticus nigrogularis (the Pied Butcherbird) and Australia's premiere new music group Ensemble Offspring. Documentation here.
The Adelaide Festival
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