TRANSFORMATIONS Music by two of the most-loved composers —Tchaikovsky and Mozart — revealed by the power of transformation. For this performance MCO musicians are playing a Tchaikovsky work originally for piano solo with a string quartet, and a Mozart piano concerto with the quartet and piano. They are joined by one of Australia’s most extraordinary ... Read more
MUSIC FOR THE FIRST PIANO Enter the sound world of 1700, where the beginnings of a classical approach to music was being explored, and where a keyboard instrument was invented that could shape and shade dynamics. Bartolomeo Cristofori invented the piano in the 1690s and made his last instrument in 1729/1730. The Cristofori reproduction played ... Read more
HARMONIEMUSIK Appearing courtesy of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, staff and students perform side-by-side in an entertaining program of Classical and Romantic works for two clarinets, two horns and two bassoons. More info and bookings
MUSIC FOR THE KING The four Coronation Anthems are among Handel’s most cherished choral works. They were composed for performance in Westminster Abbey at King George II’s coronation on 11 October 1727, and Zadok the Priest has been sung at every coronation of a British monarch since that time. The Dettingen Te Deum, composed to ... Read more
FANTAZY Consortium unites a band of Australia’s finest viol players to explore the rich repertoire for viol consort. Drawing upon a wealth of professional experience in its players and a deep-shared love of the consort experience, Consortium enables Australian audiences to experience the beauty and crystalline purity of the traditional repertoire for viol consort alongside ... Read more
LIAISON AND THE SEASONS Described by Limelight magazine as a ‘national treasure’, Ensemble Liaison is one of Australia’s leading internationally acclaimed ensembles. Now in their 17th season, they are renowned for their captivating and engaging performances, recognised for imaginative and innovative programming, setting the trend for brilliant collaborations with leading artists. With something for everyone, ... Read more
MUSIC FOR THE KING The four Coronation Anthems are among Handel’s most cherished choral works. They were composed for performance in Westminster Abbey at King George II’s coronation on 11 October 1727, and Zadok the Priest has been sung at every coronation of a British monarch since that time. The Dettingen Te Deum, composed to ... Read more
'DEATH AND THE MAIDEN' Affinity Quartet performs two masterworks linked by a poetic sense of time. The Hungarian living composer Gyorgy Kurtag’s ‘Six Moments Musicaux’ takes its form from music made famous by Schubert and others in the 19th century, where an entire world of emotions could be conveyed in literally just a ‘moment’. Following ... Read more
EAST OF THE SUN AND WEST OF THE MOON Collide unites three international soloists in an ensemble that brings vibrancy, colour and stunning virtuosity to every performance. Their innovative programming splashes new colours on to classical works whilst celebrating new music by Australian composers. Formed in 2017, Collide has performed sold-out concerts across Australia and ... Read more
LUMINOUS GEMS Acclaimed Melbourne string quartet Quartz are a confluence of Australian musical talent and outstanding technique, performing sensitive interpretations of great masterpieces that are both innovative and unique. Violinists Kathryn Taylor and Philippa West, violist Merewyn Bramble and cellist Zoe Wallace frequently collaborate with sought-after Australian artists, in refreshing concerts of classical and contemporary ... Read more
ANAM AT BELEURA With an outstanding track record of success, ANAM alumni work in orchestras and chamber ensembles around the world, performing as soloists, contributing to educating the next generation of musicians, and winning major national and international awards. More info and bookings
SERENITY A concert of French and German music spanning two centuries, including Duruflé’s Requiem (1948) as well as shorter works by JS Bach, Brahms, Duruflé, Fauré, Messiaen and Rheinberger, performed by the Melbourne Bach Choir and Chamber Choir, under the direction of artistic director Rick Prakhoff, with John O'Donnell on the organ. Soloists are: Christopher Hillier, ... Read more
"It tells a lot about the dedication of Affinity Quartet and about the quality of the individual players that after less than a year of playing together, they were awarded 3rd Prize at the 2022 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition in London, an incredible achievement. They continue to further their development at prestigious international ... Read more
The success of any collaboration is dependant on a myriad of factors, some obvious, others less tangible. Sharon & Slava Grigoryan are an example of such a synergy, resulting in music that connects deeply with the listener. Perhaps it is their union professionally and in life that provides the intangible factor fuelling their passionate and ... Read more
A FEAST OF SONG Multi-faceted vocalist and composer Shauntai Sherree Batzke joins forces with pianist Stefan Cassomenos for a feast of song. Effortlessly inhabiting the worlds of opera, inspirational soul and gospel, classical composition, and theatre making, Shauntai has appeared as a soloist for Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Victorian Opera, Sydney Opera House, Sidney Myer Music ... Read more
Sophie Gent – Baroque Violin Genesis Baroque welcomes back one of its most cherished guest artists, the stunning Australian ex-patriate violinist Sophie Gent, following her collaboration with the ensemble for its 2020 recording of Arcangelo Corelli’s Concerti Grossi. Gent returns to direct and solo with the ensemble in a sublime program of Johann Sebastian Bach’s works ... Read more
ANAM AT BELEURA With an outstanding track record of success, ANAM alumni work in orchestras and chamber ensembles around the world, performing as soloists, contributing to educating the next generation of musicians, and winning major national and international awards. More info and bookings
Sophie Rowell and Timothy Young are joined by musicians from ANAM. The Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) is dedicated to training the most exceptional young classical musicians from Australia and New Zealand. It is the only professional performance training institute of its kind in Australia, and one of few in the world. With an ... Read more
KAMMERMUSIK As part of its 2023 Season, Genesis Baroque is launching a new series of performances, the Genesis Chamber Series. For the inaugural program in the series, Kammermusik, guest violinist Sophie Gent joins the ensemble in a program of instrumental music from the second half of the 17th century. Featuring composers from Bohemia, Germany and ... Read more
SISTINE CHAPEL Allegri’s Miserere is perhaps the most famous piece of music written for the Sistine Chapel. This work is complemented by the music of Allegri’s predecessors. The Sistine Choir was a rich melting pot of Europe’s musical talent. Orlando Lassus from Belgium, Josquin des Prez from France and Tomás Luis de Victoria from Spain sang alongside ... Read more
KAMMERMUSIK As part of its 2023 Season, Genesis Baroque is launching a new series of performances, the Genesis Chamber Series. For the inaugural program in the series, Kammermusik, guest violinist Sophie Gent joins the ensemble in a program of instrumental music from the second half of the 17th century. Featuring composers from Bohemia, Germany and ... Read more
SISTINE CHAPEL Allegri’s Miserere is perhaps the most famous piece of music written for the Sistine Chapel. This work is complemented by the music of Allegri’s predecessors. The Sistine Choir was a rich melting pot of Europe’s musical talent. Orlando Lassus from Belgium, Josquin des Prez from France and Tomás Luis de Victoria from Spain sang alongside ... Read more
SONGS OF HEART AND SOUL The Consort of Melbourne is Melbourne's premier vocal ensemble, comprising eight of this city's finest chamber singers under the artistic direction of Steven Hodgson. Typically performing “a capella” (unaccompanied) with one singer per part, The Consort of Melbourne champions both historic and contemporary repertoire, bringing 1000 years of vocal music ... Read more
Off the back of their 2022 visit to Sale, the Australian String Quartet returns with a program featuring a selection of melodic and rhapsodic musical gems. This concert opens with Mozart’s String Quartet in D minor—intensely personal in its expression, it features moments of intimately sublime sorrow which give way to bursts of playful radiance, ... Read more
The Argyle Trio (Laurence Matheson, Wilma Smith and Matthia Balzat) came together just before the pandemic hit. They took their name from Argyle St in Hobart which runs down the side of the Hobart Town Hall where the trio played its first concert. The program starts with C minor Beethoven and features one of Dvořák's ... Read more
Orpheus Trio presents a diverse program combining rarely heard discoveries alongside well-known masterworks of the piano trio repertoire. The magnificent Mendelssohn D minor is the centrepiece of this concert, which is often praised as one of his finest works. Formed in 2012 and comprising pianist Helena Kernaghan, violinist Kaori Sparks and cellist Sam Goble, the ... Read more
Peninsula Chamber Musicians continue their exploration of works written for smaller ensembles performed in beautiful venues. Schubert - String Quintet, D. 956 Vine - String Quintet More info and bookings
HALLYAR CHAMBER MUSIC WEEKEND: THE ART OF BEETHOVEN Spend three days immersed in the intimate yet powerful world of Beethoven's string quartets and sonatas. Over five memorable concerts you will hear some of the greatest and most famous music in the Western canon, played by some of Australia's finest musicians - pianist Daniel de Borah ... Read more
Ian Munro is one of Australia’s most distinguished and awarded musicians with a career that has taken him to thirty countries in Europe, Asia, North America and Australasia. As a composer, Ian is the only Australian to have been awarded the Premier Grand Prix at the Queen Elisabeth Competition for Composers (2003), and was in ... Read more
"The Year 1897" Trio Anima Mundi celebrates its fifteenth year with their continued Piano Trio Archaeology mission of presenting rarely-heard works from the piano trio repertoire. In 2023 they will rediscover Belgian composer Joseph Jongen's passionate Op.10 Trio, reimagine Carl Maria von Weber's Invitation to the Dance for three players, and continue their mammoth The Reissiger ... Read more
THE BACH PROJECT Michelle Nicolle has forged a reputation nationally and internationally as a celebrated and creative jazz vocalist-musician. Together with Geoff Hughes on guitar, Tom Lee on bass, and Ronny Fenella on drums, the Michelle Nicolle Quartet (MNQ) has established itself as one of Australia's leading contemporary jazz ensembles since 1999, developing a truly ... Read more
ANAM AT BELEURA With an outstanding track record of success, ANAM alumni work in orchestras and chamber ensembles around the world, performing as soloists, contributing to educating the next generation of musicians, and winning major national and international awards. More info and bookings
MUSICAL PORTRAITS Shostakovich’s incredibly powerful String Quartet No.8 was officially dedicated ‘to the memory of the victims of fascism and war’ but there is much to suggest that Shostakovich meant it as a musical self-portrait. Smetana’s String Quartet No.1 ‘From My Life’ is a different type of musical portrait, taking us on a vivid, programmatic ... Read more
BUCKINGHAM PALACE The Australian Chamber Choir presents marvellous music from the coronations, the funerals and the weddings of the British royal family. Parry’s I was glad and Vaughan Williams’ Lord thou hast been our refuge are pillars in a program that showcases the best English choral music from the last five centuries, including selections from Britten, Byrd, Dyson, ... Read more
BUCKINGHAM PALACE The Australian Chamber Choir presents marvellous music from the coronations, the funerals and the weddings of the British royal family. Parry’s I was glad and Vaughan Williams’ Lord thou hast been our refuge are pillars in a program that showcases the best English choral music from the last five centuries, including selections from Britten, Byrd, Dyson, ... Read more
POETS AND FIGHTERS An eclectic and intriguing hour of memorable musical energies and glorious melodies, enriched by baritone vocals. MCO Artistic Director Sophie Rowell draws together four voices from three continents, spanning the last 125 years. The cool panache of Ravel’s iconic Quartet and the gravitas of Barber’s early masterpiece Dover Beach meet with the ... Read more
BUCKINGHAM PALACE The Australian Chamber Choir presents marvellous music from the coronations, the funerals and the weddings of the British royal family. Parry’s I was glad and Vaughan Williams’ Lord thou hast been our refuge are pillars in a program that showcases the best English choral music from the last five centuries, including selections from Britten, Byrd, Dyson, ... Read more
CHAMBER MUSIC DINING AT NARKOOJEE: POETS AND FIGHTERS A delightful and delicious detour to regional Victoria! Our annual concert with lunch at our wine partners, Narkoojee, has become a popular fixture with both our Melbourne and Gippsland audiences. Join us in Glengarry, around two hours east of Melbourne, for a convivial afternoon including a glass ... Read more
"A German Romance" Trio Anima Mundi celebrates its fifteenth year with their continued Piano Trio Archaeology mission of presenting rarely-heard works from the piano trio repertoire. In 2023 they will rediscover Belgian composer Joseph Jongen's passionate Op.10 Trio, reimagine Carl Maria von Weber's Invitation to the Dance for three players, and continue their mammoth The Reissiger ... Read more
PERSPECTIVES Melbourne ensemble PLEXUS brings together the talents of three of Melbourne's most vibrant and versatile musicians, Monica Curro (violin), Philip Arkinstall (clarinet), and Stefan Cassomenos (piano). The name PLEXUS reflects this ensemble's devotion to supporting and engaging an ever-growing network of exceptional artists across a variety of disciplines. Since launching in 2014, PLEXUS has ... Read more