Tempo Rubato

Chiou + de Jager: Bach, de Jager, Chiou & Debussy

DEBUSSY'S CELLO

Daniel Chiou is a cellist who has remained an avid solo, chamber and orchestra musician since graduating from the Australian National Academy of Music in 2022. He has been a founding member of many ensembles and has performed with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, WA Symphony Orchestra and Australian Chamber Orchestra. Other recent highlights have included performing Schumann’s cello concerto at the semi-finals of the ANAM concerto competition and co-directing Hindemith’s der Scwanendreher with Lawrence Power.

Peter de Jager is one of Australia's most versatile musicians, thrilling audiences with his performances of music from award-winning Bach and Mozart to Xenakis and Chris Dench on various historical keyboard instruments, and intriguing them with his own compositions.

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Roberts + Chan: R Schumann, C Schumann & Brahms

LOVE AND LONGING

This programme explores themes of love, longing, sadness and joy shared by three of Germany's most famous musicians of the 19th century: Robert Schumann, his wife Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms (aka 'classical music's greatest love triangle'). The programme also presents Brahms' famous late sonata for Clarinet (or viola) in an urtext edition for violin – an Australian premiere.

"I can do nothing but think of you... What have you done to me? Can't you remove the spell you have cast over me?" (Brahms to Clara).

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Vaudrey + Grayson: folk songs and melodies from Russell to Fauré

A program of intimate songs for solo cello and voice, containing original and traditional folk songs and melodies from Arthur Russell to Gabriel Fauré.
"This is a show that showcases my love for storytelling with a cello." - Richard Vaudrey

Joined by Ben Grayson at the piano, this will be an intimate experience of storytelling, beautiful melodies and lots of cello.

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Firebird Trio: Corelli, Gershwin, Piazzolla & Beethoven

Firebird Trio - like its mythical counterpart which shone magically through the darkness - sheds light on music from all epochs. Founded in 2010, Firebird Trio has performed nationwide to critical acclaim, with a vibrancy of imagination that echoes its name. Described by The Australian as "an ensemble of immense energy and focus" and praised in The Age for their “togetherness, charisma and playfulness”, Firebird Trio has performed around Australia including for Musica Viva, Noosa LongWeekend Festival, Coffs Harbour Music Society, Melbourne Recital Centre and ABC Sunday Live. Their performances are regularly heard on ABC Classic FM and 3MBS FM.

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Wilma and Friends: Bridge, Bowman & Schumann

INVENTION

Melbourne composer, Calvin Bowman, is a performer best known as an organist but he is also a pianist and we will be presenting a new work by him for piano quartet with Calvin at the piano. Many performers share the fantasy of being able to ask Beethoven or Brahms or others just what they meant in a particular passage and with the composer playing with us, we will be able to enjoy that immediate access! The world premiere of Calvin’s piece will be the centrepiece of our program between the graceful lyricism of Bridge’s Phantasy Quartet and Schumann’s miraculous and sublime Piano Quartet, written in just a few weeks at the end of a period of unbroken intensity in 1842 during which he also produced three string quartets, a piano trio and the famous piano quintet.

ARTISTS

Calvin Bowman, piano
Wilma Smith, viola
Tom Higham, viola
Alexandra Partridge, cello

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Yarra Arts Trio: Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Dvorak, Bridge, Kats-Chernin & Piazzolla

After years of throwing her heart and soul into accompanying Melbourne’s top Certificate and University students, Edith Ellis has transferred all this passion into the highly collaborative and democratic Yarra Arts Trio. Joined by Anna Daniel and Shelley Heath, two outstanding teachers and musicians, this ensemble has wowed audiences with their unique style and presentation of the best of the Piano Trio repertoire. In 2022 the trio has raised over $15,000 for charities including Tonga, Ukraine and Breast Cancer.

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Solstice Trio + Warren: “A Woman’s Face”

Solstice Trio presents ‘A Woman’s Face’, featuring singer/songwriter Jessie L. Warren. Jessie sings about being human, in both an individual and collective sense. She sings about the natural world, and our place therein. She sings about bodies and self-identity, and the uneasy connections between.

This program includes arrangements of Jessie’s own music, and reimaginings of songs of love and loss.

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