Artistic Director Eugene Ughetti’s 2026 program is deeply rooted in place, from site-specific bell works at Parliament House and the National Carillon to chamber and choral premieres.
Anna-Louise Cole sings Wagner Lieder and Strauss’s Four Last Songs, the Australian String Quartet surveys British music from Purcell to Britten and Rebecca Clarke, and Switzerland’s Ensemble Contrechamps delivers a meditative performance of Jürg Frey’s Récit des sensations fragiles at Snow Concert Hall. Luminescence Chamber Singers unveils a program built around a bespoke vocal-processing system, while The Rite of Spring closes the festival in Stravinsky’s own arrangement for two pianos and percussion

Limelight Editor’s Choice

The Australian String Quartet charts a vibrant journey through British music, culminating in one of Benjamin Britten’s greatest creations.

Written in 1945 to honour the 250th anniversary of Purcell’s death, Britten’s String Quartet No. 2 stands as a monumental reflection on legacy, renewal and artistic conviction in the aftermath of war. Its spacious first movement unfolds with searching clarity, the vivid central Vivace drives forward with razor sharp rhythmic energy, and the vast closing ‘Chacony’ offers a glowing homage to Purcell’s ground bass traditions. Bold, architectural and deeply expressive, it is a summit of Britten’s chamber writing.

The program opens with Britten’s early Three Divertimenti.  Rebecca Clarke’s Poem adds an intimate lyrical dimension. Anchoring the program is Purcell’s Chaconne in G minor, a model of Baroque poise built on a repeating bass pattern that shifts through contrasting moods with effortless charm.

This is the Australian String Quartet in full flight: incisive, imaginative and compelling.