Curators Monica Curro and Stefan Cassomenos have set out to examine our heritage and bloodlines, and to rejoice in “the miracle of how millions of notes in the hands of master musicians are crafted into stunning sonic stories,” all the while paying homage to the Ancient Greek mosaic and the inspiration of the Muses. Over three days, master musicians and ensembles – including The Consort of Melbourne, Vox Plexus and the PFSMF Children’s Chorus – will bring these stories to life.

Limelight Editor’s Choice

Our 2025 grand tour of the mosaic of musical heritages begins in Noongar country, deep in the Southwest sanctum of the world’s oldest continent, as solo violist Christopher Moore and Festival strings conjure Aaron Wyatt’s heartfelt evocation of dewy mornings, flowering banksias, and the hues of an ageless landscape dotted with red gums. We then glide into the world’s most-loved Aussie vocalise, Eliza Aria from Elena Kats-Chernin’s ballet Wild Swans, featuring ascendant star soprano Mia Robinson.

Virtuoso classical accordionist James Crabb and Festival Co-Director Stefan Cassomenos team up for Lutosławski’s adrenalin-charged incarnation of everybody’s favourite Paganini caprice, and are then joined by esteemed colleagues for an arrangement of an adaptation based on a fantasy on Bizet’s famous frenzy of Spanish Gypsy blockbusters. Our Festival opener concludes with Brahms’ own moment of Gypsy extravaganza indulgence, with its peak-Hungarian turbocharged Rondo alla Zingarese finale.