Flinders Quartet: Serioso and Serene

Albert Hall, Yarralumla 100 Commonwealth Avenue, Yarralumla, ACT, Australia
Beethoven’s self-titled Serioso quartet, composed during the politically charged Napoleonic era, reflects his personal and political struggles with a sense of urgency and defiant shifts in tone, embodying a longing for freedom. In contrast, Dvořák’s 14th and final String Quartet radiates a broad, hopeful vision, capturing his deep love for…
Shock Lines

Canberra International Music Festival: Shock Lines

Canberra Glassworks 11 Wentworth Ave, Kingston, ACT, Australia
Shock Lines is an interdisciplinary collaboration between glass artist Caitlin Dubler, Canberra-born percussionist Niki Johnson, and sound designer Natasha Dubler that works across installation, performance and musical composition. Their self-titled work features suspended glass-sandstone sculptures, live percussive performance, and immersive surround sound. Shock Lines is a site-specific journey through Canberra’s Glassworks and a deep dive…
Schubert Songs

Australian Haydn Ensemble: Schubert Songs

Albert Hall, Yarralumla 100 Commonwealth Avenue, Yarralumla, ACT, Australia
Much more than a lieder recital, this rare and beautiful concert features some of Schubert’s most darkly-hued songs, superbly delivered by David Greco’s mahogany bass-baritone, and intensified by rich and expressive string quartet accompaniments. David has carefully structured his selection according to key and timbre, and the esteemed Australian Haydn…
Magic Realism

Canberra International Music Festival: Magic Realism

The Street Theatre 15 Childers St, Canberra, ACT, Australia
O Spectabiles Viri (O men of sight—what a sight!) is a significant work composed by one of the most prominent women in medieval church history and the first identifiable composers in western music, Hildegard von Bingen. It combines soaring melodies with rich harmonies and showcases her ability to convey profound emotional…
VIULUT: Vänskä and Veltheim

Canberra International Music Festival: VIULUT: Vänskä and Veltheim

Embassy of Finland 12 Darwin Ave, Yarralumla, ACT, Australia
An up-close and personal encounter with two of our most beloved Finnish-Australian violinists. Satu and Erkki together present a series of works that reflect on their personal creative and cultural identities.  Satu Vänskä, born in Japan to Finnish parents, began violin at three. After moving to Finland at ten, she…
VIULUT: Vänskä and Veltheim

Canberra International Music Festival: VIULUT: Vänskä and Veltheim

Embassy of Finland 12 Darwin Ave, Yarralumla, ACT, Australia
An up-close and personal encounter with two of our most beloved Finnish-Australian violinists. Satu and Erkki together present a series of works that reflect on their personal creative and cultural identities.  Satu Vänskä, born in Japan to Finnish parents, began violin at three. After moving to Finland at ten, she…
Shock Lines

Canberra International Music Festival: Shock Lines

Canberra Glassworks 11 Wentworth Ave, Kingston, ACT, Australia
Shock Lines is an interdisciplinary collaboration between glass artist Caitlin Dubler, Canberra-born percussionist Niki Johnson, and sound designer Natasha Dubler that works across installation, performance and musical composition. Their self-titled work features suspended glass-sandstone sculptures, live percussive performance, and immersive surround sound. Shock Lines is a site-specific journey through Canberra’s Glassworks and a deep dive…

Canberra International Music Festival: Echoes of the Iron Curtain

High Court of Australia Parkes Place, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Principal Violin of the Australian Chamber Orchestra Satu Vänskä and modern piano maestro Konstantin Shamray unite for an exploration of the enchanting musical landscapes of Soviet Russia.

Canberra International Music Festival: Quintessence

High Court of Australia Parkes Place, Canberra, ACT, Australia
In their first collaboration, Flinders Quartet and Paavali Jumpannen explore two powerful piano quintets that blend introspective depth with the intensity of their composers’ complex political landscapes.
Magic Realism

Canberra International Music Festival: Magic Realism

The Street Theatre 15 Childers St, Canberra, ACT, Australia
O Spectabiles Viri (O men of sight—what a sight!) is a significant work composed by one of the most prominent women in medieval church history and the first identifiable composers in western music, Hildegard von Bingen. It combines soaring melodies with rich harmonies and showcases her ability to convey profound emotional…

Canberra International Music Festival: The Magnetic Quiet Zone

National Film and Sound Archive Acton, ACT, Australia
The Magnetic Quiet Zone (TMQZ) is an immersive, 35-minute (looped) audio-visual installation exploring the frozen sounds and stagnant silences, the strange atmospherics and dynamic forces operating at the margins of our planet. Drawing on the Antarctic research of sound artist Philip Samartzis, visual artist Martin Walch, and writer/composer Sean Williams, TMQZ uses field recordings,…

Canberra International Music Festival: Duet for One

National Film and Sound Archive Acton, ACT, Australia
Incorporating live music performance, film, projections, ritual theatre, sculpture and sound design, this time-and-space-bending ‘live cinematic concert’ explores changing emotions, sometimes sad, sometimes surreal or exhilarating, around the vexed question of our modern-day relationship with the Australian naturallandscape… What is this “estranged” relationship? What is holding us back? What happens…

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