Judging by some of the performances lined up for 2023, the setbacks and hindrances of the last few years have only fuelled the determination of Australian chamber ensembles to really fire up audiences. There’s a genuine sense of exploration and curiosity across the year; we’ve got more international guest-star musicians than ever to welcome to our stages across the country, and a rather impressive number of newly commissioned Australian works too. As a very brief survey of what to expect from the year ahead on the chamber side of things, here are some highlights.

Musica Viva Australia’s inventive programming continues in 2023; to begin with, both Perth Festival and Adelaide Festival will be treated to pianist Cédric Tiberghien performing The Cage Project, which involves John Cage’s Sonatas and Interludes for prepared piano being played alongside an enormous kinetic sound sculpture, created by Matthias Schack-Arnott. Among Musica Viva’s Australia-wide tours are a flute/viola/harp trio (Adam Walker, flute, Anneleen Lenaerts, harp, and Timothy Ridout, viola) playing Debussy, Takemitsu and Gubaidulina, as well as Silk, Metal, Wood, which pairs the cellists Jean-Guihen Queyras and James Morley with Australian koto master Satsuki Odamura. American pianist Garrick Ohlsson will tour playing two separate programs (Scriabin,...