The winter spirits seemed restless as Selby and Friends opened the second tour of the 2026 season in the intimate confines of the National Gallery’s James Fairfax Theatre. The box of concert programmes had somehow gone astray. Violinist Natalie Chee’s paper score was not cooperating. At one stage a stand lamp went flying across the stage.

Despite these challenges, three master musicians remained relaxed and unfazed in executing a rich and emotional program with grace and aplomb. Kathryn Selby (piano) was joined by collaborators Chee (violin) and Richard Narroway (cello), and the three of them delivered some truly superb music.

Natalie Chee, Kathryn Selby and Richard Narroway. Photo supplied

An enthralling yet sobering set of eight very short Australian works by women composers reflecting on Australian bushfire experiences opened the concert. Each work in the Fire Dances suite (all under three minutes long) was captivating, but they were especially effective as a collection: from meditative birdsong in Nat Bartch’s Haze for Days, to hammering violence in the piano over-woven with long dissonant notes from the strings in Olivia Bettina Davies’ Haze, contrasts were extreme.