Kicking off the second day of the Canberra International Music Festival 2026, Ensemble Liaison presents a program of ‘street songs’ – themes with popular appeal that people may have hummed while going about their business in 1790s Vienna or 1990s Melbourne.

The festival’s Artistic Director, Eugene Ughetti, now in his second year curating a five-day program, explains that not all classical musicians can ‘groove’: bring articulation, rhythm, phrasing and character together into one soulful experience that uplifts an audience.

And as the audience is lifted to a completely sincere standing ovation by the concert’s end, Ensemble Liaison and their collaborators Lina Tur Bonet (violin) and James Crabb (classical accordion) surely ace the ‘groove test’.

Lina Tur Bonet, Svetlana Bogosavljević, Timothy Young, James Crabb and David Griffiths. Photo © Dalice Trost

Beethoven’s Trio in B-flat major for clarinet (David Griffiths), cello (Svetlana Bogosavljević) and piano (Timothy Young) is deliberately contrasting, offering myriad ways for the ensemble to demonstrate their abilities in rendering texture, tone, emotion and humour.

Right from the start, the conversation between Griffiths and Bogosavljević is animated and sustained, carrying an energy...