City Recital Hall, Angel Place
January 20, 2016

Since the Sydney Opera House quietly dropped their World Orchestras series it is depressingly rare nowadays to get a substantial visiting ensemble down under. So when the band is as respected as Belgian period instrument specialists Anima Eterna Brugge it’s something of a ‘not to be missed’ red-letter day. Add to that a chronological survey of the Beethoven symphonies from a group with an award winning set of the same on record and you’d expect a packed house. Sadly that wasn’t the case at City Recital Hall last night. Whether it was Beethoven symphony overload or simply a case of saving the pennies for the big ‘five’ to ‘nine’ later in the marathon remains to be seen. What I would say though is that anyone who thought they might skip this electric opener made a miscalculation.

HIP specialist Jos van Immerseel formed his ensemble 30 years ago to explore the influence of original instruments on the music of the Classical and early-Romantic period, recently bringing his approach to bear on the early 20th century and soon to tackle ‘period’ Messiaen. Meticulous research is...