Harpist extraordinaire Marshall McGuire, celebrates his 50th birthday in style.

Turning 50 is a watershed moment for anyone but for Australia’s harpist extraordinaire Marshall McGuire it was an excuse to celebrate some of his favourite chamber music with friends and collaborators in the intimate surrounds of Sydney Opera House’s Utzon Room.

In a career inspired by watching Harpo Marx weave his musical magic in among the Marx Brothers’ mayhem in A Night At The Opera, McGuire has worked with a diverse range of this country’s top musicians and ensembles, and a few of them were there backlit by the room’s stunning views of the Harbour to help mark his half century.

The season opener for the Utzon Series also included the audience in the birthday party with miniature cupcakes in the interval as well as the customary free glass of wine on arrival.

McGuire opened serenely with his own solo arrangement of the Aria from JS Bach’s Goldberg Variations, the simple and elegant melody perfectly suited to the harp.

From the old to the very new with the world premiere of a piece McGuire commissioned from his friend of 25 years Gerard Brophy. They first collaborated for Barrie Kosky’s Adelaide Festival and...