Plenty of highpoints as AWO heads south for chamber festival.

Robertson Hotel, Robertson
November 14, 2015

The Australian World Orchestra has really been living up to its name recently. Fresh off the plane from a tour of India, members of the country’s elite orchestra joined other acclaimed Aussie musicians to perform intimate chamber music in a festival of two concerts in Robertson, a gem of a town nestled in New South Wales’ Southern Highlands. An hour and a half’s drive from Sydney, Robertson is known for its high annual rainfall and verdant countryside, and naturally proved an idyllic (though wet) locale for the first of two concerts as part of the annual festival.

This year’s festival was held at the Robertson Hotel. The stately manor’s warm and cosy atmosphere was perfect for enjoying the stunning selection of music, curated by Saxophonist and Artistic Director Christina Leonard. Focusing on music produced before and during the First World War (though not explicitly referencing the war), Leonard’s programme included some well-known favourites, plus lesser-known works of Ysaÿe and Dohnányi. Also included were three works by contemporary Australian composer and Robertson resident, Andrew Ford.

To begin, violinist Marina Marsden, cellist Patrick Murphy and 2015 ARIA...