Southern Cross Soloists closes its 30th Pearl Anniversary year with an unusual homage to the love triangle between the married composers Clara and Robert Schumann and the young composer Johannes Brahms. Specially selected movements by the three composers bookend tender narrations of letters exchanged between them. A few movements also feature two promising Queensland Ballet dancers, Georgia Lorange and Jai Fauchon of the Jette Parker Young Artist Program, emoting through dance.

It promised to be a tender and expressive journey through the lives of the three, but unfortunately falls short of delivering, with a lack of dynamism caused by similar movements and a small ensemble. The narration by Co-Artistic Director Ashley Smith and guest artist and pianist Aura Go is well performed and insightful, but the journey is too long for a hot Sunday afternoon in the QPAC Concert Hall, leading to quite a few audience members audibly “resting their eyelids.”

Wonder: Southern Cross Solists and Chris Williams (right). Photo © Stephen Henry

The initial energy from the world premiere of Two Winds, One Song by Chris Williams and Ray Lin opens the...