Bowling up the dusty drive to the extensive Huntington Estate winery near Mudgee you’re immediately reminded it’s been a dry year out here in rural NSW. In her welcome speech, Nicky Boud the cheerful general manager informed us that “gentlemen should feel free to water the vines – all donations would be welcome.” Given that an evening’s event here can begin at 6pm with a pre-concert talk from Carl Vine, followed by canapés and drinks, a two-and-a-half-hour concert (with interval refreshments) and then a sit down supper with unlimited beverages, I should imagine those vines will be running positively rampant by Saturday night! Thinking about what to blog about, my first thought was the food – no the wine – no, maybe I should start with the music. Or should I just have another glass of the excellent Cabernet Merlot (a case of which is now in the boot of my car) and chill out a bit. Actually, I think I can manage a bit about all of the above. And the scores for all three should come out pretty high. The food is not only excellent – it appears to be unlimited. Looking at my fellow travellers, many of…

Food, wine, good music and then more food and wine. What’s not to like at Huntington 2013? Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

An aristocrat of the piano turns Bachian teaser with part one of a two-part fugue-fest.

From Haydn's rheumatics to Hindson's supernova, this young quartet is an object lesson in ensemble.

The Rolls Royce of string quartets say farewell to our shores with grace, elegance and more than a hint of nostalgia.

Music, wine and conversation flow freely at Mudgee’s Mecca of chamber music.

On the transformative power of music, whether played by professionals or underprivileged children. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The virtuosos reveal the recipe to their 20-year chemistry, and details of their latest collaboration. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Violist Naoko Shimizu joins forces with the Kuss Quartet, formed when they were in their teens. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Musica Viva and Limelight editor Francis Merson host an afternoon of intimate chamber music and conversation.

Formed in 1975, the ensemble presents music that is “dark and depressing, glorious and wonderful”. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The Sydney Camerata Quartet are fortunate to be one of Musica Viva’s “Rising Stars” ensembles this year. Along with our friends in the Enigma Quartet and Streeton Trio, we’re receiving masterclasses with both local and international artists and presenting concerts with the assistance of Musica Viva. It’s an exciting opportunity that we’re thrilled to be a part of and we hope you’ll join us for some of our performances throughout the year as we showcase what we’ve been working on. A number of our events will take place in unusual spaces, such as the pop-up concert the Enigma Quartet performed last week as part of the Vivid Festival at an intimate heritage venue in The Rocks. This past week we made our Rising Stars debut at two masterclasses, one with Aiko Goto of the Australian Chamber Orchestra and another with Julian Smiles of the Goldner Quartet. Both players brought a wealth of experience to contribute to our rehearsals. We worked on Prokofiev’s String Quartet No 1 and Haydn’s Op 33/3 The Bird. As any chamber musician would know, one can work in such incredible detail and we spent time particularly on the Haydn, working bar by bar to focus on intonation and achieve a……