In 2025 we look forward to presenting an eclectic array of chamber music, ranging from the intimacy of fine-grained ensemble-work through to the impressive sound of larger forces. We welcome a stunning array of guest pianists including Andrea Lam, Timothy Young, David Fung and, for the first time, Konstantin Shamray. Former ACO Principal violist Chris Moore joins us again along with many of our favourite guest musicians including Andrew Barnes on bassoon, Andrew Meisel on double bass and Carla Blackwood on French horn.

For our first concert we begin at the end, or rather, Olivier Messiaen’s ecstatic vision of the life beyond this one in Quatuor por la fin du temps, which the composer famously composed while in a German prisoner of war camp during World War II. This epic eight movement piece is complemented by two exquisite French gems, firstly, Faure’s D minor Piano Trio and Ravel’s Duo for violin and cello. Faure’s Trio will be performed in a version with clarinet rather than the violin, leaving the virtuosity of the Ravel to showcase our string player’s remarkable ensemble skills.

The second program has something of a ‘music of the people’ theme with fairytales, folksong and gypsy flourishes abounding, explored in music by Brahms, Robert Schumann and Vaughan Williams. This is complemented by the jazz-inspired world of Russian composer Nikolai Kapustin’s 2^nd Cello Sonata.

Our August program is an arresting in its poetic contrasts. Beginning with Maria Grenfell’s mellifluous trio Poems to a Bright Moon, the program explores further themes of the natural world in George Crumb’s extraordinary Vox Balinae which is inspired by the unusual sounds of under-water creatures. Pastoral themes are further explored in Finzi’s Bagatelles for clarinet and strings, a mood that seems to be continued in the autumnal opening of Arensky’s Piano Trio no. 1. This masterful work soon dives into an arresting series of contrasting, rather turbulent moods, moving from the funereal through to the dream-like.

The final concert for the year concludes with the spectacle of Dvořák’s Op. 44 Serenade for ten wind instruments with cello and double bass. This is a work we have been wanting to present for some years and thanks to a marvellous collaboration with the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, this has become possible! Before the richness of this large ensemble work, we are treated to Beethoven’s Op. 11 Clarinet trio, the sublime Romances for violin and piano by Clara Schumann and the exciting premiere of a new work commissioned by the Australia Ensemble UNSW by multi-award-winning composer, Lachlan Skipworth. This momentous occasion will, of course, be capped off by complementary bubbles and chocolates after the concert. We look forward to seeing you in the Clancy Auditorium for another stellar season of concerts by the Australia Ensemble UNSW.

Paul Stanhope, Artistic Chair