In Conversation

Gottfried von der Goltz is a violinist, conductor, and artist of extraordinary insight. As the director of the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, he has played a pivotal role in shaping the modern sound of historically informed performance, breathing new life into Baroque and Classical music with a blend of scholarship and sheer musical brilliance. Whether wielding the bow as a soloist or guiding an ense...

As Assistant Concertmaster of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, violinist Lerida Delbridge is a vital cornerstone of our classical music scene. She also has a passion for chamber music as a founding member of the Tinalley String Quartet, which has performed internationally and been the recipient of numerous awards. She has recently taken on the role of artistic director of Hunters Hill Music, which b...

It’s difficult to categorise Tom Gleisner, because he’s done it all. He’s a presenter, producer, director, writer, and actor, and even then that only scratches the surface of his talents. We first became aware of Tom thanks to  The D Generation  back in 1986, and as a part of Working Dog Productions he’s created comedy classics like  Frontline  and  Utopia , panel shows like  Have You Been Paying...

Zubin Kanga is a pianist, composer and technologist, who has been at the forefront of curating and creating interdisciplinary musical programs exploring what it means to be a performer in the 21st Century. His multi year project, Cyborg Solosits , is unlocking new possibilities in music making through interactions with motion and biosensors, new hybrid instruments, interactive visuals, and AI. In...

Globally renowned for his interpretation of baroque, classical and modern repertoire, counter-tenor Reginald Mobley is best known for his performances of JS Bach and Purcell. He’s sung with the Monteverdi Choir, the English Baroque Soloists, the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Early Music Vancouver, among many others, as well as at the coronation of King Charles III. He’s also an advocate for d...

A pianist dubbed both as a “formidable talent” as well as “Australia’s pre-eminent chamber music pianist”, Kathryn Selby has performed with orchestras and chamber groups around the world, most extensively throughout Australia and North America. For nearly 15 years she was the anchor of the Macquarie Trio, which made many recordings, several of which were nominated for the Best Classical Album ARIA...

The New Yorker described cellist and composer Peter Gregson as “working at the forefront of the new music scene”. As a cellist, he has performed all over the world, from The Royal Albert Hall to Capitol Studios in Hollywood. He has composed music for award-winning TV shows and movies, including the much loved Bridgerton from Netflix, and The New Pope from HBO. He also crosses into the pop industry...

Bass/baritone Adrian Tamburini has enjoyed a long and varied career in opera, musical theatre, and also as a director and producer. He has won two Green Room Awards, the second for his performance in Wagner’s Götterdämmerung, and has also been the winner of Australia’s most prestigious singing award, the Australian Opera Award. His voice features on international recordings, in cinema, and on radi...

Bobby Fox is best known for originating the role of Frankie Valli in the Australian production of Jersey Boys . He has appeared in many other musical theatre productions, including Hairspray , Mamma Mia , Spamalot , Oklahoma and Sweet Charity , amongst others, and he received a Helpmann nomination for his role in Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins which played at both the Hayes and the Sydney Opera Hous...

One of Australia’s most eclectic, respected and prolific artists, Eddie Perfect has received multiple awards and nominations for the different strands of his work. He won the 2009 Helpmann Award for Best New Australian Work for Shane Warne: The Musical , and received a Tony nomination for Best Original Score for his work as composer/lyricist of Beetlejuice . He’s back on stage to star in Opera Aus...

Latvian cellist and conductor Margarita Balanas has played at venues around the world, from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House. She’s performed as soloist with the Munich Philharmonic and the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra among many others, and conducted orchestras including the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and the Baltic Sea Philharmonic, and is the founder and music director of the ANONIMI orch...

A British composer, writer and broadcaster, Stephen Johnson has a long and eclectic career. His book titles include  Discover Music of the Classical Era ,  The Eighth: Mahler and the World in 1910 , and  How Shostakovich Changed My Mind , not to mention his curation of a book of ghost stories. His compositions include a String Quartet for the Brodsky Quartet, and Behemoth Dances for the Moscow Sta...

A celebrated pianist, Alexander Boyd is appreciated for his sensitivity and the integrity of his interpretations. He made his concerto debut at the age of just 11 with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He’s since performed at London’s Wigmore Hall and St Martins in the Fields, as well as throughout Europe, the US and Australia. He’s also a composer, having written music for three films. He has...

Soprano, actress and producer Amy Manford has delighted audiences young and old with her gorgeous voice and magnetic stage presence. Audiences will recall her highly acclaimed run as Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera at the Sydney Opera House and Melbourne Arts Centre, having already played the role in the West End. She’s performed with Andrea Bocelli and for the British Royal Family. She...

A French pianist applauded for his versatility and wide-ranging repertoire, Cédric Tiberghien has an openness to explore innovative concert formats and dynamic chamber music partnerships. He’s recorded over 20 solo albums and over 15 collaborative ones, has played concerts and recitals in all parts of the world, with the Berlin Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France, the London Philharmonic, t...

In Conversation begins a new year with a conductor whose passion for music is irrepressible. Australian born Daniel Smith is now based in Italy, and proudly bears the Italian honour of Australian Cultural Ambassador. Following his highly successful debut with The Mariinsky Orchestra, Daniel has guest conducted the Czech Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Warsaw National Philha...

Composer Ann Carr-Boyd has helped shape Australian classical composition for over 60 years. She was a trail blazer from the very beginning, being the University of Sydney’s first ever Master of Arts in music. As well as composition, she’s been involved in broadcasting, teaching, as well as lexicography, having contributed to the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. We delve into Ann's long las...

A conductor beloved by Australian audiences for nearly 50 years, Graham Abbott has conducted all the state symphony orchestras, most of our major opera companies, and many of our choirs. He’s also a well-respected broadcaster, most particularly for the ABC program Keys to Music , and has more recently developed a reputation as one of our premier music tour leaders. After many decades of waving his...

Violist Irina Morozova has a long and distinguished career, including as principal viola of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, and guest principal of the Sydney Symphony and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestras. But it's as part of the Goldner String Quartet that she and her fellow musicians Dene Olding, Dimity Hall and Julian Smiles, have found a significant...

A conductor renowned for his dynamic interpretations and exceptional leadership, Vasily Petrenko has firmly established himself as one of the most compelling conductors of our time. Currently the Music Director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, after his 15 year stint as chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, his illustrious career spans collaborations with some of the w...

A young violinist who undoubtedly represents the future of classical music , Edward Walton won his first international competition in Italy at the age of just 13. He has appeared with orchestras and performed recitals across the globe. Now aged just 18, he was described by The Violin Channel as having “maturity and understanding far beyond his age”. Born in Australia, he took up opportunities in t...

Phillip Scott has joyfully been puncturing the inflated egos of this country’s elite for four decades. He does it all – a writer, composer, actor, singer, and musician – skills which come together for satirical comedy shows beginning in the early 1980s with The Gillies Report , morphing into their current guise as The Wharf Revue for the past 25 years. All good things must come to an end, and he a...

A musician described as “the most interesting voice on the guitar for a generation”, Edinburgh-born Sean Shibe is as at home on the electric guitar as he is on the classical acoustic one. Winner of awards including the 2018 Royal Philharmonic Society Young Artist Award and the 2022 Leonard Bernstein Award, he was nominated in 2023 for a Grammy, and continues to prove himself as an original mind at...

A keyboard soloist and conductor, Francesco Corti is one of Europe’s most in demand musicians. He is a member of Les Musiciens du Louvre, Bach Collegium Japan and Le Concert des Nations, among several others. He’s led Tafelmusik, the English Concert, and the Freiburg Baroqueorcheter, is the musical director at the Drottningholm Royal Court Theatre, and appears on over 30 albums. Francesco takes us...

He is a counter-tenor loved by audiences around the world. Andreas Scholl has a beautiful pure clarity of voice, gives absolutely divine performances including on his dozens of albums, and he has a wonderful gentle good humour too. Andreas talks about the discovery of his beautiful counter tenor voice as an adolescent, which inspired him to make music his career. We hear about how his musical deve...