Musica Viva celebrates 70 years with 2015 season

Platinum anniversary gifts can be difficult at the best of times, but Musica Viva has managed to strike the perfect balance of retrospection and new frontiers with the announcement of its 70^th anniversary program. In a coup for Australian audiences, Russia’s Maxim Vengerov forms the centrepiece of the 2015 International Concert Season program, with the superstar violinist concluding anniversary celebrations with a Gala Recital Tour in December. With performances in Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney, the tour marks Vengerov’s first ever recital appearances in Australia. Vengerov is joined by a recognisable line-up of local and international favourites and some new faces to Musica Viva’s programming, beginning with celebrated Canadian Baroque orchestra Tafelmusik. Launching the program in February with their show House of Dreams, Tafelmusik will explore the art, architecture and music of European culture through innovative staging and an immersive musical experience. The show will also allowing local audiences to bid farewell to Music Director Jeanne Lamon on her final Australian tour with the ensemble. Also sharing in the milestones are Musica Viva fixtures the Goldner String Quartet, who toast their 20^th anniversary with tours set for April and May. Two decades since the group first came together, the performances pay tribute to its ongoing relationship with Musica Viva with a set that showcases new work by composer and current Sidney Myer Fellow Paul Stanhope. Other key announcements include the 2015 return of the biennial Musica Viva Festival, which will make the Sydney Conservatorium its home from April 9-12, nearly 70 years since Musica Viva launched its first concert at the Conservatorium in December 1945. Headlined by internationally renowned Latvian cellist Mischa Maisky, who will convene a rare masterclass in addition to three performances, the Festival will also host Serbian pianist Aleksandar Madzar, Armenian clarinetist Narek Arutyunian alongside locals Karin Schaupp and Daniel De Borah. Australian Youth Orchestra alumni the Orava Quartet will also return to the festival, with other young and emerging performers featured across the 2015 program including violinist Bella Hristova and the yet-to-be-announced winner of the 2015 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition. Full details of Musica Viva’s 2015 program can be found at musicaviva.com.au Subscription tickets available now, single tickets available from December 2015.