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X-WR-CALNAME:Classic Melbourne
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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Classic Melbourne
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260428T073000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260428T210000
DTSTAMP:20260430T110215
CREATED:20260427T092051Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260427T092203Z
UID:10018174-1777361400-1777410000@classicmelbourne.com.au
SUMMARY:fortyfivedownstairs Chamber Music Festival 2026: Brahms\, Liszt & Mendelssohn - Hungarian Fire and Italian Light
DESCRIPTION:Performers Josephine Vains (cello)\, Sofija Kirsanova (violin)\, Coady Green (piano)\, and Ricardo Roche Idini (piano) combine forces in this expansive celebration of Romantic colour\, vitality\, and collective virtuosity. The program begins with the complete set of 21 Hungarian Dances by Johannes Brahms. Arranged for piano four hands\, violin and cello\, and overflowing with melodic buoyancy\, rhythmic bite and emotional depth\, these dances remain among Brahms’s most captivating works. This is followed by Franz Liszt’s blazingly virtuosic Hungarian Rhapsody\, also arranged for piano four hands with strings\, and an arrangement of Felix Mendelssohn’s exuberant Symphony No. 4\, the Italian\, whose sunlit energy and lyrical sweep bring the concert to a jubilant close.
URL:https://classicmelbourne.com.au/event/fortyfivedownstairs-chamber-music-festival-2026-brahms-liszt-mendelssohn-hungarian-fire-and-italian-light/
LOCATION:fortyfivedownstairs\, 45 Flinders Lane\, Melbourne\, Victoria\, 3000\, Australia
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260425T193000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260425T210000
DTSTAMP:20260430T110215
CREATED:20260421T074032Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260421T074145Z
UID:10018167-1777145400-1777150800@classicmelbourne.com.au
SUMMARY:fortyfivedownstairs Chamber Music Festival 2026: From Verona to Manhattan - Romeo and Juliet in Music
DESCRIPTION:From Verona to Manhattan: Romeo and Juliet in Music\n \nOpening with Bellini’s rarely heard overture on the warring Montagues and Capulets\, this celebration of Shakespeare’s timeless love story continues with Linda Kouvaras’ The Nurse’s Curse from She Who Should Have Been a Queen\, Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story for two pianos\, the Australian premiere of Tchaikovsky’s epic Romeo and Juliet Overture arranged for two pianos by Karl Klindworth\, and Ned Rorem’s Four Dialogues\, a witty and lyrical set for two voices and two pianos. Performers include pianists Coady Green and Marc Peloquin and soprano Elena Xanthoudakis. \nSaturday 25 April\, 7:30pm \nTICKETS: $32 – $42
URL:https://classicmelbourne.com.au/event/fortyfivedownstairs-chamber-music-festival-2026-from-verona-to-manhattan-romeo-and-juliet-in-music/
LOCATION:fourtyfivedownstairs
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260424T193000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260424T210000
DTSTAMP:20260430T110215
CREATED:20260421T073523Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260421T073523Z
UID:10018166-1777059000-1777064400@classicmelbourne.com.au
SUMMARY:fortyfivedownstairs Chamber Music Festival 2026: My Favourite Penis Poems (and Other Love Stories)
DESCRIPTION:My Favourite Penis Poems (and Other Love Stories) \nPulitzer Prize-winning composer David Del Tredici was one of the first major classical composers to fully embrace queerness in a radical act of joy\, eroticism\, and defiance. This concert highlights two sides of Del Tredici’s queer expression. There’s the outrageously camp My Favourite Penis Poems – a virtuosic\, hilarious\, and unabashed song cycle setting his favourite poems on the rise and fall of His Majesty\, the Penis – and the deeply moving Gay Life – a meditative and tender exploration of queer identity\, composed in 2001. Both works receive their Australian premieres\, performed by a sensational ensemble of musicians including acclaimed American pianist and Del Tredici’s longtime friend\, Marc Peloquin\, baritone Bailey Montgomerie\, tenor Boyd Owen\, and soprano Marjorie Hannah. \nFriday 24 April\, 7:30pm
URL:https://classicmelbourne.com.au/event/fortyfivedownstairs-chamber-music-festival-2026-my-favourite-penis-poems-and-other-love-stories/
LOCATION:fourtyfivedownstairs
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260423T193000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260423T204500
DTSTAMP:20260430T110215
CREATED:20260421T073136Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260421T073136Z
UID:10018165-1776972600-1776977100@classicmelbourne.com.au
SUMMARY:fortyfivedownstairs Chamber Music Festival 2026: Beethoven 9th Symphony arranged by Franz Liszt
DESCRIPTION:Beethoven 9th Symphony arranged by Franz Liszt\n \nLegendary Australian pianist Michael Leslie returns from Germany to join Melbourne virtuoso Peter de Jager for a monumental musical event: Franz Liszt’s epic two-piano arrangement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. A towering feat of pianistic imagination\, Liszt’s arrangement is a complete re-creation of Beethoven’s orchestral\, choral\, and solo forces through the hands of just two performers. In this dazzlingly difficult tour de force\, two pianists at two pianos conjure the full sonic architecture of the symphony\, from its elemental opening to the transcendence of the “Ode to Joy.” Liszt\, himself the greatest piano virtuoso of the nineteenth century\, created these symphonic transcriptions to bring the orchestral canon to wider audiences before the age of recording. Today\, the Ninth Symphony arrangement remains one of the rarest and most formidable works in the entire piano duet repertoire\, seldom performed\, and even more rarely attempted live in concert. \nThursday 23 April\, 7:30pm
URL:https://classicmelbourne.com.au/event/fortyfivedownstairs-chamber-music-festival-2026-beethoven-9th-symphony-arranged-by-franz-liszt/
LOCATION:fortyfivedownstairs\, 45 Flinders Lane\, Melbourne\, Victoria\, 3000\, Australia
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260422T193000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20260422T210000
DTSTAMP:20260430T110215
CREATED:20260421T072622Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260421T072655Z
UID:10018164-1776886200-1776891600@classicmelbourne.com.au
SUMMARY:fortyfivedownstairs Chamber Music Festival 2026: Dante’s Lovers and Visionaries
DESCRIPTION:Dante’s Lovers and Visionaries\n \nInspired by Dante’s La Commedia\, this evocative program traces a journey from the torments of Inferno to the redemptive vision of Paradise. Liszt’s monumental Après une lecture du Dante features amongst a sequence of works exploring Dante’s most compelling figures\, including the tragic Francesca da Rimini. At the heart of the concert is the world-premiere of Gordon Kerry’s major song cycle Dante and Beatrice\, performed by soprano Rachel Joyce\, mezzo-soprano Dimity Shepherd\, tenor Boyd Owen\, and baritone Christopher Hillier. Drawing on Sir Samuel Griffith’s English translation (OUP\, 1911)\, with story adaptation by Margot Costanzo and libretto by Costanzo and Kerry\, the cycle charts Dante’s spiritual passage toward Beatrice. Music by Granados and new commissions\, including Gulliver Poole’s Paper Love\, create an unmissable Dantean tableau. \nWednesday 22 April\, 7:30pm
URL:https://classicmelbourne.com.au/event/fortyfivedownstairs-chamber-music-festival-dantes-lovers-and-visionaries/
LOCATION:fourtyfivedownstairs
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250514T193000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250514T210000
DTSTAMP:20260430T110215
CREATED:20250513T115655Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250513T115655Z
UID:10016861-1747251000-1747256400@classicmelbourne.com.au
SUMMARY:fortyfivedownstairs Chamber Music Festival 2025: Lyric Opera - Their Voices Will Rise
DESCRIPTION:Prepare for an electrifying evening of world premieres and daring musical narratives. Australian rising star Meta Cohen unveils a thrilling and major new song cycle Kiss My Sword. With a libretto by Evan Bryson\, this fiercely queer reimagining of history plunges into the untamed world of Julie d’Aubigny—the 17th-century opera singer\, swordswoman\, and unapologetic rebel. A lover of women\, a defeater of men in duels\, and a trailblazing performer\, d’Aubigny’s story blazes across the stage – this opera explores her mythologisation and the multiplicity of stories about her. Scored for soprano\, mezzo-soprano\, and piano\, this premiere promises a powerful fusion of drama and desire. Being developed into a forthcoming full-scale opera production by renowned dramaturg/director Alyson Campbell\, this daring work is a major new addition to the classical Australian art song repertoire. \nAlongside Kiss My Sword\, the evening features Sally Whitwell’s luminous song cycle (He)art Songs—a deeply personal exploration of love\, identity\, and resilience\, written for tenor and piano with texts by Whitwell and Alex Gorbatov. The program concludes with Kevin March’s compelling Songs for Dark Times\, a raw and urgent outcry for our era\, set to the evocative words of Brecht\, Rilke\, and Bachmann. \nWith an internationally renowned cast bringing their talents to three exciting song cycles – mezzo-soprano Jessica Aszodi\, soprano Breanna Stuart\, soprano Livia Brash\, tenor Alex Gorbatov and pianist Coady Green\, and hosted by Lyric Opera Artistic Director Patrick Burns\, this is an unmissable night where music ignites the stage\, queer voices break boundaries\, and stories are told with unflinching truth. \nWednesday 14 May – 7:30pm \nfortyfivedownstairs \nTICKETS: $42 – $32 – currently sold out
URL:https://classicmelbourne.com.au/event/fortyfivedownstairs-chamber-music-festival-2025-lyric-opera-their-voices-will-rise/
LOCATION:fortyfivedownstairs\, 45 Flinders Lane\, Melbourne\, Victoria\, 3000\, Australia
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250513T193000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250513T204000
DTSTAMP:20260430T110215
CREATED:20250513T115058Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250513T115058Z
UID:10016860-1747164600-1747168800@classicmelbourne.com.au
SUMMARY:fortyfivedownstairs Chamber Music Festival 2025: Opera Closets
DESCRIPTION:Step into a world where every outfit tells a story\, and every story soars with song. In Opera Closets\, multi-award-winning Australian mezzo-soprano Dimity Shepherd weaves an original theatrical cabaret that celebrates resilience\, transformation\, and the unexpected twists of life\, revealing how dressing up and singing became her solace and salvation. Accompanied by the dynamic ensemble The Persephone Project\, festuring Michelle John (cello)\, Hope Csutoros (violin)\, and Phillipa Safey (piano). Don’t miss an unforgettable evening where music\, storytelling\, and style collide in vibrant harmony. \nTuesday 13 May – 7:30pm \nfortyfivedownstairs \nTickets: $42 – $32
URL:https://classicmelbourne.com.au/event/fortyfivedownstairs-chamber-music-festival-2025-opera-closets/
LOCATION:fortyfivedownstairs\, 45 Flinders Lane\, Melbourne\, Victoria\, 3000\, Australia
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250508T193000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20250508T210000
DTSTAMP:20260430T110215
CREATED:20250507T122822Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250507T122822Z
UID:10016837-1746732600-1746738000@classicmelbourne.com.au
SUMMARY:fortyfivedownstairs Chamber Music Festival: Violeta Parra's Chile
DESCRIPTION:  \nVioleta Parra’s Chile – A Musical Odyssey Through a Nation’s Troubled History \nJourney into the heart of Chile’s rich and turbulent history in this captivating concert of music\, poetry\, and song. Virtuoso Chilean pianist Ricardo Roche Idini unites with acclaimed multi-instrumentalist and composer Alejandro Vargas and singer Tash Vargas to explore the enduring legacy of Chile’s beloved folk icon\, Violeta Parra. \nThrough haunting melodies and poetic lyrics\, this performance captures the spirit of a nation—its beauty\, resilience\, and struggle. Discover music never before heard in Australia\, including a breathtaking new arrangement of Luis Advis and Violeta Parra’s Canto para una Semilla for piano and two voices. A kaleidoscopic fusion of passion\, protest\, and cultural heritage\, this event promises to move Chilean and non-Chilean audiences alike. \nExperience the heartbeat of Chile—raw\, resonant\, and unforgettable. Don’t miss this extraordinary evening of music and storytelling! \nThursday 8 May – 7:30pm \nfortyfivedownstairs
URL:https://classicmelbourne.com.au/event/fortyfivedownstairs-chamber-music-festival-violeta-parras-chile/
LOCATION:fortyfivedownstairs\, 45 Flinders Lane\, Melbourne\, Victoria\, 3000\, Australia
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20240317T170000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20240317T180000
DTSTAMP:20260430T110215
CREATED:20240317T002200Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240317T002200Z
UID:10013289-1710694800-1710698400@classicmelbourne.com.au
SUMMARY:Divisi Chamber Singers: The Passing of the Year
DESCRIPTION:  \nStories and seasons are always connected – they affect our moods\, our intentions\, metaphors for the passing time in our lives\, and our ability to get out of bed in the morning. This concert presents premieres of stories and seasons\, firstly the world premiere of Brisbane-based composer Connor D’Netto’s work Stove Photography and the Melbourne premiere of Jonathan Dove’s minimalist masterwork The Passing of the Year. Join the most exciting young chamber choir in Australia – Divisi Chamber Singers – as they tell two captivating stories\, one contemporary and one eternal at their second appearance at the fortyfivedownstairs chamber music festival. \n\n\n\nSunday 17 March 2024\, 5pm\nduration: approx. 60 minutes no interval\nticket price: $32 – $42\nbookings: 03 9662 9966
URL:https://classicmelbourne.com.au/event/divisi-chamber-singers-the-passing-of-the-year/
LOCATION:fortyfivedownstairs\, 45 Flinders Lane\, Melbourne\, Victoria\, 3000\, Australia
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20240317T140000
DTEND;TZID=Australia/Melbourne:20240317T150000
DTSTAMP:20260430T110215
CREATED:20240317T001653Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240317T001653Z
UID:10013288-1710684000-1710687600@classicmelbourne.com.au
SUMMARY:Songmakers Australia: A Crown of Dreams: Berg and Wagner
DESCRIPTION:fortfivedownstairs Chamber Music Festival 2024 \nThis concert presents passionate works from Wagner and Berg. Love is the greatest inspiration for poetry and songs. ‘To the Angel who has lifted me so high’ – with those words Wagner dedicated his only song cycle to his muse\, poetess and paramour\, Mathilde Wesendonck. \nBerg’s Seven Early Songs were also inspired by the love in his life\, his wife Helene. Emotionally and musically attached to the great German Romantic style\, it reflects Berg’s obsession with driving back to the beginning. \nThis recital will also feature a performance of the rarely-heard Berg Piano Sonata. With Andrea Katz\, piano\, Merlyn Quaife\, soprano\, and Christina Wilson\, mezzo-soprano. \n\n\n\nSunday 17 March 2024\, 2.00pm\nduration: approx. 60 minutes no interval\nticket price: $32 – $42\nbookings: 03 9662 9966
URL:https://classicmelbourne.com.au/event/songmakers-australia-a-crown-of-dreams-berg-and-wagner/
LOCATION:fortyfivedownstairs\, 45 Flinders Lane\, Melbourne\, Victoria\, 3000\, Australia
ORGANIZER;CN="fortyfivedownstairs":MAILTO:communications@fortyfivedownstairs.com
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