A hallmark of summertime in Western Australia, Perth Festival returns this February for another magnificent season of music, arts, film and literature. 2023 marks Perth Festival’s 70th anniversary, a milestone occasion for Australia’s longest-running cultural festival.
This year’s theme is ‘Djinda’ (meaning ‘stars’ in Noongar), the final theme in Artistic Director Iain Grandage’s four-year tenure – following ‘Karla’ (fire) in 2020, ‘Bilya’ (river) in 2021 and ‘Wardan’ (ocean) in 2022. As such, several events in Perth Festival’s 2023 season are linked to the cosmos.
We’re so excited to be hosting four magnificent Perth Festival events at the Hall this year, featuring some much-loved Australian artists, a highly sought-after international quartet and collaborations with some of WA’s finest arts companies.
Have a read below to discover what’s on at Perth Concert Hall this Festival season.
Richard Mills | Photo: Charlie Kinross
Music of the Spheres
Friday 10 February, 7:30pm
Bookended by new works about our relationship with the cosmos, this awe-inspiring feast of fine music celebrates the heavens and sings to the stars above. Music of the Spheres opens with a new song by singer-songwriter Emma Donovan and concludes with the world premiere of a new operatic work by one of Australia’s leading conductors and composers, Richard Mills. Donovan and Mills are joined by the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Emma Matthews, Shanul Sharma, Samuel Dundas and a choir of Angels and Demons.
Find tickets and more information.
Matthias Shack-Arnott | Photo: Gregory Lorenzutti
The Cage Project
Friday 3 March, 7pm
Music and visual art come together in a solar system of sound as John Cage’s magnum opus, his Sonatas and Interludes, is reimagined as a three-dimensional world. This commission, initiated by Musica Viva Australia’s Artistic Director Paul Kildea, centres on a large-scale mobile of percussion instruments that floats above the piano in a quasi-solar system of rotating sound, designed by Australian percussionist, composer and sound artist Matthias Schack-Arnott. Below, acclaimed French pianist Cédric Thibergien performs a work that forever changed the sound and potential of the piano.
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Presented by Perth Festival, in association with Musica Viva Australia.
With special thanks to Ensemble Patrons Ian Dickson AM & Reg Holloway for their support of this tour.
The Cage Project has been co-commissioned by Musica Viva Australia, Perth Festival, Adelaide Festival, and the Naomi Milgrom Foundation.
Supported by Alliance Francaise de Perth.
Kronos Quartet | Photo: Musical Instrument Museum
Kronos Quartet
Saturday 4 March, 7pm
Kronos Quartet, lauded as “the most far-ranging ensemble geographically, nationally, and stylistically the world has known” by the Los Angeles Times, returns to Perth Festival for a stunning world premiere collaboration with Noongar composer and language revivalist Maatakitj (Dr. Clint Bracknell). Under a sea of stars in Perth Concert Hall, Kronos also shares signature works from its vast repertoire including pieces from landmark legacy project 50 For the Future, a free-access library of wondrous string quartet music from around the world.
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Ephemeral Echoes
Ephemeral Echoes
Sunday 5 March, 5pm
Sensational composer, double bassist and vocalist Linda May Han Oh returns to the Festival with a beautiful new collaborative work broken up into several movements, each one exploring the transient nature of things. Commissioned by Finding Our Voice, a nation-wide celebration of Australia in sound curated by Genevieve Lacey, Ephemeral Echoes features Linda May Han Oh (double bass and vocals), Fabian Almazan (piano and effects), Tetrafide Percussion (Steve Richter, Iain Robbie and Genevieve Wilkins) and Ben Vanderwal (drums).
