Festival Prelude :
Saturday 25 October -
Sunday
26 October
Once again, the Festival Prelude takes place in the lovely acoustic of St Luke’s Church in historic Richmond.
The Festival Prelude is an entry point to the main festival, (now called the Keynote Festival), and offers the same very high quality of experience in a streamlined format.
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Saturday 25 October 2025
11am
Concert One “Serenade”
St Luke’s Church, 30 Torrens St, Richmond
Internationally acclaimed flautist Joshua Batty and joins violinist Ji won Kim and violist Caleb Wright to perform Beethoven’s early Serenade in D major, a joyous and lively piece for three virtuoso performers.
String Theorem, who made such an impact in 2024, then joins Joshua for a new piece by Harry Sdraulig, one of the up-and-coming new generation Australian composers,
Beethoven returns to the spotlight as String Theorem finish the program with an early string trio, the exuberant op 9/1 in G major. Rarely-performed, this, like all of the early trios, shows the composer’s early mastery of form and material.
Concert One Details
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
Serenade op 25 in D major (24’)
Joshua Batty (flute), Ji Won Kim (violin), Caleb Wright (viola)
HARRY SDRAULIG
Piece for Flute and String Trio (7’)
Joshua Batty (flute), String Theorem – Ji Won Kim (violin), Caleb Wright (viola), Nicholas McManus (cello)
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
String Trio in G major, op 9/1 (27’)
String Theorem – Ji Won Kim (violin), Caleb Wright (viola), Nicholas McManus (cello)
12.30pm
Lunch
Richmond Town Hall, 54 Bridge Street, Richmond
A cold buffet lunch
3pm
Concert Two “The Spirit of Russia”
St Luke’s Church, 30 Torrens St, Richmond
Alma Moodie Quartet return after their sensational festival debut in 2024 in a program which celebrates the spirit of old Russia. Joshua Batty joins them in the Tasmanian premiere of his own arrangement of Prokofiev’s intoxicating flute sonata.
Romantic Russian spirit comes to the fore in Tchaikovsky’s striking third quartet, performed here with all the hallmark precision and passion of the Alma Moodie Quartet.
Concert Two Details
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Flute Quintet in D major (25’)
Joshua Batty (flute), Alma Moodie Quartet – Kristian Winter, Anna da Silva Chen (violins), James Wannan (viola), Miles Chivers-Mullin (cello)
PYOTR TCHAIKOVSKY
String Quartet No 3 in E-flat minor (36’)
Alma Moodie Quartet
Sunday 26 October 2025
11am
Concert Three “My heart is steadfast”
St Luke’s Church, 30 Torrens St, Richmond
Van Diemen’s Band performs a collection of early Baroque instrumental and vocal music by north German composers of the generation before JS Bach, and whose music deserves to be heard much more often.
An ensemble of strings, theorbo and organ are joined by star bass-baritone Andrew O’Connor, perhaps best-known for his many roles with Sydney’s Pinchgut Opera and the Australian Vocal Ensemble.
The music ranges from a sonorous organ solo, through various instrumental sonatas and a series of heartfelt vocal cantatas that will lift your spirits and touch your soul.
Concert Three Details
DIETERICH BUXTEHUDE
Prelude for Organ in A minor (6’)
NICOLAUS BRUHNS
De Profundis (Cantata for Bass, strings and continuo) (13’)
JOHANN ROSENMÜLLER
Sonata Quinta à 3 in G minor (7’)
NICHOLAUS BRUHNS
Mein Herz ist bereit (Cantata for Bass, strings and continuo) (8’)
FRANZ TUNDER – O Jesu Dulcissime (7’)
PHIILIPP ERLEBACH – Sonata Sesta in F major (10’)
DIETERICH BUXTEHUDE – Mein Herz ist bereit (Cantata for Bass, strings and continuo) (9’)
Concert features: Andrew O’Connor (bass-baritone), Julia Fredersdorff (violin), Lathika Vithinage (violin), Laura Vaughan (viola da gamba), Donald Nicolson (organ), Simon Martyn-Ellis (theorbo)
2.30pm
Concert Four “Prelude Finale”
St Luke’s Church, 30 Torrens St, Richmond
Our festival prelude finale sees a return of the Alma Moodie Quartet who start with a mature masterpiece by Josef Haydn, the so-called “father” of the string quartet. The “Sunrise” quartet was named for its opening where we hear the sustained glow of a single, soft chord over which a solo violin slowly traces the rising sun.
Brahms wrote many magnificent works for chamber ensemble, perhaps none is as much-loved as his passionate clarinet quintet, a work where he captures the very essence of the gypsy soul. Germany-based Australian artist Olivia Hans-Rosenbaum, on a return visit, joins the Alma Moodie Quartet for a virtuoso performance where you will be swept off your feet!
Concert Four Details
JOSEF HAYDN
String Quartet in B-flat major, op 76/4 (“Sunrise”) (23’)
Alma Moodie Quartet
JOHANNES BRAHMS
Clarinet Quintet in B minor (37’)
Alma Moodie Quartet, Olivia Hans-Rosenbaum (clarinet)
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