Canberra International Music Festival
The Canberra International Music Festival presents a 10-day festival of classical and contemporary art music in May each year, with programming unique to our national capital.
CIMF’s artistic scope accommodates the breadth of the Western classical tradition – early and medieval music, baroque, classical, romantic, 20th Century and new music – alongside classical traditions from around the world, diverse Indigenous music, and the spectrum of contemporary art music.
Membership of Canberra International Music Festival
2024 membership
You can support the Canberra International Music Festival by renewing or becoming a member of Canberra International Music Festival LTD, the not-for-profit organisation that delivers world class music at its annual festival.
Ainslie Arts Centre
Roland Peelman book order
Order a copy of the book.
Order a copy of the book "Roland Peelman" by Antony Jeffrey and Anthony Browell
C20 - Festival Finale
Sunday 7 May 2023
Closing the festival with musical fireworks from across two continents, we present Aron Ottignon, a true boy-wonder on keyboard together with the beautiful silky-voiced Lisa Oduor-Noah from Kenya.
Fitters' Workshop, Kingston
C19 - So Much Myself
Sunday 7 May 2023
Following the international success of Stalin’s Piano, Sonya Lifschitz and Robert Davidson have created a new audio-visual work that tells the stories of women who have shaped our culture, our societies, our world.
Including characters as diverse as Nina Simone, Marie Curie, Patti Smith, Dame Nellie Melba, Greta Thunberg, Aunty Delmae, Rachel Carson, Ethel Smyth, and Sonya's own Ukrainian grandmother, Davidson’s collage of voices frames language as ritualised music.
Grafted upon the speech rhythm and intonation of his subjects, Davidson’s virtuoso piano music is combined with archival footage and Sonya’s own speaking voice.
Fairfax Theatre, National Gallery of Australia
C18 - A Candle for Ukraine
Saturday 6 May 2023
A candle-lit performance of Ukraine’s greatest song cycle starring Andrew Goodwin.
The composer Valentin Silvestrov was forced to flee his home in Kyiv in early 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. From his new base in Berlin, he continues to represent his country’s cultural identity with quiet determination. Silent Songs is his most famous work, a song cycle set to timeless poetry by the likes of Pushkin, Shelley, Mandelstam and Keats. Sung by Australia’s most mellifluous tenor Andrew Goodwin with Roland Peelman at the piano, this performance will be an intimate statement about the power of poetry.
Fitters' Workshop
C17 - A Memory of Russia
Saturday 6 May 2023
After acclaimed performances of Bartok and Haydn in 2022, the Alma Moodie Quartet returns to the festival with two muscular works from Russia’s past. The deeply felt Third String Quartet by Tchaikovsky is one of the greatest chamber music works from Tzarist Russia, written in memory of violinist Ferdinand Laub, who Tchaikovsky once described as “the best violinist of our time.” After the interval the quartet joins Edward Neeman for Gubaidulina’s Piano Quintet written five years after the death of Stalin at a time when composers were allowed to breathe again.
Fitters' Workshop
C16 - Dunera Mass
Saturday 6 May 2023
On 10 July 1940, 2546 men, ranging in age from 16 to 66, were herded aboard the Hired Military Transport Dunera at Liverpool and transported to Australia. Most were German or Austrian, and most were Jewish. Many had fled to Britain in the 1930s to escape Hitler’s Reich. After 57 days of voyage in appalling conditions the Dunera reached Australia and most of the passengers were sent to internment camps.
Oswald von Wolkenstein, later known as ‘Ossie’ was one of the youngest of the Dunera Boys. Many years later he passed on a large folder of music written by Max-Peter Meyer specifically for the boys/men on the ship. The pieces were performed in the internment camp in Hay one year later. It includes a Mass, a Psalm setting and a piano quartet.
Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture
French for Breakfast
Between Monday 1 May 2023 and Saturday 6 May 2023
Start your day in style with a delicious breakfast and exquisite French music played by your favourite festival artists. Bon appétit!
Various venues
C15 - Magic Eight
Friday 5 May 2023
Between Schubert’s monumental Octet from 1824 and Igor Stravinsky’s classic Octet for wind instruments, a modern masterpiece by Danish composer Per Nørgård is sung by the eight voices of Luminescence Chamber Singers. Wie ein Kind (Like a Child), conveys innocence as much as sophistication in settings of poetry by Adolf Wölfli and Rainer Maria Rilke.
Fitters' Workshop
C14 - High Stakes
Friday 5 May 2023
The High Court opens its doors again for music worthy of its lofty light-infused spaces. The glorious constructs of J.S. Bach, extolled by James Wannan on viola, meet the jazzy keyboard riffs of Aron Ottignon. They have more in common than meets the eyes: a musical order that is as seductive to the ear as it is satisfying to the mind.
High Court of Australia
C13 - The Children's Crusade
Thursday 4 May 2023
Triggered by one of Berthold Brecht’s most poignant poems, Britten’s pacifist manifesto is a stark reminder of the impact of war on our children. Its message is sung by children: Canberra’s own Luminescence Children’s Choir. Next, Charles Perrault’s collection of 1697 contains many of most popular fairy tales, from Sleeping Beauty to Red Riding Hood. They inspired Ravel to write one of his most magical scores. The concert finishes with a recent rendition of a touching letter written by Sam Weiss’ great-grandmother to her little girl Nelly, as they were leaving Berlin in 1936.
Fitters' Workshop
C12 - Classic Hour
Thursday 4 May 2023
Mozart dedicated his lively String Quartet K.458, nicknamed ‘The Hunt’ for its boisterous first movement, to his friend, Joseph Haydn, the ‘father’ of the string quartet. Upon hearing Mozart’s quartets Haydn in turn was inspired to even greater heights.
Hear Quatour Van Kuijk perform the music that prompted Haydn to declare Mozart the “greatest composer” he knew, alongside Haydn’s own String Quartet, Op.76. No. 5, written a little over ten years later, performed by Australia’s Alma Moodie Quartet.
Juliet Room, Verity Lane Market
C11 - Gavrylyuk Recital
Wednesday 3 May 2023
Ukrainian born pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk travels the world playing with the best orchestras and the top maestros. In between tours to Latin America and UK, he returns to Canberra with a recital of romantic masterpieces. Expect a night of electrifying virtuosity bringing back memories of the legendary Horowitz, also born in Ukraine.
Fitters' Workshop
C10 - Viola Solitaire
Wednesday 3 May 2023
Two extraordinary viola players capture a single beautiful space in the centre of Canberra and reveal the inner secrets of the viola. Once a maligned, even neglected instrument caught in the crossfire of violin, cello and piano, the instrument has enjoyed a true renaissance in more recent times. The three new Australian works featured in this event display the unusually expressive range of the viola as a solo instrument.
Juliet Room, Verity Lane Market
C09 - Of Fairies and Fools
Tuesday 2 May 2023
Enter a world of wonder in this evening concert inspired by rustic folk tales and elf-like fantasy through the music of Schumann, Dvořák, Janáček and Kats-Chernin.
Fitters' Workshop
Taste of the Country - Festival Trip
Tuesday 2 May 2023
This year’s Festival trip takes us to Contentious Character - a cool-climate Canberra winery, set in the hills of Wamboin, just 30km east of Canberra for wine-tasting, lunch and two musical performances. Not only a taste of the beautiful countryside outside Canberra, but also a chance to relax and recover from the Festival’s exertions with the best things life has to offer - music included.
Included bus transport - Departure 10.30am from Canberra's Inner South (address will be advised to those booked). Return time approximately 4.00pm.
Contentious Character
C08 - Sibling Revelry
Monday 1 May 2023
The history of music is full of talented siblings. Flora and Theo Carbo, two young musicians out of the Melbourne jazz scene, surprised us all at the 2022 festival. They are jointly creating a new quartet for this sibling occasion.
Fitters' Workshop
C07 - Ligeti100
Monday 1 May 2023
The Hungarian-Austrian composer György Ligeti wrote some of the most striking music of the late 20th century, made immortal through its connection with film, dance and theatre. Bringing the Festival inside the walls of the School of Music, this Ligeti anniversary event features the community of creative musicians fostered by the ANU School of Music.
At 12pm, Andrew Ford presents a free public lecture. This lecture is open to the public and no tickets are required.
At 2 pm, the concert starts. This is a ticketed event.
ANU School of Music and ANU School of Art and Music Gallery
C06 - Bach Barton Brodsky
Sunday 30 April 2023
The program unites two icons of the classical canon with Barton’s own music and the belated world premiere of Andrew Ford’s quartet written during the bush fires of late 2019. Bach’s Violin Sonata re-imagined by Brodsky and Schubert’s final string quartet represent a timeless musical statement of humanity united.
Fitters' Workshop
C05 - Marloo's Blues
Sunday 30 April 2023
Considered one of Australia’s foremost Indigenous blues writers and performers, Marlene Cummins knows the Blues from an Aboriginal woman’s perspective. In the tradition of legendary blues women Big Mama Thornton and Bessie Smith, her story is one of vulnerability, strength and ultimately, survival.
Fairfax Theatre, National Gallery of Australia
C04 - From Little Things
Saturday 29 April 2023
Echoing Paul Kelly’s landmark song about the beginnings of Australia’s Indigenous land rights movement, this choral concert reflects on our home, our land, our sky and our people.
Young people from Canberra’s own choral community join the Djinama Yilaga choir from the south coast to raise their voices in joyous song and celebration.
Fitters' Workshop
C03 - Brodsky at Fifty
Saturday 29 April 2023
One of the UK’s great national treasures, the Brodsky Quartet, turned 50 in 2022 and they’re returning to Canberra to celebrate!
Revered for their innovative collaborations and exceptional musicianship, the ensemble has performed thousands of concerts throughout the world and released more than 60 recordings since it formed in 1972.
For this special occasion, the players have put together a selection of musical treats that demonstrate why the Brodsky Quartet remaina one of the world’s great string quartets.
Fitters' Workshop
C02 - The Mozarts, the Haydns & the Bear
Friday 28 April 2023
Book-ended by two great symphonies, showcasing the Australian Haydn Ensemble in full orchestral swing, the concert features some forgotten and even contested works by Michael Haydn and Leopold Mozart. A selection of glorious Mozart concert arias trace his dramatic aspirations from childhood through to the major operatic statements of adulthood.
Fitters' Workshop
C01 - Seeds of Life
Friday 28 April 2023
Presented in partnership with Ausdance ACT and Australian Dance Party
Seeds of Life marks the ten-year anniversary of the National Arboretum Canberra, and 20 years since the devastating Canberra bush fires. The Djinama Yilaga choir, rising star clarinettist Oliver Shermacher perform together with local artists for a celebration of life and new growth. The event culminates with a performance of a new work by Australian Dance Party, co-commissioned by Ausdance ACT and Canberra International Music Festival.
National Arboretum Canberra
2023 Festival Pass
2023 Festival Pass
A Festival Pass gives you entry to all the concerts in the main program and priority seating at Fitters' Workshop. Join us as we paint a musical portrait of our contemporary world!
Under the motto THE CHILD WITHIN, we invite you to listen to a new world as we enter the enchanted forest of our children’s imagination. Through the magic of music, we seek to find the child inside us all.
Fitters' Workshop
Daily Drill - Tony Lee Piano Recital
Thursday 27 April 2023
As one of Australia’s finest young pianists, Tony Lee already has a prodigious international track record. He was in residence at the Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth in Belgium from 2014 to 2016 under the wings of Maria-João Pires and performed with a number of prominent orchestras in Europe, Asia and Australia. A highlight was the premiere of the new Gareth Farr Piano Concerto with the BBC Philharmonic. This solo appearance marks his debut at the festival.
Festival Extra - Free lunchtime concert at the ANU Drill Hall Gallery. Please book a free ticket to register.
Drill Hall Gallery
C21 Bach For All
Sunday 12 May 2019
Bach’s greatest hits in a concert for the whole family.
Fitters' Workshop
C19 Bach in Africa
Saturday 11 May 2019
Bach meets Guinean kora music and Moya Henderson’s G’Day Africa.
Fitters' Workshop
Bach for Breakfast
Between Monday 6 May 2019 and Saturday 11 May 2019
A series of six breakfasts at iconic Canberra institutions. Breakfast served between 8.30 and 9am, performance 9-9.25am, followed by ‘talk of the town’ 9.30-10.15am.
Various
C17 The Children's Bach
Friday 10 May 2019
Andrew Schultz’s chamber opera based on Helen Garner’s novella, a gripping study of human and musical counterpoint.
Fitters' Workshop
C16 Bach the Teacher
Friday 10 May 2019
Back to school with three takes on the greatest music teacher of them all. Optional lunch available for pre-order.
Canberra Girls Grammar
C13 Bach On The Mountain
Wednesday 8 May 2019
Local history meets outer space – a constellation of performances on Mt Stromlo.
Mount Stromlo Observatory
C07 Bach in the Central Desert
Sunday 5 May 2019
The Ntaria Choir with William Barton and the Berlin-based sonic.art sax quartet.
The National Gallery of Australia
C06 Bach's Orbit
Sunday 5 May 2019
Bach’s favourites: Vivaldi, Buxtehude, and Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater.
Fitters' Workshop
C04 Winther's Bach II
Saturday 4 May 2019
The culmination of Kristian Winther’s epic solo violin odyssey.
Fitters' Workshop
C02 Winther's Bach I
Saturday 4 May 2019
Fearless virtuoso Kristian Winther in a rare performance of Bach’s complete works for solo violin.
Fitters' Workshop
C01 A World of Bach
Friday 3 May 2019
Opening Gala - Bach’s greatest concertos and chorales in the hands of spellbinding artists from around the globe, from Antwerp to Alice Springs.
Fitters' Workshop
C05 Bach on Sunday
Sunday 29 April 2018
Concert 5
Fitters' Workshop
C20 - Bach on Sunday
Sunday 7 May 2017
Concert 20 - Bach on Sunday
Fitters' Workshop
CONCERT 7 - Bach On Sunday
Sunday 3 May 2015
The perfect Sunday brunch: counter-tenor Tobias Cole singing Bach’s most frequently recorded cantata, ‘Ich habe genug’, followed by soprano Alex Oomens and tenor Paul McMahon in the delightful ‘Coffee Cantata’, with the Festival Bach Ensemble directed by Erin Helyard.
Fitters Workshop, Printers Way, Kingston ACT 2604
CONCERT 3 - Bach's Universe
Friday 1 May 2015
The essence of the Festival: a concert that interweaves J.S. Bach with music that has reinvented the concept of time – music by Steve Reich, Alister Spence and Kate Moore, performed by some of Australia’s finest young musicians: saxophonist Amy Dickson, percussionist Claire Edwardes, and violinist Kristian Winther, together with William Barton on didgeridoo and the Festival Bach Ensemble directed by Erin Helyard.
Fitters Workshop, Printers Way, Kingston ACT 2604
