Acclaimed Australian composer, violist and conductor Brett Dean has withdrawn from his upcoming performance with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, The Sound of History, after being hospitalised with the COVID-19 coronavirus. Dean, who is currently quarantined in isolation at The Royal Adelaide Hospital and under the care of SA Health, was due to lead the orchestra in his own work Testament alongside Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony, as part of the Adelaide Festival.

Brett Dean. Photo © Bettina Stoess

“Intermusica can confirm that Brett Dean has been diagnosed with COVID-19, as of 5 March,” Dean’s management said in a statement. “Intermusica, along with Brett’s publishers Boosey & Hawkes, have taken the necessary steps to inform all those who have worked with Brett in the last 14 days, further to NHS advice and SA Health Australia.”

“Our thoughts are with Brett at this difficult time and we wish him well in his recovery.”

Dean returned from Taiwan – where he performed his Viola Concerto with the National Symphony Orchestra – on Tuesday. Limelight understands he reported to the hospital before rehearsals with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra were due to begin.

According to a statement from the Adelaide Festival, three...