Now in its 23rd year, the Coriole Music Festival faced a couple of challenges. Some inclement weather may have dampened attendance numbers early one and a scheduled premiere by Gerard Brophy didn’t come to fruition due to an unforeseen death in the family.

Happily, the Festival’s ongoing relationship with local composer Anne Cawrse continued as planned with a themed new work, Anniversary Trio, a rather playful, well-constructed and tuneful work commissioned by two of the Festival’s gracious benefactors, Don and Veronica Aldridge, who are celebrating 25 years of marriage.

This year also saw the artistic directorship of CMF handed from pianist Anna Goldsworthy to the cellist Simon Cobcroft, who brought with him a generous number of very fine desk players from the ASO, two much-discussed interstate pianists, Daniel de Borah and Kristian Chong, and the radiant Brisbane-based radiant soprano, Sofia Troncoso.

Sofia Troncoso and the Coriole Chamber Orchestra. Photo © Jamois

With a programme devised around the timely themes of isolation and resurgence, things got off to a flying start with Paul Stanhope’s arrangement of Monteverdi’s madrigal Dolcissimo Uscignolo, sung with passion and great beauty by Troncoso.

Cobcroft’s piano trio The Lyrebird then...