Kathryn Selby has a remarkable ability to bring together the finest musicians to tackle major works of chamber music and to present them in the most engaging way.

As outlined in their 2023 program, Selby & Friends’ Three Stages of Man concert is intended to present a “snapshot of composers in various stages throughout their compositional careers.” According to the program, they initially intended to include Lili Boulanger’s Deux pièces en trio, and it would have been good to hear the trio’s rendition of this important work.

But, for this concert, the Boulanger work was replaced by Maurice Ravel’s Duo for Violin and Cello, M. 73, and it was authoritatively performed by the duo of Sydney-born, US-based violinist Susie Park, currently first Associate Concertmaster with the Minnesota Orchestra, and the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s longstanding Principal Cellist Timo-Veikko Valve. Having worked with Kathryn Selby in 2021, Park and Valve combined wonderfully in this unique composition.

Susie Park, Kathryn Selby and Timo-Veikko Valve. Photo © Chris Reid

Ravel was one of several prominent composers asked for a tribute to the memory of Claude Debussy, who died in 1918. Ravel’s duo, also...