Bellingen is probably the perfect place in the world to have a classical music festival. It’s a bit inland of Coffs Harbour, just a bit off the highway. When you finally escape endless kilometres of green farmland, you see an urban-renewed pasteurisation factory, built partly of brick (now it’s an art gallery). Drive along a little further. The main street is perhaps one hundred years old; the pharmacy is marked “Apothecary”. There are two concert halls, one a disused church, the other built for use by veterans of the war. The first war. It is just about the best setting I’ve ever heard of for classical music. The festival was full of chamber music. The Acacia Quartet opened the festival, playing repertoire from their recent tour, Lyle Chan’s new String Quartet. It’s a musical memoir of his grim time fifteen years ago illegally producing drugs to help fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic.  A number of his friends died in the fight. Synergy Percussion took the second half of the opening concert, with Xenakis’ epic work Pléïades (1979). It’s an energetic work – you might even say violent – and almost impossible to play. Bellingen is probably one of the few places…

Contemporary music’s equivalent of a Heston Blumenthal tasting plate. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Synergy’s committed, energised performances result in a 1-0 win for Xenakis. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in