Australian Brandenburg Orchestra
Australian Brandenburg Orchestra — period-instrument baroque ensemble
The Australian Brandenburg Orchestra is Australia’s principal period-instrument ensemble, founded in 1989 by Paul Dyer, who continues as artistic director and harpsichordist. The orchestra performs on baroque-period instruments (gut-strung violins, baroque oboes and bassoons, harpsichord and chamber organ continuo) and specialises in the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century repertoire — Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Telemann, the Italian baroque, the French Baroque, and the early Mozart. The ensemble runs a typical year of five mainstage subscription concerts in Sydney and Melbourne, plus regional touring and substantial recorded output.
The orchestra’s signature programmes are the annual Christmas-period concerts (Bach and Handel, the seasonal favourite repertoire), the marquee international guest collaborations (countertenor Iestyn Davies, soprano Emma Kirkby, viola da gamba virtuoso Jordi Savall have all been recent guests), and the occasional pairing with contemporary or non-baroque collaborators that produces some of the orchestra’s most adventurous programming.
Home venues
- City Recital Hall, Angel Place — the Sydney home.
- Melbourne Recital Centre — the Melbourne home.
Useful links
- Official: brandenburg.com.au
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