Coriole Music Festival a weekend of chamber music, food and wine at McLaren Vale, south of Adelaide, from 1999
The cellar room at Coriole winery at McLaren Vale, south of Adelaide, as the backdrop for the Coriole Music Festival performances. Inset: Helen Ayres, Anna Goldsworthy (festival director) and Simon Cobcroft perform at the 2022 festival.
Inset image by Jamois
Coriole Music Festival, from 1999, became an annual two days in May of immersing in chamber music at Coriole winery in McLaren Vale, south of Adelaide, with the weekend’s concerts complemented by talks, food and wine.
With Coriole wine barrel room as visual and acoustic background for the three concerts, each year of the festival explored a different musical tradition. Run by the not-for-profit McLaren Vale Music Festival Association, Coriole Music Festival had musical directors setting its themes: Christopher Burrell 1999-2014), Anthony Steel (2006, 2016-18), Anna Goldsworthy (2019-22), Simon Cobcrot (2023-24).
Excerpts from festival participants and programmes gave insights into the rich extent of its musical offerings:
2002: Mozart’s “Lacrimosa”, Bartók’s Sonata for Violin Solo Sz. 11; Brahms’s Intermezzi Op. 117; and Scriabin’s atonal and mystical Piano Sonata No. 8. Anne Cawrse’s poignant “Last First Light’, Fanny Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio in D minor Op. 11. Elgar’s Violin Sonata Op. 82; world premiere of “The Blessing” by Andrew Ford, with a new libretto by J.M. Coetzee, based on his novel Elizabeth Costello, with a stage setting directed by Mitchell Butel. Shostakovich’s viola sonata, Beethoven’s Sonata Op. 111.
2021: Milhaud’s jazz-inflected The Creation of the World and Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time. Adelaide composer Anne Cawrse’s lyrical and moving song cycle.
2019: Mendelssohn’s overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Octet. Works by fellow wunderkinder Mozart, Saint-Saëns and Korngold. Bach’s cantata "Actus Tragicus", Schubert’s song cycle Die schöne Müllerin and Chopin’s Études Op. 10. Australian premiere of Luke Styles’ song cycle On Bunyah; a work by South Australia’s Jakub Jankowski, courtesy of Coriole Music Festival commissioning fund. Adelaide-born soprano Miriam Gordon and home talent violinist Helen Ayres, pianists Konstantin Shamray and Lucinda Collins, and the Adelaide Baroque.
2018: Stravinsky’s own arrangement for piano four hands of The Rite of Spring is played by the two Russian first-prize winners of Sydney international piano competitions, Andrey Gugnin) and Konstantin Shamray conducting stellar septet of Adelaide musicians in The Soldier’s Tale. Music of Brahms and Schumann Liederkreis with young baritone Daniel Carison. Richard Strauss’s Metamorphosen, Bartók’s first quartet and Poulenc’s transparent simplicity,
2017: American composers Charles Ives and Stephen Foster. A one-act opera (Janáček’s The diary of one who disappeared) and a short concerto (Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro for harp, flute, clarinet and string quartet).
2016: Soprano Morgan Balfour with three Mozart works. Adelaide’s Konstantin Shamray accompanied Morgan and played the Piano Sonata K533/494. Celia Craig soloist in the Oboe Quartet and Tinalley joined by violist Imants Larsens. Mozart’s String Quintet in G minor. Prokofiev, Shostakovich and Britten. Tenor Andrew Goodwin and pianist Daniel de Borah performed Britten’s The Poet’s Echo, to poems by Pushkin, and some Rachmaninov songs. Celia played Britten’s Six Metamorphoses after Ovid for solo oboe. Morgan sang a short aria from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Prokofiev’s The Ugly Duckling with Konstantin who also played that composer’s Sarcasms. Shostakovich was represented by his String Quartet No 12 and the Piano Quintet, again with Konstantin.
2014: Berlioz’ song cycle Nuits d’Été, examples of Impressionist composers and the post-World War I group Les Six. Visions de l’Amen by Olivier Messiaen. Contrasting major Australian works included music by Margaret Sutherland and Raymond Hanson from the 1930s, more recent music by Carl Vine and Graeme Koehne.
2024: Elder Conservatorium keyboard faculty members, professor Anna Goldsworthy and Vivian Choi Milton, joined adjunct lecturer Dr Konstantin Shmray, r Dr , performing alongside acclaimed Australian baritone Samuel Dundas, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra principal viola Justin Julia; Sydney Symphony Orchestra double bass Jaan Pallandi; rising star Australian violinist Doretta Balkizas; the Lyrebird Trio and the Orava Quartet. The three concerts featured works by Peter Sculthorpe, Ralph Vaughan-Williams, Josef Suk, Smetana, Prokofiev, Silvestrov, Shostakovich, Golijov, Schulhoff, Barber, Olli Mustonen, and the world premiere of a new work for piano trio and electronics by Annie Hsieh.
