Not that all the events had a single focus; you could find quite a few with varied content like soprano Sara Macliver's program of songs by four composers, or Anna Goldsworthy's tour from Bach, through Schubert and Prokofiev, to the Rigoletto Paraphrase by Liszt.
In the Abbotsford Chapel, the Arcadia Winds gave a stellar account of Barber's amiable, polished Summer Music and handled Nielsen's Wind Quintet with sterling security – not least from the unflappable horn of Rachel Shaw. The building's vivid resonance helped the music travel effectively, but much the same could be said of all the festival venues.
Cellist Caleb Wong, one of the festival's Young Performers, infused the long Mural Hall with Bach's E flat Suite, complete with all repeats; and then Kodaly's prolix Suite, which emerged as impassioned, urging almost to becoming strident.
By contrast, in the spacious Rosina Auditorium pianist Stefan Cassomenos faced down the multiple problems presented by Beethoven's Seventh Symphony in Liszt's full-blooded transcription: virtuosity riddled with smashing chords, a no-holds-barred exhibition of relentless drive.
