Described by Limelight magazine as a “national treasure”, Ensemble Liaison is one of Australia’s leading internationally acclaimed ensembles. It presented its first concert series at The Edge, Melbourne, in 2007 and has become known as a tour de force, recognised for imaginative and innovative programming, setting the trend for brilliant collaborations with leading artists.

Now in its 19^th season, Ensemble Liaison & Friends is co-presented with the Melbourne Recital Centre from the stunning Elisabeth Murdoch Hall. Renowned for its engaging performances and innovative programming, it has collaborated with many wonderful guests including Ray Chen, Henning Kraggerud, Nemanja Radulović, Emma Matthews, puppeteer Peter Wilson and principal dancers of the Australian Ballet.

The Ensemble has appeared at the nation’s premier festivals including the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, the Melbourne International Arts Festival, the Port Fairy Festival and the Woodend Winter Arts Festival. It has toured New Zealand for Chamber Music NZ and in 2012 gave a series of festival performances in Central Europe. In 2021 it appeared at the Mimir Chamber Music Festival, Texas and as a global featured artist at the International ClarinetFest from Fort Worth Texas.

Critics have hailed the Ensemble’s performances with superlatives such as ‘spellbinding’, ‘flawless’, ‘a revelation’, ‘moving’ and ‘joyous’. It has regularly recorded for broadcast on ABC Classic and 3MBS, and has released recordings to international acclaim on the Melba Recordings, Tall Poppies, ABC Classics labels as well as its own EL Records.

After hearing clarinetist Richard Mühlfeld, Brahms came out of retirement to compose four chamber music masterpieces featuring the clarinet.  A critic at the time commented on the second movement of his Trio in A minor for Clarinet, Cello and Piano – “it was almost as if the clarinet and cello were in love”. As Ensemble Liaison members have been friends and musical partners for twenty years with countless performances, a truly deep understanding of Brahms’ masterpiece has been developed. It will be paired with a new work, written specially for Ensemble Liaison by its pianist, Timothy Young, along with two of its most popular arrangements: Astor Piazzolla’s Four Seasons of Buenos Aires and Igor Frolov’s Fantasy on Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.