Chopin wrote at least 59 Mazurkas, inspired by the traditional Polish dance Mazur. They were composed steadily throughout his life, perhaps as entries in a personal musical journal or diary. Festival Co-Director Stefan Cassomenos presents a group of seven, capturing a moment in Chopin’s life – having just completed his Op 50 No 3, contemplating the future, casting his mind back to his first published set from 1830-31 on the cusp of leaving his Polish homeland for Paris, recounting the years and Mazurkas in between, before finding the resolve to write his next Mazurka, Op 56 No 1.

PLEXUS then present the world premiere of their newly commissioned Trio from luminary Melbourne composer Lee Bradshaw – an impassioned work emerging from a deeply personal landscape, shaped by the composer’s strong familial ties to his mother’s Eastern European heritage, and the complex experience of cultural identity as an Australian-born artist.

Both Chopin and Bradshaw channel a profound sense of longing and displacement, reflecting the subtle but persistent ache of belonging to a culture that is both intimately familiar and yet, at times, just out of reach.

Lee Bradshaw’s commission is generously supported by Michael Aquilina.