MVA26: Nicolas Altstaedt & Thomas Dunford

Nicolas Altstaedt and Thomas Dunford are playing the Newcastle City Hall on Saturday 15 August, 7.30pm. It's a cello and lute pairing that puts the rockstar next to the baroque, with Altstaedt, a cellist, conductor and creative visionary, bringing his take on seventeenth-century music alongside Dunford, the charismatic ringleader of the baroque superband Ensemble Jupiter.

The programme pits Marin Marais and his rival Antoine Forqueray against each other, then adds more recent treasures from Arvo Pärt and Henri Duparc, with Bach in the mix too. It's a wide stretch of time to cover in one night, from the French baroque of the 1600s through to the twentieth century, and the two instruments — cello and lute — hold it together. Critics have called Dunford 'a true Eric Clapton of the lute' and praised Altstaedt's technique, intonation and control.

Tickets are A$135, with A$92 for C Reserve, plus a booking fee. There's a steep discount for the younger crowd: A$20 for under 40s and A$49 for children under 18. The concert starts at 7.30pm at Newcastle City Hall, 290 King St, Newcastle NSW 2300.