Van Diemen's Band & Bernard Cuiller

Van Diemen's Band and harpsichordist Bertrand Cuiller are playing the Civic Theatre on Tuesday 16 February, the first concert of Musica Viva Australia's 2027 season. It's a reunion that's been twenty years in the making: the band and Cuiller first made music together two decades ago, and this is the first time they've shared a stage since. The date opens the new season for Musica Viva Australia, so it's the first of their 2027 programme.

Van Diemen's Band is an early music ensemble, and Bertrand Cuiller is a harpsichordist, so the night sits in the world of period performance. The harpsichord is the lead instrument here, and the band works around it. If you're not familiar with the sound, it's a keyboard with strings plucked by quills rather than struck by hammers, giving it a bright, crisp tone that carries through a room without the sustain of a piano. It's the kind of instrument that defines the Baroque era, and it's what Cuiller brings to the ensemble.

The two-decade gap between their first collaboration and this one is the main thing to keep in mind. They're returning to the same partnership after twenty years apart, and they're doing it to kick off the new season. It's a reunion of a band and a soloist who haven't played together in a long time, and they're doing it at the Civic Theatre in Newcastle.

If you're planning to go, the date is Tuesday 16 February, and the venue is the Civic Theatre. It's the opening night of Musica Viva Australia's 2027 season, so it's the first concert they've got on the calendar for the year.