Nicolas Altstaedt and Thomas Dunford - Musica Viva Australia in Brisbane

Cellist, conductor and creative visionary Nicolas Altstaedt is the kind of artist who makes music you thought you knew, new. In 2026, he brings his always exciting, always beautiful insights to music of the seventeenth century, with the help of lutenist Thomas Dunford, the charismatic ringleader of baroque superband Ensemble Jupiter. When these two international superstars team up for a night of musical mischief, anything could happen.

Be there to see this iconoclastic duo expand the horizons of early music. First, hear a bouquet of evocative masterpieces from the court of Louis XIV, pitting Marin Marais and his rival, Antoine Forqueray, against each other in a baroque play off. Then, discover more recent treasures from Arvo Pärt and Henri Duparc, and experience the enduring beauty of Bach.

'Thomas Dunford's supple technique, combined with his passion for jazz, allows him to embellish and develop written texts with an improvisatory freedom, casting a new light on early music... A true 'Eric Clapton' of the lute.' — BBC Music Magazine

'Altstaedt has technique to burn, near perfect intonation, superb control of extreme registers and harmonics, and is physically at ease with his instrument ... one hung on every note as if they were the words of a master storyteller.' — The Australian