Adelaide Festival Sets a Wide Musical Table for 2027

The 2027 Adelaide Festival will run from 26 February to 14 March with a programme that moves across musical eras and formats. The Italian ensemble il Pomo d’Oro is set to make its Australian debut, while ten pianists will share a presentation of Philip Glass’s complete études. The distance between baroque instruments and minimalist keyboard writing is part of the festival’s invitation.

A festival programme can do more than assemble unrelated highlights. It can let audiences carry an idea or sound from one event into another. Historically informed performance asks listeners to consider the textures and gestures of earlier repertory. Glass’s études invite attention to repetition, gradual change and the distinct touch of each pianist. Heard within the same festival, these experiences can sharpen one another without needing to be made artificially alike.

The choice of ten pianists is especially revealing. A complete cycle might be presented as a single performer’s feat. Dividing it among players makes interpretation itself visible: tempo, weight and continuity will shift as the hands at the keyboard change. The project also turns a long sequence into a collaborative festival event.

For il Pomo d’Oro, an Australian debut offers a first meeting with local audiences. Its lasting impact will depend on the quality of that encounter and whether it leads to future visits or new collaborations. The festival’s dates also give visitors a defined period in which to plan across performances rather than treat each as an isolated booking.

The announced music suggests a programme built on contrast, not a single house style. Adelaide’s challenge will be to make those contrasts feel purposeful in the room, giving audiences enough context to take a chance on the unfamiliar as well as to enjoy the artists they already know.