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27th Governor of Queensland Her Excellency the Honourable Dr Jeannette Young AC PSM

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4MBS Festival of Classics 30th Anniversary Reception

Deputy Speaker and Member for Greenslopes, Mr Joe Kelly MP; Councillor for Central Ward, Councillor Vicki Howard; 4MBS Classic FM Chair, Mr Matthew Farrell and General Manager, Mr Gary Thorpe OAM; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.

I begin by acknowledging the original custodians of the lands around Brisbane, the Turrbal and Jagera people, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and to any First Nations people here today.

As Patron of 4MBS Classic FM, I’m so pleased to be able to lend my support to the Festival of Classics on its 30th Anniversary.

Mozart, by the time he’d reached 30, had already composed 37 symphonies, 22 piano concertos, 19 string quartets and several operas.

Beethoven at 30 had completed his First Symphony and was working on his Moonlight Sonata, despite struggling with the onset of hearing loss.

Schubert, having made his reputation in his 20s, was dying of syphilis at 30, yet his body of work comprised over 600 songs for voice and piano.

These tidbits were drawn from the BBC Music Magazine, the very same magazine that referred to the 4MBS Festival of Classics as ‘a musical extravaganza’ and ‘Australia’s most extensive celebration of classical music’.

A look at the achievements of 4MBS over the past 30 years reveals just how extensive, and it suggests this inspiration to share beautiful music with our world may itself be drawn from the momentous achievements of those great composers at a relatively young age.

The first 4MBS Festival of Classics featured six concerts over one weekend in venues just around Coorparoo.

The 30th Festival of Classics has 30 concerts in 30 days in 18 venues in Brisbane and throughout South-East Queensland.

There are more than 600 Queensland performers in this year’s Festival, including 10 orchestras, two large choirs, many operas singers and many instrumentalists.

4MBS Classic FM is one of the few radio stations in the world to produce an annual classical music festival.

A feature of the 4MBS Festivals are the specially commissioned plays about composers, this year featuring not only Beethoven, but Mahler and Wagner.

Of course, the Festival was created to highlight Queensland’s classical performers as much as the music they entertain us with.

Indeed, the 4MBS Festival of Classics has won many national awards for their support of local talent, audience engagement and innovation.

This year’s Festival will include a concert by the 2023 4MBS Choir-in-Residence – The Brisbane Chorale led by Emily Cox. It will also feature a performance of First Nations Composer-in-Residence William Kepa’s first 4MBS commission.

The Festival has been a springboard for the careers of many Queensland performers including the international soprano Jessica Pratt and the Head of Music for Opera Australia, Tahu Matheson, who returns this year to conduct the Opera Spectacular.

I congratulate everyone involved in the planning for this year’s Festival and wish artists and organisers every success.

I’d also like to acknowledge your generous donors and supporters, including music lovers who have ‘Sponsored a Sonata’ for the Beethoven Top-10 Sonatas Marathon during the Festival.

It sounds like a wonderful program, and I wish you all the very best for a successful 30th year. I’m particularly looking forward to a taste of the calibre of musical delights we can expect this year’s festival to deliver, with pianists Mr Liam Viney and Dr Anna Grinberg to shortly perform a duet for us all.

Graeme and I are delighted to host you today. Thank you.