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Brett Dean: the music from within

2026-07-24T07:06:00

Brett Dean_credit Bettina Stoess_2

Australian composer and violist Brett Dean has long drawn on his experience from playing inside the orchestra to shape his own music. He tells Jessica Duchen about how his writing and playing continue to inform each other

Not every composer arrives for an interview carrying a viola case. But then, Brett Dean is not just any composer. Today’s pre-eminent Australian creator of operas, chamber music and a growing body of boundary-pushing orchestral works is en route to a rehearsal for the Aldeburgh Festival, to play not his own music, but the Schubert String Quintet…

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