Libra Ensemble gave its first public performances in 1992, and since then has enjoyed consistent critical acclaim as one of Australia's most respected presenters of new music. Libra has a growing audience base of committed listeners with roots in both new and more established classical music traditions, seeking an alternative to the standard concert hall diet.
| Leading the way because virtually unchallenged in the field, the Libra Ensemble presented a set of three concerts at the North Melbourne Arts House in August with masterful demonstrations of how to perform 20th-century "difficult" music. |
| Clive O'Connell The Age, Music: Year In Review Monday 31 December 2001 |
Libra's programmes enhance the diversity of Melbourne's music scene, helping to fill a gap left by other organisations throughout Australia. Libra's Season 2000 contained the first Australian presentation of Karlheinz Stockhausen's electronic masterpiece Gesang der Jünglinge in 30 years, while our 2001 programme contained acclaimed performances of Alban Berg's Kammerkonzert, Arnold Schoenberg's Suite op. 29 and Peter Maxwell Davies' Ave maris stella: works which, besides their own intrinsic merits, help to establish an expressive context for the reception of new Australian work building on 20th-century traditions. Libra is able to bring a perspective to these works which is virtually unique among Australian performing organisations, as a group 'reaching back' from its primary focus on the technical demands of the most recent repertoire.
Besides presenting its own annual concert season in Melbourne, Libra has been featured ensemble at the 1997 Sydney Spring International Festival of New Music and in the 1999 inaugural season of concerts at The Studio in the Sydney Opera House. In 2002 Libra participated in the Third Roaring Hoofs International Festival of New Music in Mongolia, and since 2003 has presented concerts regularly in London, Amsterdam and Stuttgart.
Libra has given world premieres of works by young Australian composers such as Adam Yee, Ben Marks, David Young, Matthew Shlomowitz and many others. Libra has also introduced to Australian audiences music by such distinguished international composers as Richard Barrett, Brian Ferneyhough, Michael Finnissy, Mauricio Kagel, James Dillon, Tatsuya Kawasoi, Giacinto Scelsi, Arnold Schoenberg and Luigi Nono.