A message from Principal Baroque Double Bass Rob Nairn
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“Brandenburg has the ability to lead this creative surge, and the Bach Series is the first wave - it's great to be surfing that wave!”

ROB NAIRN

Together as One.

Join our journey into the future of Baroque.

Dear friend of the Brandenburg

Over the last few weeks in meetings with Paul Dyer and some of my fellow Brandenburg musicians, we had a blast exchanging stories about what we have all been up to in our respective corners of the country. We've been missing performing for you all and wanted to share some of our stories with you.

Since returning home to Adelaide from the Vivaldi’s Venice concert series in March things have been anything but quiet.

I had been looking forward to no flights for over a month since I left my role at Melbourne University - as Head of the Early Music department I had to fly there every week for several days on end - but who could have known that ‘no flights’ would last this long! With three kids at home, two boys (Teja, 17 and Keir, 10) homeschooling for several weeks as well as my daughter (Giselle, 19) and wife (Heidi) doing their university courses online, there is rarely a dull moment. It has been a lot of fun family meals together, and long walks in the Adelaide Hills and I have managed to get our orchard into shape. We moved into our home here in Adelaide last December, so there were still boxes to unpack - I have even built some shelving in several rooms!

My dear Brandenburg friend and colleague Ben Dollman and I have been trying our material for a couple of duo programs. We have spent quite a bit of time rehearsing and recording, some of it which I hope you will be able to hear soon. The early 17th-century Italian repertoire (Giovanni Paolo Cima and Biagio Marini) was especially a revelation as a duo, and we're committed to finding more works that are as effective. 

It’s challenging not knowing when we will be back to 'normal', or something that resembles it, the way we all used to perform and attend concerts. We all miss it, of course - the vibrancy, the excitement and the collegiality of a live performance are what musicians live for. I hope, like you probably do too, it will not be too long, but in the meantime we will continue to practise and come up with ideas that might push the boundaries of the concert and performing paradigm.

I think Brandenburg One is a brilliant way forward. An inspired initiative, it gives my fellow musicians and me a forum to create music in new ways and share this content far and wide. Artists around the world are adapting to shutdowns by swapping physical performance spaces for virtual ones and have found creative ways to keep people connected during a pandemic that has otherwise kept them apart. From quarantine arts clubs on Instagram to world-famous cultural institutions welcoming virtual visitors; to UNESCO’s 'ResiliArt' movement, musicians all over the world have embraced digital technology to perform or live stream from their homes. It has never been more urgent to be creative!

Brandenburg has the ability to lead this creative surge, and the Bach Series is the first wave - it’s great to be surfing that wave!

As Paul knows, I love to cook and have been doing quite a bit, especially with my daughter Giselle who loves to cook with her Dad. I would like to leave you with my special recipe for a Klemzig Pork Belly. Click here to see the recipe and a few photo updates from my home in Adelaide.

Join our journey into the future of Baroque. Please donate today.

Rob Nairn
Principal Baroque Double Bass