Jack Liebeck is talking about the 2023 Australian Festival of Chamber Music (AFCM) program, the festival’s 33rd and his second as Artistic Director, after an impressive start in 2022. His artistic leadership came after a difficult period for AFCM with his predecessor, Kathryn Stott, having her festivals cancelled first in 2020 and then at the last minute in 2021 due to COVID. Stott was never able to stage her final festival, while Liebeck took over in 2022 a year later than originally planned.
Recapping on what he feels worked for him and the festival in 2022, he tells ArtsHub: ‘I don’t think it could have gone any better, given the circumstances and it was as intense as I thought it might be. I was recently reminded that I managed to do an entire program over 10 days with hardly any pieces by major composers, which showed me that the audience was prepared to go with me on a somewhat unusual journey.
