Esteemed Melbourne violinist Jaso Sasaki and cellist Rosanne Hunt will present rarely performed yet exquisite solo sonatas by Ysayë, and then combine for the ravishing Schulhof duo, full of profound melodic lines as well as earthy folk themes.

Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe (1858–1931) was a Belgian virtuoso violinist, composer and conductor, regarded as The King of the Violin. Erwin Schulhof (1894-1942) was one of the most popular Czech composers of his time, but his premature death in the Wülzburg concentration camp in 1942 signalled the almost total erasure of his work from music history.

Finnish violinist Jaso Sasaki is renowned in his own right as a virtuoso player and he performs widely in Melbourne. Rosanne Hunt is a well-known Melbourne cellist with an eclectic career embracing early music and contemporary repertoire and everything in between.

The performance will be held on Friday 24 October with doors opening at 5:40pm for a 6:00pm performance. This event is free for members and $20 for non-members. Bookings can be made through Trybooking using this link.

What happens to the books no-one wants?

Join a talk by artist and librarian Alissa Duke who draws in books that are about to be discarded. Alissa draws an image with watercolour pencils, inspired by words on the page, and the books are given a new life, to be appreciated by a new audience.

This talk questions preconceptions about writing and drawing in books, and discusses giving value to otherwise valueless books. Alissa will talk about her creative process and the event will include a display of some of her books.

The talk will be held on Saturday 11 October at 3:00pm. This event is free for members and non-members. Bookings can be made through Trybooking using this link.

Phil Manning and Mark Ferrie both have long pedigrees in the Australian music industry. Phil is a founding member of legendary OzBlues band Chain, a solo performer and session musician. And Mark is a long-time member of The Models, a bassist with the RocKwiz Orkestra and a founding member of many Melbourne acts including The Sacred Cowboys and The Mercurials.

They are both also excellent songwriters, each with their distinctive styles and approaches.

At this special library performance, they will discuss and share personal insights into their careers, while performing songs with each other.

The performance will be held on Friday 10 October with doors opening at 5:40pm for a 6:00pm performance. This event is free for members and $20 for non-members. Bookings can be made through Trybooking using this link.

Evocative and enchanting, The Village Square is a captivating combination of live music performance and storytelling.

Set in an imagined town some years ago (as all good fairy tales are), The Village Square presents stories of love and loss, misfortune and mirth, the graceful and grotesque.

Featuring renowned cellist Zoe Knighton, guitarist/composer Robbie Melville, and the charismatic and much-loved Richard Piper as The Narrator, the memoirs sparkle with the magic of traditional mythology.

Travelling through environments of contemporary classical, folk and jazz, Knighton and Melville weave disparate elements into a unified world.

The performance will be held on Friday 12 September with doors opening at 5:40pm for a 6:00pm performance. This event is free for members and $20 for non-members. Bookings can be made through Trybooking using this link.

Having just returned from their first European summer tour, with performances in Germany, Finland and the UK, Affinity Quartet is bringing their ‘TAKE FOUR: Chamber Music for Everyone!’ series to the library.

The series explores the string quartet, from its wide expansion in the 18th and 19th centuries to the present in the hands of some of today’s most exciting composers.

The program juxtaposes single-movement string quartets by Schubert and Australian composer Justin Williams. It will also include Beethoven’s 10th quartet, which is one of his most meditative, lyrical and joyous works.

The performance will be held on Friday 5 September with doors opening at 5:40pm for a 6:00pm performance. This event is free for members and $20 for non-members. Bookings can be made through Trybooking using this link.