Next year will be Musica Viva’s 70th year as Australia’s official purveyor of chamber music, so you would expect a pretty special program. And you’d be right.

As the organisation’s artistic director Carl Vine said in a press-release today: “We will honour this landmark year in Musica Viva’s history in a number of ways, the first being to bring back our most admired and loved performers of recent times.”

The biggest coup of the anniversary program is Russian superstar violinist Maxim Vengerov, who will be giving a rare recital tour in December – his first in Australia. The tour will also mark Vengerov’s return to the international stage after a few years of sabbatical.

And, not to be outdone, much-loved British cellist Steven Isserlis will tour his own recital series in June, with a focus on French composers Saint-Saëns, Fauré and Franck.

Another of Britain’s most successful musical exports, pianist Paul Lewis, will undertake a full national tour. On the program: Brahms’ Ballades and Intermezzi and – of course – some Beethoven sonatas.

And English vocal ensemble I Fagiolini will make their Musica Viva debut in July, with a program of Renaissance works and a new work by Australian composer Andrew Schultz, commissioned especially...