.: Christine Johnston is performing at the Canberra International Music Festival in May

In 1899, as Sigmund Freud completed his seminal ‘Interpretation of Dreams’ after years of case studies and wide-ranging research, Arnold Schoenberg’s late-romantic musical outburst ‘Transfigured Night’ arrived on the page in a mere three week’s outpouring. Its virtuosic transcription for piano trio is as famous as its original, showcasing three young rising stars. Gruber’s pandemonic piece for chansonnier and ensemble is equally probing of the unconscious mind, with Christine Johnston as the first female performer to tackle this Viennese musical circus.