14/08/2026
Authority Without Permission: A Life in Music
A Conversation with Joanna Lewis
This week on AdChat: The Creative Woman’s Perspective, we’re joined by Joanna Lewis, international violinist, founder of the Koehne Quartet, and a formidable force in contemporary chamber music.
Joanna left Australia for Vienna in 1985 on what was meant to be a ten-month scholarship. More than forty years later, she has built a life and career at the heart of European music - performing across orchestras, chamber music, contemporary repertoire, jazz and improvisation, while building the Koehne Quartet into an ensemble known for its deep and enduring relationships with composers.
She arrived in a Vienna where there were no women in the Vienna Philharmonic and where, on one early engagement, Joanna found herself the only woman in the orchestra. She stayed. She played. And she built authority the way that matters - through the work.
In this episode, we talk about the extraordinary influence of her mother, art historian Dr Betty Snowden, and growing up immersed in both music and the visual arts; the childhood concert that began a lifelong love affair with the string quartet; why working with living composers changes everything; four decades in Vienna; the art of listening; and the self-trust that comes when you stop waiting for permission.
And yes, there’s the story of the unanswered fax to Melinda’s husband, composer Graeme Koehne. Joanna asked permission to name the quartet after him. He never replied - which, knowing Graeme, is entirely typical. She named it anyway.
Tune in for a generous, funny and fascinating conversation about a lifelong love of music and art, discipline, curiosity, collaboration - and a life built note by note.
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6iyKOtCKbybWRI2QYG71KW?si=8jpq0FbmSfmU7ZmtIFcmTg
Apple
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/authority-without-permission-a-life-in-music/id1767990999?i=1000783230600
Oranje
https://oranjecreative.com/adchat
