Category: Sydney Symphony Orchestra

I reckon that you can trust the Russian composers for a great experience in Concert. So, it was last Saturday. I had never heard the Khachaturian Violin Concerto in D minor ever. In fact I know little of the output of Khachaturian, the ballet scores: GAYANE and SPARTACUS, the most familiar. Aram Katchaturian was of Armenian extraction, educated as a child in Tiblisi, Georgia – that city being important to Josef Stalin. Stalin was extremely interested and demanding in his concerns for the influence of the Arts on his citizenry and, in particular, that of the influence of Music. During…

  Sydney Symphony Orchestra presents BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE, with Bach and Brahms, in the Concert Hall, at the Sydney Opera House. November 29. December 1 and 2. BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE is one of a concert item from three B’s of the music world: Brahms, Bach and Bartok. Besides the initial B as a common denominator/cue for this concert it is also a presentation of three works that involves the human voice supported by an orchestra. The first work was from Johannes Brahms: Alto Rhapsody, Op.53 with mezzo soprano, Michelle DeYoung and Men of the Opera Australia Chorus. A leader in the Romantic…

Sydney Symphony Orchestra present GRIPPING SHOSTAKOVITCH, in the Concert Hall, at the Sydney Opera House. 15 November, 17 November and 18 November. I was taken to the GRIPPING SHOSTAKOVITCH concert by a dear friend. It was made up by the Cello Concerto No.1 in E flat major, Op.107 and the mighty, gripping, Symphony No. 8 in C minor, Op.65, conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy, in the Concert Hall, at the Sydney Opera House. I am a relative ‘babe in the woods’ in my knowledge of music. However, I have, in my blissful ignorance, come to believe that Shostakovich is the GREAT…

Sydney Symphony Orchestra presents, YOUNG RUSSIANS – Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich, in the Concert Hall, at the Sydney Opera House. 1st, 3rd and 4th March. YOUNG RUSSIANS was a program of music from three of the greats of music of the last century. Music from the three greats, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich right at the beginning of their career. All three pieces are auguries of their coming contribution to world music. Sergei Prokofiev wrote his CLASSICAL SYMPHONY. OP 25 (SYMPHONY No. 1 in D) in the summer of 1917, at the age of 26, right at the beginning of the…

Sydney Symphony Orchestra, presents, MUSIC UNDER THE MOON. A Lantern Festival Celebration, featuring Tan Dun, in the Concert Hall, at the Sydney Opera House, 11 February, 2017. Tan Dun is a contemporary Chinese orhestral music composer and conductor. He is most familiar to audiences because of his award winning music for the films CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON and HERO. This concert which is part of the Chinese New Year Festival marks the fifth visit of this musician to Sydney. His other compositions range from Concert to Opera. He uses traditions from Chinese music and Western composers, including the use of…

Sydney Symphony Orchestra presents AUDRA MCDONALD SINGS BROADWAY, in the Concert Hall at the Sydney Opera House Nov 5,6,7. Audra McDonald is unparalleled in the breadth and versatility of her artistry as both a singer and an actress. She has won six Tony Awards – CAROUSEL, MASTER CLASS, RAGTIME, A RASIN IN THE SUN, PORGY AND BESS and LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR & GRILL. I have seen her only once before in HENRY IV, with Kevin Kline and Ethan Hawke, in the Beaumont Theatre, Lincoln Centre, New York. To have had the good fortune to see and hear Ms…