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Mendelssohn’s tender miniatures, his Songs without Words, are the springboard for inspiration; his grand “Scottish” sonata-fantasy evokes Celtic harps and the misty Highlands in the spirit of Beethoven’s “Moonlight”. Chopin comes into his own in three pieces that reveal the poignancy, the brilliance and the richness of his music.

The conclusion of this musical feast is a landmark in the history of the piano repertoire – a complete sonata in every way, demanding Romantic feeling, technical command, intellect and charisma.

Hear Bernd Glemser play Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto in the EnergyAustralia Master Series (22, 24, 25 September) and Thursday Afternoon Symphony (23 September).

 

MENDELSSOHN
Eight Songs without Words
Fantasie (Sonate écossaise), Op.28
CHOPIN Two Nocturnes, Op.27 Scherzo No.4 in E, Op.54
LISZT Sonata in B minor

 

AUDIO PLAYER LISTING

Track 1 – MENDELSSOHN Songs without Words: Spinning Song, Op.67 No.4
Daniel Barenboim DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON 453 0612
Track 2 – CHOPIN Nocturne in D flat, Op.27 No.2
Vladimir Ashkenazy DECCA 475 8048
Tracks 3 and 4 – LISZT Sonata in B minor
Alfred Brendel PHILIPS 475 8247

Audio kindly supplied by Universal Music

Currently available for purchase:
Mendelssohn Songs without Words
Chopin Nocturnes
Liszt

LISTEN TO SAMPLES

Use < > buttons to scroll tracks - see below for listings.

Rachmaninoff was the last of the great Romantic composer-pianists, and the music he wrote for himself to play marries supreme virtuosity and impeccable style to a gift for rhapsodic melodies and richly imagined harmonies. There are no piano concertos quite like Rachmaninoff’s, and Bernd Glemser will bring to the second concerto the grandeur and distinction it demands.

But don’t let the most popular piano concerto of all time distract you from the frame in which it sits. Shostakovich’s intriguing symphony is like a toy shop, with a riot of clever quotations from other composers – and himself! We’re playing it first so we can leave you with the strangely familiar conclusion of Rossini’s William Tell overture galloping through your ears.

SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No.15
RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No.2
ROSSINI William Tell: Overture

Mark Wigglesworth conductor
Bernd Glemser piano

 

AUDIO PLAYER LISTING

Tracks 1 and 2 – RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No.2
Alicia de Larrocha, piano, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Charles Dutoit
DECCA 476 7701
Track 3 – SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No.15
Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Georg Solti
DECCA 442 8235
Track 4 – ROSSINI William Tell Overture
Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Zubin Mehta
DECCA 476 9907

Audio kindly supplied by Universal Music

Currently available for purchase:
Shostakovich
Rossini

Mix it all up with folk mythology, authentic jazz, and real Parisian taxi horns and you get the heady impression of music at its most vital.

The 1920s were an amazing era of cross-fertilisation and mutual inspiration: as Gershwin was putting the concert hall into jazz with his Rhapsody in Blue, Darius Milhaud on the other side of the Atlantic was capturing the chaos and steamy vitality of Harlem for the ballet theatre.

Where did the bold experiments take us? Duke Ellington, Leonard Bernstein and John Adams complete the itinerary: New York, Paris, and the world!

ADAMS The Chairman Dances – Foxtrot for orchestra
MILHAUD The Creation of the World
GERSHWIN An American in Paris
BERNSTEIN Prelude, Fugue and Riffs
GERSHWIN Rhapsody in Blue
ELLINGTON Harlem

Kristjan Järvi conductor
Michael Kieran Harvey piano
Francesco Celata clarinet

Some music takes no prisoners. The composer’s creative vision can be so clear and compelling that no allowance is made for performer or listener. Should we be surprised if this is the kind of music that ends up a masterpiece? We bring Beethoven and Stravinsky together with two pieces that shocked their first listeners even as they won admirers.

Renaud Capuçon is the intrepid soloist in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto – symphonic in scope and challenging at every turn. Stravinsky’s ballet The Rite of Spring makes for a pulsing, overwhelming finale: a classic for us today, but still revealing its power to amaze.

BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto
STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring

Kristjan Järvi conductor
Renaud Capuçon violin

Thomas Adès’ Asyla is huge, and it calls for a huge orchestra. We meet the challenge by joining forces with the youthful talents of our exceptional mentoring orchestra, the Sydney
Sinfonia, in our very first “Side-by-Side” concert. With old hands and fresh faces we’ll form a super orchestra to play this madhouse of a piece with its thrilling contrasts and pop culture influences – The Rite of Spring meets club music.

Maxwell Foster is another youthful talent, and he’ll be performing the concerto that won him the ABC Symphony Australia Young Performer of the Year award in 2008 when he was 16. This concerto isn’t a chart topper for nothing: Tchaikovsky marries virtuoso power to his famous soaring melodies for the perfect blend of brilliance and poetry. Lucid orchestral colours and dancing rhythms frame an intoxicating concert.

P STANHOPE Fantasia on a Theme by Vaughan Williams
TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No.1
ADÈS Asyla*
TCHAIKOVSKY Nutcracker: Suite*

Richard Gill conductor
Thomas Adès conductor*
Maxwell Foster piano
Sydney Sinfonia(Side-by-Side with
the Sydney Symphony)*

TEA & SYMPHONY - 22 OCT
Short program: Stanhope and Tchaikovsky concerto

When Korean pianist Joyce Yang won the Van Cliburn silver medal she was only 19 years old – her captivating presence and musical authority belied her petite appearance. Since then she’s made her New York Philharmonic debut with Lorin Maazel and begun appearing with some of leading conductors of our age – they all say she’s a musician to watch. Her playing has been praised for its grace and wit, and its combination of musicianly refinement and Romantic flair.

In her imaginative program for Sydney, Joyce Yang will set the scene with music of our own time – the spectacular and magical Gargoyles of Lowell Liebermann and the impulsive rhythms of Carl Vine’s irresistible piano sonata, commissioned for the Sydney Dance Company. Debussy, Chopin and Liszt’s re-imagining of Wagner provide elegant impressions. And the finale is a late work of Liszt – a dazzling blend of two Spanish dances, one dark-hued and compelling, the other full of spontaneous vigour.

L LIEBERMANN Gargoyles
DEBUSSY Estampes
VINE Piano Sonata No.1
CHOPIN Introduction and Rondo, Op.16
WAGNER arr. LISZT Isolde’s Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde LISZT Spanish Rhapsody

** Tickets on sale Saturday 7 August, 9am!**

This October, take a trip to Broadway with some of the greatest names in showbiz – Australian favourites David Hobson, Rhonda Burchmore, Todd McKenney and Trisha Crowe... and of course, the Sydney Symphony conducted by maestro Guy Noble! In two shows only you’ll be transported to the glamour of the bright lights as these stars of the stage woo you with performances from your favourite musicals.

Todd as the original Boy From Oz will reprise some of his great moments on stage in musical theatre - I Go To Rio, Tenterfield Saddler and Singin' in the Rain.

Rhonda will thrill with her take on the great old days of Broadway - Don't Rain on My Parade, Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend and Shakin the Blues Away.

Trisha will wow the audience with the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter and Andrew Lloyd Webber - Love Never Dies from the new smash hit sequel to Phantom of the Opera and So in Love from Kiss me Kate.

Joining Todd, Trisha and Rhonda will be acclaimed Australian tenor David Hobson, renowned for his performances in a wide range of roles from Opera through to Dancing with the Stars!

Don’t miss your chance to experience the best of the Australian stage as they come together with your Sydney Symphony.

Tickets start from $35.

Tchaikovsky’s greatest masterpieces were written for the theatre. Discover the lyrical impulse of his music when Richard Gill unpacks three scenes from his ballets Sleeping Beauty and Nutcracker.

Inspired by the Benedictine Abbey of New Norcia in Western Australia, Peter Sculthorpe’s tiny piece for brass and percussion joins the chanting refrains of a Latin hymn with tribal drumming.

Discover Tchaikovsky then join us for Russian Rococo (November) and our Tchaikovsky Spectacular (December). There’s more Tchaikovsky earlier in the year with Serenade for Strings (June) and the First Piano Concerto(October).

TCHAIKOVSKY Sleeping Beauty: Panorama
TCHAIKOVSKY Nutcracker: Arabian Dance and Apotheosis SCULTHORPE New Norcia

Richard Gill conductor