Sydney Symphony Orchestra / Subscriptions

Welcome to 2012

A MESSAGE FROM VLADIMIR ASHKENAZY

Dear Music Lover

In a world where many people change jobs every few years, an orchestra stands out as something unusual. Some of the musicians in the Sydney Symphony have been performing for the audiences in this city for thirty years or more. It makes my own time with the orchestra so far seem very brief. And yet, as I welcome you to this fourth season together, I feel I have already come to know this orchestra, this beautiful city and you in the audience very well. Your enthusiasm is palpable every time we take to the stage and it's this that makes the work of a musician so rewarding.

In 2012 - the orchestra's 80th anniversary year - our programming highlights three composers in particular. First there is Brahms, who was so significant in the early years of the Sydney Symphony. Then there is Richard Strauss, an unbelievably gifted musician. He was supremely skilful as a composer - and he knew it! - but more than that, he was truly inspired. The third composer is Tchaikovsky, a man whose tragic life and personal suffering has given us such great music.

But to name just these three is merely to scratch the surface. I invite you to join us in 2012 to discover a whole world of music and feeling - sometimes profoundly emotional, sometimes lighthearted, but always fantastic.

Yours sincerely