The Masters Series is where you’ll experience the world’s greatest soloists and conductors and the Sydney Symphony’s wave of sound. With recognisable favourites – and some enriching rarities – these nine programs will take you to the pinnacle of music making in Sydney.
Wednesday 13 February 2019 / 8pm
Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall
JANÁČEK Taras Bulba
REICH Music for Ensemble and Orchestra Australian premiere
BARTÓK Concerto for Orchestra
David Robertson conductor
Passionate, hypnotic and thrilling: a concert to showcase the collective virtuosity of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
Wednesday 3 April 2019 / 8pm
Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall
BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto
TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No.4
Alexander Shelley conductor
Simone Lamsma violin
Simone Lamsma ascends the sublime heights of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and Tchaikovsky wrestles with fate in his Fourth Symphony.
Wednesday 15 May 2019 / 8pm
Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall
MEYER Hommage à Johannes Brahms
CHOPIN Piano Concerto No.1
BRAHMS orch. Schoenberg Piano Quartet in G minor
Andrey Boreyko conductor
Yulianna Avdeeva piano
Discover Yulianna Avdeeva’s dexterity and thrilling assurance in Chopin. Rediscover a Brahms chamber masterwork in a sumptuous orchestral setting.
Wednesday 3 July 2019 / 8pm
Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall
VERDI The Force of Destiny: Overture
PROKOFIEV Violin Concerto No.2
BEETHOVEN Symphony No.5
Xian Zhang conductor
Vadim Gluzman violin
High spirits and high drama: rollicking Prokofiev from violinist Vadim Gluzman, Beethoven’s always-thrilling Fifth Symphony and fatalistic Verdi.
Wednesday 7 August 2019 / 8pm
Sydney Town Hall
SIBELIUS En Saga
GRIEG Piano Concerto in A minor
BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique
David Robertson conductor
Kirill Gerstein piano
Enter a fantastic world of myths and dreams with David Robertson as guide. Gerstein plays Grieg’s bracing, folk-like Piano Concerto before Berlioz takes us on a wild trip.
This concert takes place at Sydney Town Hall as part of the Keys to the City Festival.
Wednesday 28 August 2019 / 8pm
Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall
KHACHATURIAN Violin Concerto
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No.4
Mark Wigglesworth conductor
James Ehnes violin
Khachaturian’s violin concerto overflows with exotic melody and Mark Wigglesworth conducts Shostakovich’s electrifying Fourth Symphony.
Wednesday 25 September 2019 / 8pm
Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall
MEDTNER Piano Concerto No.1
HOLST The Planets
Vladimir Ashkenazy conductor
Alexei Volodin piano
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
The Planets is a must-hear event with Ashkenazy as your guide to the heavens, and virtuoso Alexei Volodin seduces with the Medtner’s piano concerto.
Wednesday 23 October 2019 / 8pm
Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall
R STRAUSS Death and Transfiguration
R STRAUSS Four Last Songs
FAURÉ Requiem
Donald Runnicles conductor
Erin Wall soprano
Samuel Dundas baritone
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
A journey through life, death and the beyond, with music by Richard Strauss and Fauré’s radiantly beautiful Requiem.
Wednesday 4 December 2019 / 8pm
Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall
MAHLER Das klagende Lied (The Sorrowful Song)
Simone Young conductor
Michaela Schuster mezzo-soprano
Steve Davislim tenor
Andrew Collis bass-baritone
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs
Simone Young and company close the 2019 season in legendary style.
Masters Series packages are available Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights as 4 Event, 6 Event and 9 Event Packages.
Discover the music that suits you best – from the greatest classical music to film-with-orchestra adventures.
