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Stravinsky’s Firebird feels like a kaleidoscopic dream, opening in shadow, ending in a blaze.

Based on Slavic folklore, this music evokes a world of enchanted princesses, wicked sorcerers and a mythical creature whose flight brings the story to a spellbinding close. It’s no wonder this music catapulted Stravinsky to global fame.  

This program opens with Liadov’s dizzying Kikimora, a thrilling nod to the traditions that shaped Stravinsky, followed by Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto, a work of contrasts with a haunting slow section and a cadenza that speaks straight from the soul. Regarded by Intermusica as one of the ‘most remarkable cellists on the international stage’, Maximilian Hornung makes his Sydney debut in one of the most challenging works in the repertoire.  

Conductor Andrey Boreyko brings rare fluency and understanding to this music: Bachtrack praises him as ‘a commanding presence, thrilling and enthralling in equal measure.’ A graduate of the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory, he brings instinct and insight to every note.

This program explores the edges of wonder, where tradition meets transformation. As familiar myths are retold with such vivid sound, it feels newly imagined. 

Please note, Maximilian Hornung and Shostakovich's Cello Concerto No.1 will not feature in the performance on Thursday 11 June.

Program

LIADOV

Kikimora

SHOSTAKOVICH

Cello Concerto No.1*

STRAVINSKY

The Firebird (complete 1910 version)

*Does not appear in the performance on Thursday 11 June

These performances have been generously supported by Paolo Hooke and Fan Guo.

Artists

Andrey Boreyko

Conductor

This 2025/26 season, Andrey Boreyko returns to Chicago Symphony and Boston Symphony with Evgeny Kissin, Vienna Radio Symphony. He also conducts the Mozarteum Orchestra at the Salzburg Grosses Festspielhaus. Other highlights include Spanish Radio Orchestra in Madrid, National Arts Centre Orchestra Ottawa, Stuttgart Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, Adelaide Symphony, Teatro Comunale di Bologna Orchestra, Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini and George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra.

Following his successful tenure as Music & Artistic Director of the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, Boreyko joins forces with them again this season: they returned to the International Chopin Piano Competition, appearing at the opening concert, final rounds, and Laureates’ concerts of the competition’s 19th edition.

A popular guest of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Boreyko has conducted critically acclaimed subscription programmes with them in recent years, with repertoire including Shostakovich’s symphonies nos. 5 and 13 ‘Babi Yar’, and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.4.

Other highlights from recent seasons include Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Antwerp Symphony, Prague Symphony, Aarhus Symphony, Hamburg State Philharmonic Orchestra, Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony and New Japan Philharmonic. He has also worked with Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Gürzenich Orchester Köln, Montreal Symphony, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Sinfonica Nazionale RAI and Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano with whom he has appeared at Teatro all Scala and the Mahler Festival.

Prior to the conclusion of his successful tenure as Music & Artistic Director of Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir in 2024, Boreyko was Music Director of Artis—Naples in the US for eight seasons. Other previous appointments include Music Director positions of Hamburger Symphonies, Berner Sinfonieorchester, Düsseldorf Symphoniker, Winnipeg Symphony and Orchestre National de Belgique.

Maximilian Hornung

Cello

Maximilian Hornung is regarded as one of the most remarkable cellists on the international stage. Alongside his exceptional technical mastery and versatility, his playing is characterised by an extraordinary depth of tone, a boundless range of colours, and a natural sophistication. The sincerity of his performances allows him to channel the purest expression of the music he plays, connecting with audiences in a profound and meaningful way. In addition to much-loved core repertoire, Hornung carries an impressive and wide-ranging repertory, and devotes himself to lesser-known cello masterpieces.

In the 2025/26 season, Hornung makes his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker, giving three performances of the Dutilleux Cello Concerto under the baton of Thomas Guggeis. He also makes debuts with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia and Zürcher Kammerorchester, and is Artist-in-Residence at the Staatstheater Nürnberg as a soloist, chamber musician and conductor for performances in and around Nürnberg. Recent orchestral highlights include engagements with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Wiener Symphoniker, Swedish Radio Symphony, London Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Bamberger Symphoniker, Philharmonia Orchestra, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Dallas Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre National de France. Hornung is much in demand with many of today’s leading conductors including Daniel Harding, Yannick Nézét-Séguin, Paavo Järvi, Marie Jacquot, Esa-Pekka Salonen, David Zinman, Lorenzo Viotti, Pablo Heras-Casado, Semyon Bychkov, Manfred Honeck, Antonello Manacorda, John Storgårds, Michael Francis, Thomas Søndergård, Krzysztof Urbański and Robin Ticciati. In recent years, Hornung has also established himself as a soloist and conductor, and regularly directs projects, most recently with the Münchner Symphoniker.

As a recitalist, Hornung is a regular guest at world-class venues such as the Berliner Philharmonie, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Vienna’s Musikverein and Konzerthaus and London's Wigmore Hall, as well as festivals including Salzburg, Rheingau, Lucerne, Verbier, Schleswig-Holstein, Ravinia and Hong Kong. His chamber music partners include Anne-Sophie Mutter, Julia Fischer, Antje Weithaas, Hélène Grimaud, Daniil Trifonov, Hisako Kawamura, Christian Tetzlaff, Lisa Batiashvili, François Leleux, Joshua Bell, Yefim Bronfman and Herbert Schuch. This season, Hornung embarks on an extensive trio tour across Europe with long-time collaborators Vilde Frang and Denis Kozhukhin.

Hornung’s extensive discography spans solo performances and collaborations with prominent chamber musicians. He received an ECHO Klassik Prize in both 2011 for his debut album Jump! (Sony, 2010) and again in 2012 for his recording of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with the Bamberger Symphoniker under the direction of Sebastian Tewinkel (Sony, 2012). Further recordings include Richard Strauss’ major cello works with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under Bernard Haitink (Sony, 2014) and Joseph Haydn’s cello concerti with the Kammerakademie Potsdam under Antonello Manacorda (Sony, 2015). In 2017, Deutsche Grammophon released a highly acclaimed recording of Schubert’s Trout Quintet in which Hornung performed together with Anne-Sophie Mutter and Daniil Trifonov, among others. In 2018, myrios classics released his recording of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No.2 and Sulkhan Tsintsadze’s Cello Concerto No.2 with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin under Andris Poga. Further recordings have been released on Genuin, Linn Records, NEOS, Bridge Records, and CPO.

Born in Augsburg in 1986, Hornung began his cello studies at the age of 8, receiving considerable training from Eldar Issakadze, Thomas Grossenbacher and David Geringas. Until 2011, he served as cellist of the Tecchler Trio, winning First Prize at the ARD International Music Competition in 2007. At the age of only 23, he was appointed first principal cellist of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, a position that he held until 2013. Hornung has been supported and sponsored by the Borletti-Buitoni Trust in London and his mentor Anne-Sophie Mutter. Since 2022, he has been Artistic Director of the Traunsteiner Sommerkonzerte.