Concert Programs

An Evening with the MSO

Muse in the magic of Mendelssohn’s silvery overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, witness the joyful spirit of Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante and conclude your orchestral experience with Haydn’s dazzling ‘London’ symphony.

Respighi’s Fountains of Rome

Take a Roman holiday and join Melbourne Symphony Orchestra on a musical journey to the forests and fountains of Italy’s capital.

DreamWorks Animation in Concert

Relive the adventures of your favourite DreamWorks characters in a spectacular screen and sound event featuring much-loved moments from DreamWorks Animation’s most beloved films, with music performed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Beethoven Festival

Immerse yourself in the mind and the music of one of the greatest composers that ever lived during Beethoven Festival. The MSO performs Beethoven’s Five Piano Concertos with English virtuoso Paul Lewis and Scottish maestro Douglas Boyd.

Hrůša Conducts Suk’s Asrael Symphony

Jakub Hrůša returns to Melbourne to conduct a Czech masterpiece, Josef Suk’s Symphony No.2 Asrael, along with Mozart’s Symphony No.25

Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis

It has also taken MSO Chief Conductor Sir Andrew Davis a long time to unlock the dramatic and technical complexities of Beethoven’s greatest and most technically challenging choral work. Sir Andrew, with a lifetime of music behind him, finally comes to the Missa solemnis for the first time.

Tognetti and The Lark Ascending

Conducted by Sir Andrew Davis with Australia’s violin master, Richard Tognetti, this concert will feature Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending which was placed No.1 in the ABC’s Swoon Classic 100 countdown in 2015.

Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony

Let the MSO transport you to sunnier climes this August with an Italian-inspired program conducted by Sir Andrew Davis.

Enchanting Woodwinds

Join the MSO’s splendid woodwind section for a delightful program. Brock goes Baroque: 18th-century Italian G.B. Riccio arranged by our own Brock Imison. The Rite of Spring as you’ve never heard it before. Then French sophistication: Françaix’s charming Trio and Poulenc’s mighty Sextet.

Elgar, Bach, Puccini and Dvořák

Four of the finest works for strings feature in this concert directed by Canadian violinist James Ehnes, making a welcome return to the MSO.

Beethoven’s Fifth

Three classic masterpieces on the one program with MSO Associate Conductor Benjamin Northey — but which is the greatest? Weber’s dark and mystical overture to his opera Der Freischütz? Or Bruch’s glorious evergreen Violin Concerto? Or Beethoven’s Symphony No.5? Cast your vote, please.

Shakespeare Classics

This concert, conducted by Alexander Shelley, is mostly devoted to the Bard and some of the countless composers who were inspired by him.

Cirque de la Symphonie

Following sold-out seasons around the world, Cirque de la Symphonie comes to Melbourne, bringing a host of international circus performers, including aerial flyers, acrobats, contortionists, dancers, jugglers, balancers, and strongmen, to the stage.

Haydn’s Drumroll Symphony

Haydn’s second-last symphony, Drumroll, received its premiere in London in 1795. The review in the Morning Chronicle was ecstatic: ‘Another new Overture, by the fertile and enchanting Haydn…had continual strokes of genius, both in air and harmony.’ Those ‘strokes of genius’ referred to the famous extended roll on the timpani that opens the work and provides its nickname.

Sir Andrew Davis Conducts Mahler 6

Sir Andrew Davis and the MSO reach Mahler’s Symphony No.6. Subtitled The Tragic, this mammoth 80-minute work is indeed fateful — although with a sublimely pastoral slow movement, complete with cowbells. In the final movement, though, doom is not far away.

Gluzman Plays Brahms

The mighty challenges of the Brahms Violin Concerto are tackled by Ukrainian-born Israeli virtuoso, Vadim Gluzman, making his debut with the MSO.

Rachmaninov’s Paganini Rhapsody

Chief Conductor Sir Andrew Davis, ever the diligent adventurer, takes us from early Haydn – his Symphony No.6, Le matin – to Rachmaninov’s famous Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, with the French virtuoso Jean-Efflam Bavouzet in the piano hotseat

Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto

MSO Concertmaster Eoin Andersen directs the Orchestra in Stravinsky’s Suite from Pulcinella and Brett Dean’s arrangement of Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks. Also on the program are Strauss’ Serenade for Winds and Mendelssohn’s evergreen Violin Concerto.

Romeo and Juliet

The MSO perform excerpts from the exquisitely dramatic ballet score, Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, along with Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain and Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2, performed by award-winning Korean pianist Joyce Yang.

Brahms’ Fourth Symphony

‘This is a symphony that ought to leave you intellectually battered and emotionally bruised…’ The Guardian

Metropolis New Music Festival

Immerse yourself in music inspired by the city over two weeks during the Metropolis New Music Festival at the Melbourne Recital Centre.

Ears Wide Open: Ravel’s Le tombeau de Couperin

Conductor Richard Gill guides his audience through Maurice Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin (The Tomb of Couperin). Ravel’s suite of piano pieces was composed in 1917 and later orchestrated. It pays tribute not only to an age of French grandeur, but to Ravel’s friends who died in the Great War.

Three of the Best

Three very different and captivating trios by three very different composers. From France, the String Trio by neoclassicist Jean Francaix. From the United States, the Piano Trio by Charles Ives. And from the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana, his impassioned Piano Trio.

Bach Suites

You might not associate it with mirrorballs, but there once was a time when the biggest name in dance music was Johann Sebastian Bach. His celebrated quartet of orchestral suites were inspired by the lively charm of traditional French dances, adapting them into more intricate, embellished and sophisticated works that enhanced the infectious sense of movement.

Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony

Schubert’s ‘Unfinished’ Symphony has a myriad of theories to explain why the composer set the work aside a full six years before his death. Explanations from the aesthetic to the psychological have been put forward, but there can be no argument that the symphony, whilst unfinished, is complete.

The Godfather In Concert

It was called a musical offer that Francis Ford Coppola could not refuse. Indeed, Nino Rota’s score of Coppola’s great film, The Godfather, is just as haunting in memory as the movie itself.

Sir Andrew Davis conducts Mahler 5

Sir Andrew Davis’ Mahler cycle with the MSO reaches the halfway point with the Symphony No.5.

An Alpine Symphony

Crafted to conjure vivid images of glaciers, meadows and storms, An Alpine Symphony is a mountainous undertaking for any orchestra, and an extravagant adventure for the audience.

Sounds of France

Two vibrant French chamber works by Ravel and Chausson.

Dvořák’s New World Symphony

The opening concert in the MSO’s Town Hall Series features _Finlandia, Sibelius’ stirring hymn to Finnish nationalism, along with Dvořák’s Symphony No.9 From the New World and Grieg’s Piano Concerto.

Sidney Myer Free Concert: The Tang of the Tango

The Sidney Myer Free Concerts are the perfect soundtrack to summer in the city at one of Melbourne’s most iconic outdoor venues. Admission is free and gates open at 4.30pm.
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Sidney Myer Free Concert: Summer Carnival

The Sidney Myer Free Concerts are the perfect soundtrack to summer in the city at one of Melbourne’s most iconic outdoor venues. Admission is free and gates open at 4.30pm.
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Sidney Myer Free Concert: Dvořák Under the Stars

The Sidney Myer Free Concerts are the perfect soundtrack to summer in the city at one of Melbourne’s most iconic outdoor venues. Admission is free and gates open at 4.30pm.
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Hitchcock & Herrmann

The master of suspense and the maestro of music feature in this unique screen and symphony event featuring the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by Associate Conductor, Benjamin Northey. Immerse yourself in scenes from Alfred Hitchcock’s classic films on the big screen and hear Bernard Herrmann’s astonishing scores in 3D – performed live by the MSO.
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Christmas Carols

The inimitable Bramwell Tovey joins the MSO as conductor, pianist and host in this celebration of the great musical traditions of Christmas, from famous orchestral works and favourite Christmas songs to the most beloved of Yuletide carols. With a program that includes classics such as Sleigh Ride , O Come All Ye Faithful, Silent Night, music from The Nutcracker, and of course, Jingle Bells – Christmas really is the most musical time of all!
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Messiah

Conductor Bramwell Tovey will be joined by the MSO Chorus and renowned international soloists for one of the MSO’s most beloved Christmas traditions, Messiah. This life-affirming spiritual masterpiece with its exquisite choral writing offers many treasured musical moments including the exultant Hallelujah chorus, one of the most popular refrains in Western music.
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Brahms and Tchaikovsky

Divertimento, Bartók’s dark take on the Baroque, kick-starts this night of European festivities. Brahms’ Violin Concerto delivers a fiery, gypsy-inspired rondo, while Tchaikovsky’s homage to the serenades of Mozart thrills with its breathtaking, resonant strings and Russian-influenced themes.
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Sibelius’ Finlandia

Yan Pascal Tortelier celebrates the 150th anniversary of two Nordic masters. Sibelius’ majestic Finlandia is balanced against Nielsen’s spirited Violin Concerto, while the haunting tone poem The Swan of Tuonela conjures a dreamlike portrait of the underworld, inspired by Finnish mythology. Sibelius’ Symphony No.5, with its soaring ‘swan theme’ finale, brings proceedings to a thrilling climax.
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Tchaikovsky and Grieg

Asher Fisch conducts three masterworks that defined the Romantic era. Tchaikovsky’s stirring Romeo and Juliet is followed by the poignant melodies of Grieg’s Piano Concerto, while the high-voltage intensity of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony offers a dramatic conclusion to the program.
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Back to the Future

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Robert Zemeckis’ classic, time-travelling comedy, Marty McFly and ‘Doc’ Emmet Brown are coming to Plenary’s big screen! Take a trip back to 1985/1955 and relive the action alongside the MSO’s performance of Alan Silvestri’s dynamic score. These screenings include the Australian premiere of additional music written by the composer especially for the film’s 30th anniversary. Completists will also note that 2015 is the ‘future’ as experienced by Marty in Back to the Future: Part II.

Great Scott! This is heavy!
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An American in Paris

Gershwin’s An American in Paris evokes a journey through the bustling streets of the French capital, punctuated by taxi horns and a bluesy trumpet solo. Ravel’s finely crafted Piano Concerto in G sits alongside the majesty of Saint-Saëns’ final symphonic work featuring the mighty Town Hall organ.
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Mozart’s Requiem

Benjamin Northey leads the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, soloists and Chorus in an exuberant jubilee celebrating 50 years of the MSO Chorus (formerly known as Melbourne Chorale). Featuring guest Chorus Master Warren Trevelyan-Jones, directing the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus in a selection of music paying tribute to the Chorus’ much loved tradition of a cappella performance, followed by Mozart’s resplendent Requiem, the composer’s final masterpiece with its inimitable force and tremendous climaxes.
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Scheherazade

Under the baton of Jakub Hrůša, the overture to Smetana’s comic opera The Bartered Bride_ opens a dazzling night of music. The resonant folk melodies of Dvořák’s Violin Concerto are followed by Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, a vivid orchestral work inspired by the tales of the Arabian Nights.
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Disney in Concert

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is proud to present Disney In Concert, featuring well-loved music and screen footage from some of the best-known films in the history of cinema. Featuring the hit songs of Frozen, Tangled, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, The Princess and the Frog, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Aladdin, sung by four Broadway vocalists with the MSO, and over one hour of high resolution video clips from the original films.

A little Disney magic for everyone!
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Mozart’s Symphony No.40

Across the gulf of two centuries, Mozart and Stravinsky created distinctive works shaped and inspired by the rigor of classical forms. Stravinsky’s Octet for Winds, an early neo-classical masterpiece performed here by the wind section of the MSO, and the composer’s compact Concerto in D – led by MSO Concertmaster Eoin Andersen – are balanced by Mozart’s Violin Concerto, a youthful work of matchless elegance and execution. With its famous melancholy opening theme, Mozart’s Symphony No.40 hints at a deep disquiet beneath its trademark refinement.
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Pictures at an Exhibition

This striking concert combines two compositions inspired by painters: Reger’s Four Tone Poems after Arnold Böchlin draws on the Swiss master-painter’s works, while Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition presents an art gallery tour in musical form. Liszt’s showpiece makes for a breathtaking interlude.
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An Evening with Renée Fleming

Famed for her magnetic performances and sheer beauty of tone, celebrated American soprano Renée Fleming joins the MSO and Sir Andrew Davis for two Melbourne exclusive orchestral concerts. This special event sees Fleming perform her signature works, including Ravel’s sensual song cycle Shéhérazade, the luxurious melodies of Canteloube’s Chants d’Auvergne.
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Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.17

Rossini’s La gazza ladra is set alongside works by Mozart and Messiaen, and the lush melodies of Brahms’ Symphony No.3.
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Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1

The very epitome of Romantic music, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No.1 is one of the most beloved concertos in the history of the modern keyboard. Appearing alongside the masterful orchestration and fiery drama of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio espagnol, Scriabin’s Third Symphony weaves a rich, textured canvas of romance and tragedy, as if from a film yet to be written.
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Beethoven, Mozart & Copland

Copland’s Appalachian Spring is a defining work of the twentieth century, evocatively capturing the wide-open spaces of frontier America. Mozart’s Piano Concerto in D minor, a work that inspired a young Beethoven, is complemented by the latter composer’s majestic Seventh Symphony.
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Yuja Wang Plays Prokofiev

Chinese piano superstar Yuja Wang brings her acclaimed virtuosity to Prokofiev’s tempestuous Second Piano Concerto, one of the most technically demanding and spectacular works in the piano repertoire. Bookending this Russian masterpiece is the sublime patriotism of Tchaikovsky’s Marche Slave and Brahms’ luminous fourth and final symphony.
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Ravel’s Bolero & Sibelius 7

This passionate program brings to life the old-world charm of Sibelius’ Valse triste followed by the composer’s innovative, continually evolving Seventh Symphony. Rounding out the concert is the world premiere of Iain Grandage’s Dances with Devils, a percussion concerto written for and performed by Claire Edwardes, with Ravel’s Bolero providing an electrifying conclusion.
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Ears Wide Open 2

Enshrining the spirit of America’s pioneers, Copland’s Appalachian Spring is a defining work of the twentieth century, evocatively capturing the wide open spaces of frontier America. An enduring concert hall favourite, its innovative harmonic structure borrows from jazz, spirituals and folksong.
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Babe: The Twentieth Anniversary Concert

Chris Noonan’s Babe, the 1995 family movie about a pig who wants to be a sheepdog conceived by writer / producer George Miller and director Chris Noonan, is an icon of Australian cinema. To coincide with its twentieth anniversary, the MSO and original soundtrack composer, Nigel Westlake, join forces to present the world premiere of Babe: The Twentieth Anniversary Concert, an exclusive all-ages screening with Westlake conducting the Orchestra in a performance of the film’s score adapted especially for the concert hall.
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Vivaldi’s Four Seasons

Two of the Baroque era’s most illustrious works are brought to life in this resplendent concert, lead by MSO Concertmaster Dale Barltrop. The understated beauty of Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins is followed by the adrenaline-charged virtuosity of The Four Seasons. The evening also features Variations on a theme of Frank Bridge, the playful masterwork that launched Britten’s career.
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Mahler 4

A milestone in the MSO’s musical evolution, Sir Andrew Davis’ Mahler Cycle series returns for its fourth chapter. A moment of soulful introspection from one of music’s world-weary travellers, Mahler’s Symphony No.4 recalls an age of innocence with its moments of childlike joy. Tempestuous instrumentation and sly wit abound in Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante, considered a high point of the composer’s last creative years.
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Ian Bostridge

A rare opportunity to witness renowned British tenor and distinguished academic Ian Bostridge – hailed by The Guardian for his ‘expressive ability to inhabit character and emotion’ – performing the great Lieder of Schubert and Vaughan Williams’ nostalgic song cycle On Wenlock Edge. Schubert’s Moments musicaux, one of the composer’s most popular piano works, forms the perfect instrumental interlude in this intimate evening with the MSO and one of the world’s most extraordinary voices.
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Britten’s War Requiem

Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, a haunting piece interweaving the traditional Latin Mass for the Dead with the works of First World War poet Wilfred Owen, is paired with the profoundly moving Elegy in memoriam Rupert Brooke. Written by an Australian composer stationed in Gallipoli, shortly before his death at the Battle of the Somme, the elegy makes for a stirring memorial to one of the defining conflicts of the twentieth century.
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Symphony in a Day

Sir Andrew Davis will conduct community musicians from all across Victoria when they join musicians of the MSO for a program of symphonic greats this June.
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Kurt Elling

Don’t miss this Melbourne International Jazz Festival opening weekend event, when the MSO shares the stage with one of America’s most legendary performers. Hailed by The New York Times as ‘the standout male vocalist of our time’, Grammy winner Kurt Elling is one of the international jazz world’s most compelling artists, celebrated for the technical mastery and emotional depth of his rich four-octave baritone voice. Kurt will be joined by his quartet for both performances.
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Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7

One of the world’s most sought-after composers, Matthias Pintscher, returns to conduct the Australian premiere of idyll, an MSO co-commission with The Cleveland Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, in a program that also includes Beethoven’s majestic Seventh Symphony. Japanese-Canadian violinist Karen Gomyo joins the Orchestra for Saint-Saëns’ eloquent Third Violin Concerto, in her first appearance with the MSO.
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Beethoven: The 1808 Vienna Concert

With a line-up of internationally acclaimed soloists and the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir joining the Orchestra for this rare event, we invite you to sit back and relax in the company of one of music’s greatest creative minds.
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The Damnation of the Faust

Don’t miss this definitive performance of Berlioz’s genre-defying ‘concert opera’ featuring the dynamic pairing of MSO Chief Conductor Sir Andrew Davis, and celebrated Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel as the demon Méphistophélès. Based on Goethe’s legendary dramatic poem Faust about a man who sells his soul to the devil, this concert performance of Berlioz’s masterpiece is a must-see event for music lovers.
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