Tickets
Standard
$75-$139
Concession
$70-$134
Child (under 18 years)
$20
$7 transaction fee / order
Dates
Thursday 03 October 2024
7:30pm at Hamer Hall
Saturday 05 October 2024
7:30pm at Hamer Hall
Featuring
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Nodoka Okisawa conductor
Steven Isserlis cello
Program
Akutagawa Triptyque for String Orchestra
Shostakovich Cello Concerto No.1
Naomi Dodd* New Work**
Prokofiev Symphony No.7
*Cybec Young Composer in Residence
**World premiere of an MSO Commission
About this performance
Acclaimed Japanese conductor Nodoka Okisawa and legendary English cellist Steven Isserlis return to Melbourne for this exhilarating program, anchored by Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto and Prokoviev’s shimmering final symphony.
- Composer Yasushi Akutagawa was so enamoured with Russian music that he entered the Soviet Union illegally in 1954, where he established friendships with Shostakovich, Khachaturian and Kabalevsky, among others. This fantastic Triptyque (1953) for string orchestra fuses the punchiness of the Russian musical tradition with the folk sounds of his native Japan.
- Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto was written in 1959 for his friend, the legendary cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. The latter was so taken with it, that he learned it by heart in just four days.
- Emerging Australian composer Naomi Dodd is known for her emotional, passion-filled works that spring from everyday experiences. Witness the premiere of a new work commissioned as part of the Cybec Young Composers' Program.
- Completed the year before his death in 1953, Prokofiev’s seventh and final symphony showcases his mastery of the orchestra, its apparent simplicity masking deep musical and emotional complexity.
Duration: approx. 1 hour and 45 minutes including interval
Listen to Shostakovich's Cello Concerto
Enhance your experience
Want to learn more about the music being performed? Arrive early for an informative and entertaining pre-concert talk.
Thursday 3 October at 6.45pm
Saturday 5 October at 6.45pm
Hamer Hall Stalls Foyer
