Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Event Details

Music that will move your spirit and engage your senses: Rachmaninoff’s Paganini Rhapsody with symphonies by Mendelssohn and Edwards.

Ross Edwards tells how the inspiration for Earth Spirit Songs came while touring with the SSO in Europe, immersed in his classical heritage but far from home. As this symphony for soprano and orchestra took shape he tried to reconcile these two opposites: cultural origins and birthplace. And in his much-loved “dance-chant” style, Edwards combines the spiritual with the visceral. Stephen Hough’s sparkling virtuosity is perfect for the devilish pyrotechnics of Rachmaninoff’s Paganini Rhapsody, nor will you be disappointed when he gets to the achingly beautiful 18th variation (“This one’s for my agent,” said Rachmaninoff). Mendelssohn’s Reformation Symphony returns to the world of the sacred with symbolic quotations of the Dresden Amen and the great Lutheran hymn “A Mighty Fortress”, which makes for a festive and triumphant finale.

Program

EDWARDS - Earth Spirit Songs – Symphony No.2

RACHMANINOFF - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

MENDELSSOHN - Symphony No.5, Reformation

Stephen Hough’s performances are supported by the Berg Family Foundation.

Featured non-Australian music: Rachmaninoff, Mendelssohn

Further information for this event is available online at the event's website or by email to info@sydneysymphony.com

Featured Australian Works

Featured artists

• Performer Celeste Lazarenko
• Performer Sydney Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor Julian Kuerti