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Melbourne Symphony Orchestra: Daniil Trifonov plays Rachmaninov – Classic Melbourne
Thursday night’s program opened with Dvořák’s Symphony No 2 (1865, revised 1887), a work that received only one performance during the composer’s lifetime. Indeed this was the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s first performance of this little-played work. At fifty+ minutes in length, it would normally sit more comfortably in the second half of a concert program. ...
Ting Lo Music: Dr Daniel Nistico Classical Guitar Recital – Classic Melbourne
Daniel Nistico is a most admired and highly accomplished classical guitarist who is deeply immersed in the performance of 18th and 19th century music, specialising in refreshingly new interpretations, and bringing much originality to both re-shaped classics and new repertoire. After living and studying in the USA for some time, he has returned to Australia, giving his...
Matthias Goerne sings Winterreise with Daniil Trifonov – Classic Melbourne
There is little doubt that if you need a Rachmaninov or Tchaikovksy concerto these days, near the top of anyone’s list would be Daniil Trifonov. But for Schubert Lieder? Pianists who spend their days full time in the world of song bristle at the notion of titanic soloists pairing with a celebrity singer to present...
The Australian Boys Choir: Bach’s St Mark Passion – Classic Melbourne
Melbourne audiences were treated to a new reconstruction of a lost Passion by J.S. Bach in a performance of his St. Mark Passion (1744) at Wesley Uniting Church in Naarm/Melbourne during the autumnal Lenten season. This poignant performance featured the combined forces of The Australian Boys Choral Institute (ABCI), Genesis Baroque and guest soloists under...
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Chorus: Coronation Anthems – Classic Melbourne
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Chorus was the feature of Saturday afternoon's concert, "Coronation Anthems", at Hamer Hall. This revealing performance demonstrated the continuing tradition of British massed-choral singing embedded in the DNA of Australia’s choral sound. The chorus was accompanied by a selection of players and sessional musicians of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and conducted...
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra – Seasons: Vivaldi and more – Classic Melbourne
The Seasons Project is one of the more innovative programs offered by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra this year. Here was an engaging and enthralling project that drew a huge crowd with many young people to a highly colourful, creative and star-studded performance. With an innovative choice of works presented in two “halves”, a most artistically...
Freiburg Baroque Orchestra with Siobhan Stagg – Classic Melbourne
For the second Melbourne Recital Centre Signature Event, the presence of Siobhan Stagg with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and fortepiano virtuoso Kristian Bezuidenhout added to the glamour and excitement that had begun the previous evening. For some, it might seem a little strange that a chamber orchestra with Baroque in its title should have chosen...
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra: The Heart of the Violin – James Ehnes – Classic Melbourne
2024 might have been the unofficial “Year of the Violin” but this week at the Melbourne Recital Centre certainly felt like the “Week of the Violin”. Last Saturday night, we heard a riveting recital by Jack Liebeck and Kristian Chong, which included a work by Paul Dean that revealed Liebeck’s nuanced command of colour. Tuesday...
Kristian Chong and Friends: Jack Liebeck and Kristian Chong – Classic Melbourne
Kristian Chong has been described as being “known for his thoughtful pianism and collaborative excellence”, which summed up the beginning of his 12th season of chamber music recitals performed in the Primrose Potter Salon. With a friendship formed from earlier days at London’s Royal Academy of Music, tonight’s artists have achieved wide international success and popularity,...
Melbourne Opera: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg – Classic Melbourne
Melbourne Opera has done it again. Undaunted by the challenges of groundbreaking innovation – in this case, the first fully staged opera at the Royal Exhibition Building – the grandeur of Melbourne’s only UNESCO World Heritage-listed site has become the setting for the grandeur of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Created within a decade of each other,...
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra: 2025 Ryman Healthcare Season Opening Gala – Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony – Classic Melbourne
They say you should save the best for last, and in the case of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, this wisdom is built into the music itself. Across five movements of mounting intensity, the composer holds back his grandest revelation until the very end, when voices emerge from the depths of silence, ushering in a...
Brunswick Beethoven Festival Concert 5: Sophia Kirsanova and Berta Brozgul – Classic Melbourne
With a feast of nine fine chamber music concerts in this year’s Brunswick Festival, it was a wise move to divide the events into a 2-Part schedule with four concerts in the first week, a week’s break while other musical events were demanding our attention, and then a return for Part 2. Concert 5 featured...
The Australian Ballet: Carmen – Classic Melbourne
Carmen will seduce you with its eroticism and charged dance performances in this reimagined version of Georges Bizet’s 1875 opera turned ballet. Swedish choreographer Johan Inger’s multifaceted production is a reflection of creative genius and succeeds in all directions. Carmen culminates with a highly stylized set and lighting design to support a modern setting for the classic narrative. ...
La Compañia: Baroque Echoes – Classic Melbourne
Considering the huge number of classical music performances on offer in Melbourne on Saturday night, the fact that La Compañia attracted such a sizeable audience to the Melbourne Recital Centre’s Elisabeth Murdoch Hall for a one hour concert indicates the popularity of this local ensemble specialising in Renaissance and early Baroque music. Choice of repertoire,...
The Australian Ballet: Nijinsky – Classic Melbourne
John Neumeier's full-length ballet Nijinsky is a masterfully crafted and evocative experience. Neumeier’s concepts for set, costume and lighting are realised with stunning effect. His in-depth research on original choreography, period costumes and design elements blend fantasy and reality in a work brimming with historical references, emotion, complexity and detail. Although this work stands on its own,...
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra: Symphonic Showcase plus Melbourne Youth Orchestra – Classic Melbourne
"What a difference a week can make”, remarked Benjamin Northey, Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor – Learning and Engagement of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and conductor of the final concert in this year’s MSO series at the Sydney Myer Music. Ever fickle, Melbourne’s weather for last Saturday’s concert was 8 degrees on stage; this Saturday it was...
Brunswick Beethoven Festival Concert 6: Firebird Trio – Classic Melbourne
The Brunswick Uniting Church was the perfect venue for the sixth concert in this year’s Brunswick Beethoven Festival, an evening of chamber music featuring Melbourne’s own Firebird Trio, with Benjamin Martin (piano), Curt Thompson (violin) and Josephine Vains (cello). The Trio, aptly introduced by Festival Director Mark Higginbotham as “a cracker of a trio”, played...
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra: Joined with Gold – Classic Melbourne
Given that 2025 marks the 150th anniversary of Ravel’s birth, an important inclusion in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s “Joined with Gold” program was La Valse. Composed in 1919-20, Ravel hoped that he might tempt Sergei Diaghilev to renew the collaboration – and success – the pair had enjoyed with Daphnis and Chloe some ten years earlier. That was not to...
Melbourne Chamber Orchestra: Daybreak – Classic Melbourne
There is never any doubt about the exciting connection between Melbourne Chamber Orchestra performances and their audiences, where camaraderie, love for playing excellent chamber music and sharing the highest levels of artistry and instrumental skill is their trademark. MCO’s Artistic Director, Sophie Rowell, welcomed us to “the first sounds of the 2025 season” highlighting the repertoire choice...