2026 Concerts

JENNY BOUNDS YOUNG COMPOSER PRIZE

PROKOFIEV Violin Concerto No. 1

TCHAIKOVSKY Swan Lake Suite

Paul Terracini Conductor

Maggie Zeng Violin

Dancing between yearning romanticism and neoclassical vigour, Prokofiev’s first violin concerto evokes an age of artistic transformation, the music as beautiful as it is idiosyncratic.

A timeless classic, Swan Lake conjures fairy-tale magic and drama through Tchaikovsky’s whimsically colourful writing for the orchestra.

Hisaishi Studio Ghibli Medley

Williams Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Bernstein The Great Escape

Williams Jaws

Jarre Lawrence of Arabia

Moross A Big Country

Williams E.T.

Rota The Godfather

Paul Terracini conductor

An assortment of scores from the legendary Joe Hisaishi forms the first part of a cinematic epic, followed by a selection of Hollywood classics.

Memorable themes from some of John Williams greatest contributions are highlighted, with music from Jaws, E.T., and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The instantly recognisable Lawrence of Arabia makes an appearance, as does the hauntingly memorable Nino Rota score from The Godfather.

There really is something for everyone and more besides, in a tremendous afternoon of music from the screen.

BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto 

SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No.1

Paul Terracini Conductor

Aiko Goto Violin

A sublimely lyrical masterpiece, Beethoven’s only violin concerto premiered in 1806 before fading into relative obscurity. It took a performance nearly forty years later in 1844 by none other than the then twelve-year-old Joseph Joachim to popularise the work, propelling it into the standard repertoire as we know it today.

Australian Chamber Orchestra violinist Aiko Goto is soloist in this symphonically scaled and expressive work.

Wavering between wild energy, humour and haunting desolation, Shostakovich’s first symphony was both ultimate graduation piece and proclamation of his arrival as a composer. Completed in 1925 at the age of just eighteen, the musical language is already strikingly distinct and instantly recognisable as the composers own.

Perhaps influenced by his work as a cinema pianist, the montage style of writing surprises with constant juxtaposition, twists and turns.

WAGNER The Flying Dutchman Overture

WAGNER Lohengrin Prelude to Act III

LISZT Totentanz

WAGNER Rienzi Overture

SAINT-SAËNS Danse Macabre

GRIEG Peer Gynt Suite

Paul Terracini conductor

Vatche Jambazian piano

Acclaimed Australian pianist Vatche Jambazian appears as soloist in Liszt’s Totentanz. The concept underpinning the ‘danse macabre’ captured imaginations since the Middle-Ages, with artists frequently exploring and revisiting the genre. Liszt’s contribution to the form unleashes both piano and orchestra with apocalyptic force in a bravura showpiece.

The innovative and gripping music of Wagner also features, with a series of highlights from his operatic works, before an audience favourite from Saint-Saens. Grieg’s much-loved Peer Gynt rounds out this dramatic and vivid program.