What's on

At the heart of the Requiem Mass is a prayer – the Lux Aeterna – that suggests a journey from shadows into eternal light. It is an image of great comfort and one which has inspired profound music from many great masters. This concert celebrates the music of the great French composer Maurice Duruflé and his fellow Parisian, Olivier Messiaen. It
also explores more recent responses to the Requiem texts by Hungarian and Australian composers, György Ligeti, Peter Sculthorpe and Sydney Chamber Choir’s own musical director and composer, Paul Stanhope. The glorious organ of St Finbar’s Catholic Church in Glenbrook is also featured in this program, with guest artist Amy Johansen, providing the
lyrical accompaniment to the Duruflé Requiem which is, in many ways, a true successor to the much loved Requiem by Fauré.

This is a rare opportunity to hear two of Australia’s most celebrated and popular classical stars come together in a
unique duo collaboration.

Slava Grigoryan is a double ARIA-winning legend of the guitar world. He has released six solo and countless ensemble recordings and plays with symphony orchestras and in concert around the world. Simon Tedeschi is a chameleon of the piano world. He plays concertos and gives recitals in America, Europe and Asia and frequently appears on national television.

Slava and Simon will thrill you with the rare combination of classical guitar and piano in works by Gershwin, Rachmaninov and an Australian piece especially commissioned by the artists.

Every four years there is a peak of excitement when the Sydney International Piano Competition is held. All over Australia there are people with their radios continuously tuned to ABCFM – everyone can hear the contributions by outstanding emerging artists from all around the world. Established in 1977, it is recognised as one of the world’s principal piano competitions.

By arrangement with Professor Warren Thomson, we will have the pleasure of hearing a recital by the People’s Choice Winner.

Seize the opportunity to be part of the exhilaration of the festive celebration of piano performance at its zenith.

Every four years there is a peak of excitement when the Sydney International Piano Competition is held. All over Australia there are people with their radios continuously tuned to ABCFM – everyone can hear the contributions by outstanding emerging artists from all around the world. Established in 1977, it is recognised as one of the world’s principal piano competitions.

By arrangement with Professor Warren Thomson, we will have the pleasure of hearing a recital by the First Prize Winner.

Seize the opportunity to be part of the exhilaration of the festive celebration of piano performance at its zenith.

The Jacono-Martin Duo presents exciting programmes that provide for a wide range of musical palates, from the diehard classical afficionado to the adventurous explorer of new frontiers. Each recital includes a mainstream sonata or similar rich offering from a master, and some well-known and loved shorter items. Then it’s off on a tangent to ragtime, jazz or other territory.

At least one Aussie piece is proudly presented by Vika and John, often to demonstrate that we from Down Under are just as capable of writing rags, tangos or jazz-style as those from elsewhere.

Formed for a tour of the Dampier Peninsula in 2007 and originally known as Windstrokes, Overlander brings together four of Australia’s leading musicians in a unique union - the funky rumbles of didgeridoo super star William Barton, the dulcet tones of singer/songwriter Mel Robinson, the boundless charm and wit of composer/performer extraordinaire Iain Grandage and the voluptuous strength and energy of percussion soloist Claire Edwardes.

The all-Australian program features works composed and arranged exclusively by members of the group as well as Sculthorpe’s classic, Djilile and brand new works by Kats-Chernin and Brophy. Each composer has a different take on the Australian topographical and musical landscapes and together their works combine to form a rich tapestry of
sonic colours reflecting the sienna soil of the red centre, the sweeping bush of the Blue Mountains and the thrashing waves of the west coast of Australia.

Based in the Netherlands, OSMOSIS is an exciting new ensemble consisting of five musicians of international standing who share a love of early wind instruments and their repertoire.

OSMOSIS brings you a revelation in sound. Alongside the repertoire for wind quintets, OSMOSIS performs chamber repertoire for winds and strings of the early romantic period on historical instruments. To hear this repertoire for the first time on these instruments is to encounter a world of colours that has since vanished. This program is a celebration of the soundscapes that Danzi, Mengal, Beethoven, and Reicha exploited; indescribably rich, ever-changing, breathtaking, and transient music performed by one of the world’s foremost woodwind ensembles.

Formed in 2008 from three of Australia’s leading young musicians, the Streeton Trio is based in Geneva, Switzerland. Named after the Australian Impressionist painter, Sir Arthur Streeton, it is one of the ensemble-in-residence of the prestigious European Chamber Music Academy and has benefited from tutorials with world-renowned musicians.

The trio has received great acclaim for its recent performances in Australia, Holland, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria and the UK.

Winner of the 2011 Sydney Eisteddfod Musica Viva Chamber Music Award, the Streeton Trio has been selected for several prestigious competitions and festivals, including the 2011 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition (one of 8 trios selected worldwide) and the 2011 Trondheim
International Chamber Music Competition (one of 9 trios selected worldwide).

The Australian String Quartet opens its program with a work by the doyen of Australian composers, Peter Sculthorpe, inspired by the starkly beautiful landscape of Kakadu and its inhabitants. From Australia’s unique interior to the sunlit uplands of old Bohemia: few composers wrote music in all genres which radiated such spontaneous warmth and charm as Antonin Dvořák. Even by his exalted standards, the Op. 51 String Quartet is full of gorgeous melodies where exuberance is masterfully fused with poignant tenderness.

The program culminates with one of Dmitri Shostakovich’s towering chamber masterpieces: the Piano Quintet, Op. 57, composed during the fateful year 1940 and described as “a last ray of hope” for Russia. It is a work of grand symphonic proportions combining the composer’s hallmark skittish humour and austere dignity with an underlying tension.

Chamber Music has been likened to a conversation between friends. This concert will be more like a dinner party featuring a rich degustation menu!

Five of the Sydney Omega Ensemble's eleven young musicians, all with well-established careers, will be joined by the well-known pianist, Gerard Willems, to perform a program of European classics infused with a uniquely Australian flavour.

The concert will include a cheese and wine reception at 5 pm and will start at 6 pm.