6 magical concerts from the Sydney Symphony Orchestra that you have to experience this winter

Internationally-acclaimed Spanish pianist Javier Perianes is with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra on a multi-year project dedicated to performing Beethoven’s piano concertos, but he’ll be changing gears for four special performances of French composer Camille Saint-Saëns’ uber-colourful Egyptian-esque ‘Piano Concerto No.5’. Perianes takes audiences on a fascinating voyage through exotic landscapes, drawing upon the sounds of Nubian folk song. Plus, audiences can also look forward to Shostakovich’s ‘Fifteenth Symphony’, his final and storyful farewell, together with one of the most famous openings in classical music – Rossini’s thrilling ‘William Tell Overture’, which will have you on the edge of your seat.

July 30 – August 2. Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House. Find tickets & info here.

Mozart and Beethoven are two of the world’s most famous classical composers, but this concert shines a light on some hidden gems from their catalogue. You’ll hear Mozart’s ‘Violin Concerto No.5’ and Beethoven’s ‘Symphony No.4 ’, plus Prokofiev’s ‘Classical Symphony’, which takes great inspiration from Mozart. Acclaimed young conductor Dmitry Matvienko leads the charge, joined by distinguished violin soloist Akiko Suwanai.

August 29 – 30. Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House. Find tickets & info here.

There’s nothing quite like witnessing a great composer’s work come to life through the expertise of a conductor who has lived and breathed their work for 30 years. Chief Conductor Simone Young is recognised as one of the world’s leading interpreters of Richard Strauss’ music, and she leads this jaw-dropping celebration of his timeless music – from the work he is best-known for today, ‘Thus Spoke Zarathustra’  (made famous by 2001: A Space Odyssey and the Barbie movie), all the way through to one of his later masterpieces in the likes of ‘Metamorphosen’,  an ode to the losses of WWII.

September 3 – 6. Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House. Find tickets & info here.

This will be a performance of dramatic proportions. Sir Donald Runnicles is the Orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor, Canadian virtuoso Marc-André Hamelin is on the keys, and the whole program is star-studded. Shostakovich’s ‘Symphony No. 5 ’ is a tense realisation of his denunciation by Stalin, and it will be backed up by Beethoven’s heroic ‘Piano Concerto No. 4’ and Anna Clyne’s poetic ‘This Midnight Hour’. 

September 12 – 14. Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House. Find tickets & info here.

Catch Principal Guest Conductor Sir Donald Runnicles in Sydney while you can, as he brings his tremendous experience and insights to the music of Sibelius and Wagner. Runnicles is joined by two-time Grammy-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, who makes her Sydney Symphony Orchestra debut. The oceanic program takes audiences on a journey across waters with Wagner’s ‘Overture from The Flying Dutchman’, Elgar’s ‘Sea Pictures’ and Sibelius’ ‘Symphony No. 2’.

September 18 – 20. Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House. Find tickets & info here.

Joyous, brilliant, intense and emotional – this is how Chief Conductor Simone Young describes this upcoming concert celebrating the Romantic composers. The twelve trumpets opening Janáček’s ‘Sinfonietta’ will leave a long lasting impression on audiences; young cello virtuoso Kian Soltani (signed to classical music label Deutsche Grammophon) shines in Dvořák’s renowned ‘Cello Concerto’; and the program is rounded out with Mussorgsky's vivid and dramatic ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’. 

October 31 – November 2. Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House. Find tickets & info here.