An Evening with the MSO
Featuring:
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Carlo Antonioli conductor
Program:
Rossini L'italiana in Algeri
Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings
Beethoven Coriolan Overture
Beethoven Symphony No.1
Immerse yourself in an evening of music featuring Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Rossini, performed by the MSO and Cybec Assistant Conductor Carlo Antonioli.
- One of his first great successes, at age 21 Rossini wrote his sparkling overture to his opera The Italian Girl in Algiers. With its hushed pizzicato strings and a lyrical oboe solo, a bright and cheery allegro begins. A master shaper of the orchestra, Rossini has the orchestra prancing to the sound of twittering woodwinds and cymbal crashes. Then that famous theme: first in the oboe, next as a duet between the piccolo and bassoon.
- Whilst Tchaikovsky was composing his nationalistic 1812 Overture, he also wrote one of his finest and most heartfelt pieces, Serenade for Strings. Tchaikovsky confided that “The Overture will be very loud and noisy, but I wrote it without any warm feelings of love and so, it will probably be of no artistic merit. But the Serenade, on the contrary, I wrote from inner compulsion. This is a piece from the heart, and so, I venture to hope that this work is not without artistic qualities.”
- Beethoven’s brief Coriolan Overture was written as incidental music for the play by Heinrich von Collins, after William Shakespeare’s Coriolanus. This overture shows the inner natures of the principal characters and is the most notable remaining aspect of von Collins’ play.
- In his First Symphony, Beethoven dips his toes in the symphonic waters by honouring the music of Haydn with oodles of classical charm and wit. Intentionally off-putting, it starts in the ‘wrong key’ before settling into C major, and a Haydn-esque joke opens the finale – the setup is hesitant and gloomy before the musical punchline transforms it into a light, sparkling thrill.
Available concession: Pension Card, Seniors Card, Carer Card, Health Care Card, Veteran, and Disability.
If you have a Companion Card, experience issues with stairs or require a wheelchair space please contact the Box Office on 03 5018 8330 between 10am - 4pm, daily to book your seats.