Classical

Virtuoso violinist and living legend Nigel Kennedy, returns to Australia this January to perform works of his much loved Johann Sebastian Bach and George Gershwin, including the immortal Summertime, Porgy and Bess and Rhapsody in Blue, as well as Kennedy’s own composition The Magician of Lublin. N...

Gershwin’s “An American in Paris” is well-known for its depiction of the sights and energy of Paris in the 1920’s. This performance will feature the work in its original setting, rarely heard worldwide since 1942. Tippett’s deeply moving “Five Spirituals” draw on the rich culture of Af...

Following the success of the inaugural Favourites concert we open our 2019 season with a new celebration of talented West Australian musicians. This year we have invited Paul O’Neill, James Clayton and Shuan Hern Lee to perform their favourite works in a concert bursting with classical hits. W...

Richard Tognetti opens ACO’s 2019 Season with a program that will reach celestial heights. The famed Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir joins them in a celebration of Bach and Arvo Pärt. Ethereal and otherworldly, this is music by two towering composers searching for the very core of human meani...

Renowned British cellist Natalie Clein plays with a unique combination of passion and delicacy. It’s as though the cello becomes her voice, and she is simply telling us a story through music and emotion.  Boasting the well-travelled resume of a world-class musician, she has forged a distinguished...

Few ballet scores are as beloved as Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker. Journey with Asher Fisch to the land of the Sugar Plum Fairy and hear all of your Nutcracker favourites including the fiery Trepak, Waltz of the Flowers and of course the dancing Fairies themselves! The series begins with Res...

Respighi’s Pines of Rome is a stunning symphonic panorama of the landscapes of the Eternal City. Featuring an orchestra of nearly 100 musicians, this vivid orchestral showpiece is one of the most spectacular displays of orchestral colour ever composed. Few ballet scores are as beloved as T...

In his WASO debut Jaime Martín conducts an all-Russian concert bursting with colour, imagination and devilish flair.Rachmaninov’s show-stopping Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini is a concerto in all but name, its variations on Paganini’s Caprice No.24 full of scintillating and inventive de...

Formed by the principal string players of the multi ARIA Award-winning Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, the Brandenburg Quartet has become Australia’s most imaginative period instrument ensemble. Drawn from across the country, and performing exclusively on gut strings, the group explores little...

Johann Sebastian Bach's St Matthew Passion was first heard on Good Friday, 1727. Almost three centuries later this musical masterpiece stands as one of the pillars of Western sacred music. Monumental yet deeply affecting, powerful yet intimate and personal, this performance will have you at the...

English conductor Mark Wigglesworth has an enviable reputation as a musician of immense artistic integrity and is renowned for his masterly interpretations. His commanding control and passionate insight will bring Elgar’s dramatic First Symphony to life, a work that was instantly hailed...

Andreas Ottensamer has held the coveted position of Principal Clarinet of the Berlin Philharmonic since 2011. Through his orchestral work, concerto, recital and chamber music performances, he is now one of the most in-demand clarinettists on the planet. He brings his sensitive artistry and l...

Renowned pianist Mark Coughlan will officially launch the hand-crafted Fazioli piano, generously gifted to St George's Cathedral, with pieces that show off its mellow singing quality and luxuriant sound. This event is held at St George's Cathedral. St George's Concert Series 2019 TICKETING INFO 3-...

Branford Marsalis is an artist deeply aligned with the ACO spirit. He hails from a rich Jazz heritage, but is also an artist of today, renowned for his thrilling virtuosity and boundless musicality. His ACO debut is a vivid program inspired by Latin American jazz, directed by ACO Principal Violin Sa...

Playing one piano with four hands – but a unified artistic mind – is about the most intimate form of chamber music there is.  Eva-Maria Zimmermann and Keisuke Nakagoshi are ZOFO; a ‘20-Finger Orchestra’ who for a decade now, have electrified audiences with their dazzling artistry and outsid...

Prompted by his exile from Russia and composed as he grappled with history and faith, Rachmaninov’s gorgeous Second Symphony is a work bursting with seductive melodies of heart-wrenching passion and beauty. Australian conductor Nicholas Carter, Principal Conductor of the Adelaide Symph...

Prompted by his exile from Russia and composed as he grappled with history and faith, Rachmaninov’s gorgeous Second Symphony is a work bursting with seductive melodies of heart-wrenching passion and beauty. Australian conductor Nicholas Carter, Principal Conductor of the Adelaide Symphony ...

Founded in 1998, the Doric String Quartet has firmly established itself as the leading British string quartet of its generation, receiving enthusiastic responses from audiences and critics across the globe. Whether tackling the delicate nuances of earlier composers, or embracing the dramatic gesture...

Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto is one of his finest creations, combining sublime lyricism, yearning Russian wistfulness and thrilling virtuosity. To perform this perennially popular masterpiece we welcome back to Perth the great Russian violinist Vadim Gluzman, whose recording of the Concer...

Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto is one of his finest creations, combining sublime lyricism, yearning Russian wistfulness and thrilling virtuosity. To perform this perennially popular masterpiece we welcome back to Perth the great Russian violinist Vadim Gluzman, whose recording of the Concer...

Lauded for his deeply informed and intelligent musicianship, Russian conductor Dima Slobodeniouk makes his WASO debut with Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony. This irresistible work explores the agonies and ecstasies of fate, journeying from a bleak funeral march to a powerful conclusion. We...

Lauded for his deeply informed and intelligent musicianship, Russian conductor Dima Slobodeniouk makes his WASO debut with Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony. This irresistible work explores the agonies and ecstasies of fate, journeying from a bleak funeral march to a powerful conclusion. Hailed ...

Bring your best voice and party spirit as we raise the roof at the Perth Concert Hall with a grand ‘Hurrah’ of flag-waving favourites. Join conductor Guy Noble and mezzo soprano Jacqueline Dark as they whip up the greatest musical party on the planet, complete with all of your favourite Brit...

Founded in the fifteenth century, the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge is arguably the world’s most famous choir and the pre-eminent representative of the British church music tradition. Their distinctively pure tone has been honed over centuries in the vaulted stone arches of the College Chap...

In the summer of 1941, when Shostakovich played the first two movements of his Seventh Symphony to friends, German forces besieged Leningrad. In an extraordinary work that echoes the sounds of war, and explores heroism and humanity at its core, WASO is joined on stage by some of Australia’s m...

Spanish pianist Javier Perianes returns to WASO following his acclaimed 2016 debut. Described as “a pianist of impeccable and refined taste”, his poetic sensibility makes him the perfect pianist for Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto.In 2016 Simone Young brought us a superb interpretatio...

Ben Sheen is Associate Organist and Assistant Director of Music at St Thomas Fifth Avenue, and winner of the prestigious Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition. This event is held at St George's Cathedral. St George's Concert Series 2019 TICKETING INFO 3-Concert Package Purchase tickets ...

Nikolaj Znaider is one of the most sought-after violinists in the world. He returns to WASO to perform Elgar’s Violin Concerto on the same extraordinary instrument - the 1741 Guarnerius del Gesù – that the great Fritz Kreisler used for the Concerto’s premiere over a century ago.Asher F...

In an unmissable trading of places WASO Principal Conductor Asher Fisch and Danish violinist Nikolaj Znaider switch roles as Maestro and soloist! Schumann’s rapturous Piano Concerto is the perfect vehicle for Asher Fisch’s boundless musical passion.  Nikolaj Znaider then leads the Orc...

In an unmissable trading of places WASO Principal Conductor Asher Fisch and Danish violinist Nikolaj Znaider switch roles as Maestro and soloist! One of the world’s finest violinists, Nikolaj Znaider is now also a much sought-after conductor, while WASO's very own Maestro, Asher Fisch, is a...

Perhaps the most celebrated string quartet ever to emerge from the USA, the Emerson String Quartet is making its first Australian tour in over 19 years. Founded in 1976 and with only one personnel change in all that time, the ensemble has stacked up more than 30 recordings and countless awards. With...

Inspired by unrequited romantic love, Berlioz’s radical masterpiece Symphonie fantastique is full of passions, dreams and phantoms – a lovesick musician’s hallucinatory fantasies. Revolutionary at its premiere in 1830, it remains breathtaking nearly 200 years later. Fabien Gabel, one...

Two dream-filled French works frame a world premiere conducted by one of the stars of the new generation, Fabien Gabel. Inspired by unrequited romantic love, Berlioz’s radical masterpiece Symphonie fantastique is full of passions, dreams and phantoms – a lovesick musician’s hallucinator...

Inspired by the ideals of the French revolution and the German Enlightenment, Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony is also a deeply personal statement. This exhilarating and ground-breaking work is a triumph of artistic will over tragic adversity. Vaughan Williams drew inspiration from the musical g...

Early music has rarely sounded as chic or brilliant! The four musicians of French ensemble Nevermind – combining flute, violin, viola da gamba and harpsichord – met and founded their group while they were students in Paris. A breath of fresh air in today’s classical music scene, they are rewri...

Bach holds a special place in the heart of every ACO musician. In this program they explore his genius with an impressive line-up featuring Richard Tognetti, Erin Helyard, Brett Dean and ACO Principal Cello, Timo-Veikko Valve. Richard Tognetti’s solo violin opens the program. Its pure, captivating...

A new classical supergroup of four leading European soloists, the Skride Piano Quartet is sweeping through the northern hemisphere like a breath of fresh air – and is now bringing its dazzling energy to Australia. Sisters, soloists and regular duo partners, Baiba and Lauma Skride sought out two of...

To hear Perth Concert Hall’s 3000-pipe organ in all its glory is an experience in itself; to hear it in the exhilarating finale of Saint-Saëns’ grandly romantic Third Symphony is completely unforgettable! This spectacular and richly melodic work is brought to life by the exciting young ...

Asher Fisch conducts works originally conceived for keyboard that were transformed by great composers into the orchestral masterpieces we know and love. Be blown away by Stokowski’s spectacular, “Hollywood” version of Bach’s famous Toccata and see how Ravel transformed the raw in...

Since his first appearance with WASO in 1999, Asher Fisch has forged a powerful connection with the Orchestra. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of his debut we go back to where it all began as Asher conducts Verdi’s transcendent and monumental Requiem.Operatic in its earth-shaking intensit...