Season Overview
The story of the Sydney Symphony is bound to the story of Sydney and its evolution into a great city: cosmopolitan, vibrant and beautiful. The Sydney Symphony was born in 1932, a small ensemble of 24 musicians who played for ABC Radio and made few public appearances. By the middle of the century, the Sydney Symphony was a symbol of Australia’s mature nationhood.
Seventy-six years have seen the Orchestra go from strength to strength under the leadership of brilliant conductors and in collaboration with great artists. The Sydney Symphony has grown into an orchestra of nearly a hundred musicians giving over 200 performances each year to an audience of over 400,000. We’ve been the sound of Sydney for three generations and a leader in Australia’s rich cultural life, igniting and deepening people’s love of symphonic music.
In 2008 the versatile Sydney Symphony performs a wide spectrum of music, from jazz to masterpieces at the heart of the orchestral repertoire.
Sydney Symphony Concert Experience
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Sydney Symphony concerts are usually approximately 2 hours long with one 20 minute interval.
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45 minutes prior to most concerts a free talk about the music is given in the Northern Foyer.
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Concert programs are free and are available in the foyer at the concert or available online at
sydneysymphony.com
Artists
Gianluigi Gelmetti – Chief Conductor and Artistic Director
Gianluigi Gelmetti studied with Sergiu Celibidache, Franco Ferrara and Hans Swarowsky. For ten years he conducted the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra; he has conducted many of the leading orchestras in the world and appears regularly at international festivals. Highlights of past seasons include engagements in France, Germany, Great Britain, America, Australia, Japan, Switzerland and Italy, where he conducted Mascagni’s Iris and Respighi’s La fiamma at the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome – he has been the Opera’s Music Director since April 2000 – and William Tell at the Rossini Opera Festival. In 1999 he was awarded the Rossini d’Oro Prize. Gianluigi Gelmetti has also worked regularly at the Royal Opera House,Covent Garden.
His interpretation of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro earned him the title Best Conductor of the Year from the German magazine Opernwelt, and in 1997 he won the Tokyo critics’ prize for the best performance of the year of Beethoven’s Symphony No.9. He has been honoured as Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France and Grande Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana in Italy.
Gianluigi Gelmetti’s recording catalogue includes operas by Salieri, Rossini, Puccini and Mozart, the complete orchestral music of Ravel, the late symphonies of Mozart and works by many 20th-century composers, including Stravinsky, Berg, Webern, Varèse and Rota. Among his latest recordings are William Tell, Iris, La fiamma, Bruckner’s Symphony No.6 and Rossini’s Stabat mater.
Gianluigi Gelmetti is also a composer; his recent works include In Paradisum Deducant Te Angeli, written to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Franco Ferrara’s death, Algos, and Prasanta Atma, in memory of Sergiu Celibidache.
Company Overview
Founded in 1932, the Sydney Symphony has evolved into one of the world’s finest orchestras as Sydney has become one of the world’s great cities. The Sydney Symphony gives more than 100 performances each year at Sydney Opera House. International tours to Europe, Asia and the USA have earned the Orchestra world-wide recognition for artistic excellence.
Critical to the success of the Sydney Symphony has been the leadership given by its former Chief Conductors including Sir Eugene Goossens, Dean Dixon, Louis Frémaux, Sir Charles Mackerras, Stuart Challender and Edo de Waart. Also contributing to the outstanding success of the Orchestra have been collaborations with legendary figures such as George Szell, Sir Thomas Beecham, Otto Klemperer and Igor Stravinsky.
Maestro Gianluigi Gelmetti is now in his fourth year as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director, a position he holds in tandem with that of Music Director at the Rome Opera.
The Sydney Symphony’s award-winning Education Program is central to the Orchestra’s commitment to the future of live symphonic music, developing audiences and engaging the participation of young people. The Sydney Symphony maintains an active commissioning program promoting the work of Australian composers and in 2005 Liza Lim was appointed Composer-in-Residence for three years.
In 2007, the Orchestra celebrates its 75th anniversary and the milestone achievements during its distinguished history.
Chief Conductor/Artistic Director: Gianluigi Gelmetti
Managing Director: Libby Christie
Tel:
+61 2 8215 4600
Fax:
+61 2 8215 4660
Email:
info@sydneysymphony.com
www.sydneysymphony.com