Love letters, journeys and friendship…

This concert begins with single, pulsing note – brilliant and compelling – that surges into a ‘love letter to train journeys’ from Alice Chance, one of Australia’s top young composers. The journey is the destination as the gorgeous colours and irresistible rhythms of her music sweep through an imaginary landscape.

The musical love letter continues in Prokofiev’s ‘symphony-like’ cello concerto, written for his friend Rostropovich. It begins in the sound world of Romeo and Juliet and builds with dreamlike lyricism to its breathtaking, virtuoso conclusion. New-generation cellist James Morley returns home to make his CSO debut.

Then there’s the affectionate portrait of friendship in the Enigma Variations. Elgar is still teasing listeners from beyond the grave with his mystery ‘enigma’ theme, but the true heart of the music is no mystery at all. Each variation is dedicated to a friend, capturing quirks and personalities in musical beauties such as ‘Nimrod’. Of all the musical masterpieces that fill the orchestral repertoire, the Enigma Variations is easily the most generous and uplifting.