WASO Concertmaster Laurence Jackson begins the 2026 season with Mozart’s radiant Violin Concerto No. 4, composed in 1775 at the age of 19. Highlighting both the composer’s youthful inventiveness and early maturity, it is one of only five violin concertos he wrote, all created in a remarkably short period of time. Its lively ‘military’ Allegro, lyrical Andante cantabile and charming Rondeau trace his early mastery of concerto form at the dawn of his Salzburg years. It is paired with Mahler’s reorchestration of Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 11, Serioso; Dvořák’s Nocturne in B; and Haydn’s Symphony No. 102.

Limelight Editor’s Choice

WASO’s Concertmaster Laurence Jackson takes centre stage in a concert celebrating classical music at its finest. Jackson brings elegance and brilliance to Mozart’s radiant Fourth Violin Concerto, a work of youthful brilliance and lyrical charm, before leading us through Mahler’s rich reorchestration of Beethoven’s stormy String Quartet. Dvořák’s serene Nocturne offers a moment of hushed beauty, and to close, Haydn’s Symphony No.102, one of his grandest and most inventive works, bursts with wit, energy and symphonic mastery.