A highly anticipated “Spirited Away” concert by Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra. ‘Spirited Away’, the animated film from 2001 was directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli and the music scored by Joe Hisaishi. The movie was a landmark in animated cinema with a story about a 10-yr old girl,…

It’s not often you get to hear music written for two pianos – or rarer still, four hands playing the same piano. You need two musicians totally in synch, so deeply connected that they know each other’s every thought and gesture. Lucas and Arthur Jussen literally have that connection in…

When Felix Mendelssohn was writing his Violin Concerto, he told a friend he couldn’t get the music out of his head – and you’ll hear why when Tianyou Ma plays the dramatic and vigorous opening notes. Beethoven’s Leonore Overture No.3 boldly follows, a richly textured piece that tells the story…

It opens with Stravinsky’s Danses Concertantes: music that feels like a witty, abstract ballet, full of twists, playful rhythms and bursts of colour. It’s lean, stylish and packs a punch. Next comes Nielsen’s Flute Concerto, a piece that feels both charming and mischievous. It’s music that sings, sparkles and teases,…

Stravinsky’s airborne neoclassical dances; the soaring flute lines of Nielsen’s concerto; Stanhope’s wind octet, a tribute to space exploration; Beethoven’s first ascent to the symphonic stratosphere: this propulsive program draws together eclectic styles across three centuries under the heartfelt leadership of Maestro Umberto Clerici. Igor Stravinsky’s Dances Concertantes (1941–42), written after…

Previously Director of Music at Trinity College, Cambridge for nearly twenty years, Stephen Layton is one of the world’s most celebrated conductors of English music – especially choral music. In this special open rehearsal, listen as he breathes new life into this exquisite program, which spans 400 years of English…