Shakespeare uses his sorcerer hero Prospero in The Tempest to make his goodbyes to playwriting and the theatre, saying “but this rough music I here abjure” as he drowns his book of spells “deeper than did ever plummet sound”.

Music and the plays are interlinked and this was the nub of the first of three Symphony Hour concerts curated for Sydney Symphony Orchestra by Umberto Clerici, former Principal Cello turned conductor, in which works by four composers were commingled with readings from the play by Australia’s pre-eminent Shakespearean, John Bell.

John Bell. Photo supplied

Clerici, who was recently appointed Chief Conductor of Queensland Symphony Orchestra, said the two performances, one in the early evening, the other mid-morning, were aimed at capturing city workers and people going on to dinner or a lunch, adding that the programmes would provide “something different”.

Introducing Bell, not only a friend but someone whom he admired, Clerici said the actor, director and “risk-taking impresario” founder of Bell Shakespeare particularly loved the musicality of the Bard, whose works have inspired countless composers both great and small.

This “hour upon the stage” featured two pieces the SSO has never performed...