Sydney Symphony Orchestra Launches Symphony Hour With The Rite Of Spring

Finnish conductor Pietari Inkinen will make his debut with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, performing Stravinsky’s revolutionary work The Rite of Spring in the new Symphony Hour series.

Currently Chief Conductor of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbruecken and the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Inkinen has previously conducted Wagner’s Ring Cycle in Melbourne for Opera Australia.

“Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring is a ground-breaking piece in music history and remains a vital, compelling, shocking, ravishing, and earth shattering piece even today, more than 100 years since its dramatic premiere. It is an ideal work to witness live for a seasoned concert-goer or for a first-time experience.”

The Sydney Symphony Orchestra gave the Australian premiere of The Rite of Spring in 1946, conducted by its first Chief Conductor Eugene Goossens, at the Sydney Town Hall – the same venue in which the orchestra will be performing it, more than 70 years later. Premiering in Paris in 1913, The Rite of Spring reportedly caused audiences to riot and has gone down as one of the most notorious nights in classical music history.

Beginning with an eerie bassoon solo, the work is based on prehistoric tribal rites. The heady mix of primeval choreography and earth-shaking music was too much for the Parisian ballet audience who rioted and cat-called, closing the show, catapulting Stravinsky to international celebrity and cementing The Rite of Spring as one of the most influential pieces of music in the 20th century.

A specialist in Wagnerian works, audiences will also have the opportunity to hear Inkinen lead the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as they perform Die Meistersinger – Prelude, which is also in the program.

The Rite of Spring program is the first in the orchestra’s new Symphony Hour series, comprising 1-hour programs starting at 7.00pm, offering audiences the opportunity to hear key works of the symphonic repertoire with the world’s leading artists right in the heart of Sydney. Together with craft beer brewers Young Henrys, audiences will enjoy a free beer or cider at each of the Symphony Hour programs throughout the year.

Other programs in the Symphony Hour series include Scheherazade (11-13 March) conducted by Alexander Shelley, Shostakovich’s Symphony No.5 (22-23 April) conducted by Australian-born Alexander Briger, and Brahms’ Symphony No.4 (9-10 September) with incoming Sydney Symphony Orchestra Chief Conductor Simone Young.

Program includes: WAGNER Die Meistersinger – Prelude /STRAVINSKY The Rite of Spring

Pietari Inkinen conductor

Tickets from $35, concessions available or call (02) 8215 4600.