Skip to main content
A 50-year old man plays violin next to another male violinist and a female violinist.

Tognetti. Mendelssohn. Bach.

22 September 2024

In the Concert Hall

Australian Chamber Orchestra

Classical Music

Sparks fly and melodies soar when Richard Tognetti directs music close to the ACO’s heart.

Useful information:

Tognetti. Mendelssohn. Bach.

Mendelssohn’s music is pure pleasure. One of the great prodigies, he wrote his sunny Octet at just 16 years of age. It’s one of the most loved pieces of chamber music ever written and a favourite of the ACO. In their hands, its youthful exuberance just about leaps off the stage.

Moving from one young genius to another: the ACO presents a new commission from trailblazing young composer Jakub Jankowski in his first work for string orchestra. Hailing from Adelaide, he’s a fresh voice in classical music. Opening the program, Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s pulsating octet Illumine makes a striking contrast with the Mendelssohn.

If Mendelssohn is pleasure, then Bach is worship.

Bach sought God in his music and became like a god for musicians, a touchstone to which all other music is compared. His music is filled with drama, joy and remarkable discipline. Hearing it, playing it, is an act of worship.

That is an altar to which Richard Tognetti will return to again and again. His recordings of Bach’s violin music won three successive ARIA Awards. Live, his interpretation of the great Violin Concerto in A minor is a powerful experience: intimate and electrifying.

Like all the best performances, this concert will remind you of why you love music.

Presented by the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

A 50-year old man plays violin next to another male violinist and a female violinist.

Program

ANNA THORVALDSDOTTIR Illumine
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Violin Concerto in A minor
JAKUB JANKOWSKI New Commission (World Premiere)*
FELIX MENDELSSOHN Octet

*Commissioned by the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Artists

Richard Tognetti
Director & Violin

Australian Chamber Orchestra

Plan your visit

You may also like

Hania Rani

25 Feb 2025

Blurring the lines between ambient, classical and house, acclaimed Polish pianist and composer Hania Rani makes her Sydney Opera House debut for one night only.

  • Contemporary Music
  • Classical Music

Nils Frahm

5 & 7 Mar 2025

Returning for his first shows in three years, Sydney Opera House favorite Nils Frahm brings his singular ambient, classical and electronica sounds to the Concert Hall.

  • Contemporary Music
  • Classical Music

Singapore Symphony Orchestra

12 Feb 2025

Marking their Australian debut, the spectacular Singapore Symphony Orchestra will light up the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall with a headline performance by teenage violin prodigy Chloe Chua, plus star cellist Ng Pei-Sian.

  • Classical Music
A Singaporean man and woman play the cello and violin respectively next to an older white man holding a conductor's baton, all basked in a red light filter.

Checking availability