Skip to main content

James Ehnes performs Brahms’ Violin Concerto

6 – 8 March 2025

In the Concert Hall

Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Classical Music

The soaring first movement of Brahms’ Violin Concerto is worth the price of admission alone. It’s a breathtaking introduction to one of the most incredible concertos ever written. 

In a class of his own.

The Times on James Ehnes

Useful information:

Evocative storytelling

James Ehnes is one of the greatest violinists in the world, his performances praised for their astounding lyricism and beauty.

Rising star Finnegan Downie Dear, a protégé of Simone Young, conducts Ehnes in this concert of evocative works by master storytellers. He takes us from the Hungarian folk music-infused passages of Brahms’ concerto to Rimsky-Korsakov’s spirited Capriccio espagnol, complete with violins and cellos imitating Spanish guitars. 

And kicking off a year of celebrations for the 150th birthday of the great French composer Maurice Ravel (born 7 March 1875), his Mother Goose with its cast of fairy-tale characters – including Sleeping Beauty, Tom Thumb and Beauty and the Beast – captures his trademark charm and rich orchestral colour.

Enchanting from start to finish.

Presented by Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Programme

BRAHMS Violin Concerto
RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Capriccio espagnol*
RAVEL Mother Goose (complete) 
*Features in the Saturday 8 March performance only

Artist information

FINNEGAN DOWNIE DEAR conductor
JAMES EHNES violin

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