Three violin players stand playing the violin in the Sydney Opera House Utzon Room

Mozart & Harrison

  • Classical Music
  • Sydney Symphony Orchestra
  • Utzon Room
  • Run time: 55 minutes, no interval Subject to change

Lively and enticing

The combination of clarinet and strings is a perfect match, the mellow woodwind balanced beautifully against the sprightly strings.

Mozart was the first to explore this combination in his Clarinet Quintet of 1789, written for Anton Stadler, the most gifted clarinettist in Vienna at the time. Across four exquisite movements we hear a gentle lullaby, a lively dance and lyrical passages that could almost be opera arias; while the clarinet is first among equals, all five instruments shine in this exquisite piece.  

Nearly 250 years later, Australian composer Holly Harrison continues the tradition with Spitfire for clarinet and string trio. Inspired by music of the 1930s and three pivotal musical figures in Django Reinhardt, Stéphane Grappelli and Benny Goodman, Harrison describes the piece as ‘a feverish mix of jazz, Appalachian folk, blues and swing, with a touch of vaudeville’. All brought to life by the superb musicians of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in the picturesque Sydney Opera House Utzon Room.

Presented by Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Event details

Programme

Holly HARRISON Spitfire
MOZART Clarinet Quintet

Artist information

MUSICIANS OF THE SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Please note, the musicians featured in the photo above may not appear in this concert.

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Attending this event

Plan your visit

Address

Sydney Opera House
Bennelong Point
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

Getting to the venue

The Opera House is a 7-10 minute walk from Circular Quay, and is easily accessible by car, train, ferry, lightrail, bus, bike and on foot.

Location and access

Utzon Room

The Utzon Room is located on the Eastern side of the Opera House, in front of the Joan Sutherland Theatre. Best accessed through the Box Office Foyer or the Covered Concourse. All Sydney Opera House foyers are accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to all foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators).

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