Gil Shaham holds a violin in a green forest.

Gil Shaham performs Beethoven’s Violin Concerto With David Robertson

  • Classical Music
  • Sydney Symphony Orchestra
  • Concert Hall
  • Seating map

American violinist Gil Shaham makes his long-awaited return to perform one of the most influential concertos ever written

Beethoven’s Violin Concerto is majestic in scale, flowing with expansive lyricism and colossal architecture. 

Gentle taps on the timpani set the stage for an extraordinary journey, vast and noble. It has remained the gold standard for 300 years, a monumental challenge for composers, orchestras and soloists to aspire to.   

For the violinist, it’s not just a technical feat. This is music that reveals the depth of the artist behind the instrument. And in Gil Shaham we have a soloist equal to the task: his ‘sumptuous and precise’ tone (Chicago Tribune) and his command of line and detail makes the most of Beethoven’s extended passages and subtle turns.   

For Shaham’s first visit to Sydney in more than a decade, he will be joined by our former Chief Conductor (and Shaham’s brother-in-law) David Robertson. Robertson shines a light on Carl Nielsen’s powerful Fourth Symphony, known as The Inextinguishable. The first symphony Robertson ever conducted in Sydney, more than 20 years ago, it is a work of extraordinary drive and drama, anchored by an unforgettable timpani battle.  

With Shaham and Robertson reunited in the Concert Hall, this is a concert that celebrates resilience with music that presses forward, and a violinist who lifts every phrase with purpose. 

Presented by Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Event details

Program

BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto 
NIELSEN Symphony No.4, The Inextinguishable* 
*Does not appear in the performance on Friday 3 July 

Artists

DAVID ROBERTSON conductor 
GIL SHAHAM violin 

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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

Concert Hall

The Concert Hall is located beneath the largest of Sydney Opera House’s roof sails, filling the upper levels of the west side of the building. Best accessed through 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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