Andrey Boreyko stands with arms outstretched.

Stravinsky’s The Firebird Fairytales Come to Life

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

With Stravinsky’s Firebird as its centrepiece, this concert features bold musical storytelling that bursts off the stage in a riot of colour and sound

Stravinsky’s Firebird feels like a kaleidoscopic dream, opening in shadow, ending in a blaze. 

Based on Slavic folklore, this music evokes a world of enchanted princesses, wicked sorcerers and a mythical creature whose flight brings the story to a spellbinding close. It’s no wonder this music catapulted Stravinsky to global fame.   

This program opens with Liadov’s dizzying Kikimora, a thrilling nod to the traditions that shaped Stravinsky, followed by Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto, a work of contrasts with a haunting slow section and a cadenza that speaks straight from the soul. Regarded by Intermusica as one of the ‘most remarkable cellists on the international stage’, Maximilian Hornung makes his Sydney debut in one of the most challenging works in the repertoire.   

Conductor Andrey Boreyko brings rare fluency and understanding to this music: Bachtrack praises him as ‘a commanding presence, thrilling and enthralling in equal measure.’ A graduate of the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory, he brings instinct and insight to every note. 

This program explores the edges of wonder, where tradition meets transformation. As familiar myths are retold with such vivid sound, it feels newly imagined.   

These performances have been generously supported by Paolo Hooke and Fan Guo. 

Presented by Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Event details

Program

LIADOV Kikimora 
SHOSTAKOVICH Cello Concerto No.1* 
STRAVINSKY The Firebird (complete 1910 version) 

Artists

ANDREY BOREYKO conductor 
MAXIMILIAN HORNUNG cello* 

*Does not appear in the performance on Thursday 11 June 

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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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