Monumental Mozart kicks off an epic year, as Penrith Symphony Orchestra celebrates its 30th anniversary season.
The transcendent and timeless Requiem will star in the first concert of the season, with Arvo Pärt’s meditative work Summa also featured.
“Mozart’s Requiem justifiably occupies a prominent place in the Western musical canon, said PSO chief conductor and artistic director, Paul Terracini.
“Written with the shadow of his own death enveloping him, it represents as profound a musical setting of human mortality as we could hope for.”
Although now a perennial audience favourite and a mainstay of the repertoire, Mozart did not live to see the final realisation of his requiem, with mystery and intrigue surrounding its eventual completion after his death in 1791. The composer completed the opening half of the work, only managing to draft out the remainder before his untimely demise.
It fell to fellow composer Franz Süssmayr to complete Mozart’s vision, before the eventual premiere of the work in 1793.
More than 150 performers will take to the stage, with soloists and choir joining PSO for the Mozart. Soprano Ayse Göknur Shanal appears as the first of four soloists. Enjoying a burgeoning international career, she is in demand as a soloist and recitalist. She will be joined by talented up-and-coming artists Barbara Jin, Nathan Bryon and Jared Lillehagen.
The PSO is also excited to once again collaborate with a combined chorus of Penrith City Choir, Warrimoo Chorale and Academy Singers.
Summa will open the evening, its contemplative and evocative soundscapes setting the scene for the Mozart to follow. Pärt’s work is a landmark example of the composers now signature minimalist style, perhaps more familiar to audiences through use in film and television scores.
Paul Terracini conducts this performance, which begins at 8pm on Saturday 24 March, at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, Penrith. There is also a free pre-concert talk by the conductor at 7.20pm.
Book now at the box office of The Joan, online at www.thejoan.com.au or call 4723 7600. Generous discounts are also still available with subscription packages.
