BSO 2025 Concert 3: YEARNING

Nothing can tug at your heartstrings quite like the music of the Romantics.

Indulge in the passion and pathos of the 19th century as Bendigo Symphony Orchestra (BSO) present works by Verdi, Brahms, and Rachmaninov.

Verdi’s opera Nabucco properly established his reputation as a composer and launched his career – it was his “lucky star”. Its dramatic telling of biblical history remains thrilling today, and this overture keens with a longing for the homeland. It features the famous Va, pensiero (Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves) – whose beauty and weight led it to become an unofficial anthem of Italy.

Australian/New York-based concert pianist Amir Farid joins BSO to perform Rachmaninov’s stunning second piano concerto. A wondrous combination of lyricism and turbulence, this work continues to be one of Rachmaninov’s most popular. Watch the BSO soar to new heights with Farid’s erudite and arresting interpretation.

Brahms’ second symphony is an opportunity to witness the full expressive power of the orchestra. Written during a summer lakeside retreat in Austria, the work evidently absorbed the beauty and optimism of the composer’s idyllic countryside surrounds. An ironic Brahms wrote to his publisher that the work is “so melancholy that you will not be able to bear it. I have never written anything so sad, and the score must come out in mourning”. With sunny, pastoral themes interposed with glimpses of storminess, this work broods and dances through the full musical spectrum of light and dark.

Don’t miss these soul-stirring Romantic favourites.

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