Melbourne Symphony Orchestra: Mahler & Tchaikovsky featuring Sergei Nakariakov
This performance is filled to the brim with musical highlights, but it’s likely that your eyes darted straight to the word flugelhorn. ‘What in the world is that instrument,’ you ask? Come and find out what it looks and sounds like when flugelhorn virtuoso Sergei Nakariakov performs his own special arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme. The music was originally composed for the cello, making this performance sound like nothing you’ve ever heard.
Our adventurous program continues with Mahler’s Symphony No.1 under the baton of Singaporean conductor Kahchun Wong. Nicknamed Titan, the work contains everything from bird song references to the most unsettling version of Frère Jacques you could imagine. But perhaps the most daring piece of all will be the one at the very beginning: a new work from Andrew Aronowicz, our Cybec Young Composer in Residence. Stake your claim as the first listener in the world to hear his fresh Australian music, which we’re proud to have commissioned ourselves.
Andrew Aronowicz^ The Erl-King*
Tchaikovsky Variations on a Rococo Theme for Flugelhorn
Mahler Symphony No.1 Titan
^Cybec Young Composer in Residence
*World Premiere of an MSO Commission
Thursday 16 April 2026 7:30pm at Hamer Hall
Friday 17 April 2026 7:30pm at Hamer Hall Relaxed performance
Saturday 18 April 2026 2:00pm at Hamer Hall
Duration Approx. 2 hours including a 20-minute interval
Tickets: $20 – $139