Experience the delights of the Elena Kats-Chernin Flute Concerto and Shostakovich’s darkly evocative Symphony No.13, Babi Yar.
Yevgeny Yevtushenko’s famous poem, Babi Yar, exposed the massacres by the Nazis of over 110,000 people at Babi Yar, near Kiev, during WWII. It denounced anti-Semitism and protested against the then Soviet Government’s refusal to build a memorial. Dmitri Shostakovich set this poem to music in his 13th Symphony, Babi Yar, which will be performed by bass-baritone Adrian Tamburini accompanied by a large orchestra and a 200-voice male chorus. It will be the centrepiece of this concert commemorating the 75th anniversary of these horrendous events at Babi Yar.
The strongly emotive yet delightfully melodic Elena Kats-Chernin Flute Concerto, Night and Now, references Elena’s early years in Soviet-era Russia. It was composed for leading Australian flautist Sally Walker, and premiered in Victoria by Zelman Symphony to great acclaim in 2015. Zelman Symphony is proud to be able to bring this beautiful work to the Hamer Hall stage.