Four Last Songs

An explosive concert with a super-sized orchestra.

Composed towards the end of his long life, the Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss sum up life itself. Poignant and profound, they find their ideal interpreter in Australian soprano Siobhan Stagg, who was born in country Victoria and has gone on to conquer the great performance venues of the world. Don Juan comes from early in Strauss’s life. Youthful and energetic, this dazzling showpiece gets the concert off to an electrifying start.

Few works are as ravishing as the Suite No 2 from Ravel’s ballet score Daphnis et Chloé, while Bolero, with its simple melody repeated over and over, is hypnotic and engrossing as it builds to its monumental climax. The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra is complemented by musicians from the Australian National Academy of Music for this, the year’s most explosive orchestral concert.