Maestro Umberto Clerici (SSO, QSO) invites you to experience a rare orchestral spectacle as the Australian Youth Orchestra performs the complete Roman Trilogy by Respighi. These three monumental tone poems conjure the beautiful, the chaotic and the always cinematic city of ancient ruins and romance. An ambitious feat for an orchestra of any age, this unmissable concert will be a breathtaking showcase of the abilities of these prodigious young musicians, known for their fearless energy.
AYO is joined by soloist Joshua Batty a virtuoso British-Australian flautist and former Principal Flute with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Batty will perform the Australian premiere of a Flute Concerto by AYO alumnus and Sydney-based composer Harry Sdraulig. Commissioned and performed by Yo-Yo Ma, the Australian Chamber Orchestra and many more, award-winning composer Sdraulig writes for the musician, giving them room to push boundaries, explore and express themselves. This concerto re-casts the flute as an instrument of emotional depth and dramatic scale, moving from mystery and virtuosity to an aching Cantilena, before resolving in a quiet, reflective epilogue.
In this evening of cinematic technicolour, Resphigi and Sdraulig are two composers revelling in colour, lyricism and orchestral drama.