Shining Star

Taffenel - Fantasy on Der Freischutz (Soloist ELANA SYDENHAM); Dvorak - Symphony 8, Wells - Uplift, Bizet - Carmen Suite no. 2

The concerto as a vehicle for virtuosic display flourished during the 19th Century, becoming increasingly complex and ambitious works. While performances of typical concerto in the baroque era lasted about ten minutes, those by Beethoven, for example, could last half an hour or longer. Concertos from all ages, since their development in late 1600s, have remained a conspicuous and important part of the repertoire for concert performances and recordings and this concert will feature the winner of the 2025 Symphony Central Coast Concerto Competition Elana Sydenham, as she performs Taffenel’s Fantasy on Der Freischutz.

The year 1889 was a particularly productive one for Antonín Dvořák. During that summer, he began to sketch ideas for his Eighth Symphony at his country house in Vyoská. Ideas came to him so quickly that he complained he could not set them down fast enough. Every movement, every minute has a distinct melody, always catchy and memorable with not a single dull moment. Often described as ‘sunny’ as well as ‘songful,’ ‘warm,’ and ‘optimistic’, it is Dvořák’s symphony of folk music.

Plus selections from Bizet’s opera Carmen and Australian composer Jessica Wells’ Uplift, commissioned for the Artology “Acknowledgement of Country” program.