Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 has been described as ‘a glittering display-work at the heart of the Romantic concerto repertoire’. Containing Ukrainian folk themes and French song, it is an enduring favourite with audiences world-wide.

Making his DSO début is Australian pianist Konstantin Shamray, a pianist ‘with faultless technique and fearless command of the piano’. After winning the 2008 Sydney International Piano Competition’s First Prize, he now performs with leading orchestras and chamber ensembles in Australia, Europe, Canada and Asia.

Umberto Clerici has only recently taken up the conductor’s baton, but he already has a flourishing and successful career in Australia and NZ. His DSO conducting début was in 2022, which the Star reviewer called “a triumph”.

Schumann’s Rhenish symphony was written as a tribute to the beauty of the Rhineland countryside. From its opening heroic theme, the middle movement’s solemn calm, to the spirited last movement, it contains some of the most impassioned symphonic music from the Romantic period.