Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto: with Joyce Yang at Sydney Opera House

Tchaikovsky always wears his heart on his sleeve, whether in the exhilarating brilliance of his most popular piano concerto or in his youthful and very Russian obsession with fate. But the intense drama gives way to festivals as Respighi goes wild in a set of orchestral showpieces – noisy portraits of Roman circuses, ecstatic pilgrims, high-spirited holidays and endless dancing.

The Othello Overture doesn’t try to tell the story of Shakespeare’s play, but its mix of tenderness and violent passion sets the scene for the whole concert.

We’ve invited charismatic young Canadian conductor Charles Olivieri-Munroe to conduct, and Korean pianist Joyce Yang makes her third visit to Sydney to take the solo spotlight.