The Queensland Symphony Orchestra’s performances of Dvorak, Harrison, Adams and Rachmaninov was live-streamed from the QPAC Concert Hall to all of Australia by the ABC on Friday night.

Umberto Clerici conducted one of his last concerts as Chief Conductor of the QSO. He moves on in early 2027.

James Crabb played the mesmerising solo classical accordion in Holly Harrison’s “Concerto for Amplified Classical Accordion and Orchestra, Insideout.”

Holly Harrison was in the audience to see and hear her composition performed. (see featured photo)

And double bass player, Ken Poggioli, played his last concert before retiring after 40 years with the QSO.

The music sparkled. Each piece was totally satisfying. And then there was another one. The evening felt like a gastronomic delight, with one glorious rendition followed by yet another glorious rendition.

The future of the QSO, after Clerici and Poggioli, will undoubtedly be bright. And it will never be the same. This concert was thankfully recorded for posterity for it can never be repeated.

And to prove it has a bright future, the QSO launched its 2027 program.

On 26th March 1947 the QSO gave its first concert to 2500 people at the City Hall under the baton of Percy Code. The first of a series of four popular concerts included the Tannhäuser Overture, Grieg Piano Concerto in A Minor with Miss Eunice Gardiner, Tchaikovsky’s Pathetique and two excerpts from Berlioz’s “Damnation of Faust”: the Dance of the Sylphs and the Hungarian March. Then, the QSO was funded by the State Government, the Brisbane City Council and the ABC.

2027 will be the QSO’s 80th birthday. To celebrate, it has a full program. It will tour throughout the state, performing in Charleville, Chinchilla, Gladstone, Gold Coast, Mackay, Miles, Redlands, Roma, St George, Tara and Toowoomba.

In Brisbane, it will play all Beethoven’s symphonies throughout the year, celebrating the 250th anniversary of his death in 2020, a celebration interrupted by COVID. Symphonies 1 and 3 will be played on 12th March, 6 and 8 on 13th March, 4 and 7 on 11th June, 2 and 5 on 13th June and number 9 on 10th and 11th September.

The Maestro series will also include Sibelius’ Finlandia, Gershwin’s Piano Concerto, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection), Kodaly’s “Dances of Galanta”, Bartók and Stravinsky.

Music on Sundays continues offering Saint-Saëns, Strauss, symphonies 2 and 5 by Beethoven. Britten, Glinka and Moberg.

The QSO Presents concerts highlight is Mana Moana on 14th August. It also includes Favourites on 13th February, Handel’s Messiah on 20th November, Pulse of four Australian composers on 3rd June and will join Troy Cassar-Daley on 16th July.

But wait, there’s more. Go to their website and explore the many offerings. https://qso.com.au/

One wonders what Queensland would be like without the QSO. For eighty years it has provided us with much richness, with paying jobs for musicians, brought musicians from around the world to our concert halls and delighted us with visions of grandeur.

Michael Sterzinger, CEO of the QSO, and Matthew Wood, Director of Artistic Planning and the departing Umberto Clerici bring us a smorgasbord of sound for 2027. You can get your subscription here: https://qso.com.au/

 

Kerry McGovern