Anna Clyne
Sirens
Australian Premiere

Claude Debussy
Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun)
World premiere arrangement by Matthew Hindson

John Adams
Gnarly Buttons

Joe Hisaishi
Two Dances for Large Ensemble
Australian Premiere

Nicolas Fleury solo horn
David Rowden solo clarinet
Sam Weller conductor
Omega Ensemble

Opening with a world premiere from UK composer Anna Clyne performed by guest soloist Nico Fleury (Principal Horn, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra), Sirens drifts into the shadowed edges of imagination, where fantasy and nature take unexpected and alluring mythical forms.

Bringing together an eclectic super-group of some of Australia’s most brilliant instrumentalists — from bassoon to banjo — John Adams’s Gnarly Buttons turns music into commedia dell'arte theatre in a clarinet-led hoedown that sways between light humour and melodramatic heartbreak.

Embracing this strange musical palette, Australian composer Matthew Hindson reimagines Claude Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun) unfolding like a lucid dream that lives between the real and the imagined.

The composer behind the beloved Studio Ghibli films, Joe Hisaishi’s Two Dances for Large Ensemble brims with infectious rhythm and childlike innocence. In its Australian premiere, this uplifting piece carries listeners into a realm of wonder, beauty and boundless imagination

Anna Clyne commissioned by London Mozart Players, Arctic Philharmonic, Ben Goldscheider (with funds from the Marchus Trust), Omega Ensemble and Zürcher Kammerorchester.

Australian premiere made possible with the generous support of Richard Cobden SC.

Nicolas Fleury appears courtesy of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra