A Look Back at Season 2025

The Rite of Spring

Stravinsky’s work, while initially confusing and even enraging audiences at its premiere due to its unprecedented modernism, has since been instrumental in the development of modernist music, influencing composers such as Aaron Copland, Philip Glass, Béla Bartók, and Pierre Boulez. CIRCA and QSO performing alongside each other was a feast for the eyes. The moody atmosphere and the haze of danger as the acrobats flew and twisted their way through Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring made it an unforgettable night for all in attendance.

'QSO and Brisbane’s ingenious CIRCA reached stratospheric heights in a world first circus interpretation of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.' LIMELIGHT REVIEW ★★★★★

Barber & Prokofiev

We were honoured to be joined by James Ehnes as he took the stage for Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto. Renowned for his technical brilliance and deep musicality, Ehnes brought this soaring, lyrical masterpiece to life, drawing us into its breathtaking beauty before unleashing fiery virtuosity in the concerto’s final movement.

' punchy Prokofiev outshone by James Ehnes’ stunning Barber concerto.' LIMELIGHT REVIEW ★★★★★

Shakespeare's The Tempest

The spark behind this concert began with two friends: our Chief Conductor, Umberto Clerici, and Bell Shakespeare’s founder, John Bell, sitting down at a café and talking about their love of Shakespeare. From this conversation grew the hope of one day combining the mythical story The Tempest with the music of some of the most renowned composers of all time. This collaboration of legends brought to life the words of the most famous playwright in history.

The Royal Organist

James O'Donnell, one of the world’s most celebrated organists, graced the QPAC Concert Hall to perform Jongen’s Symphonie Concertante, a thrilling and virtuosic work rarely performed in Australia. Written almost 100 years ago, it is a brilliant display of the organ’s grandeur, weaving together dramatic solo passages and rich orchestral textures.

Art of the Score: The Music of Hans Zimmer

The Art of the Score was a love letter to all the fans of Hans Zimmer’s incredible film scores throughout the years. This concert wouldn’t have been possible without Dan Golding and Andrew Pogson, who came up with the idea over lunches, drinks, and many passionate discussions about the latest film music. At its heart, this concert was about two friends and their love for film music, inviting audience members to join in their conversation as the orchestra performed a selection of Zimmer’s most beloved movie scores.

Shostakovich Ten

Shostakovich Ten, our Brisbane Festival concert, had to be special; and it delivered in abundance. One of Shostakovich’s greatest symphonic masterpieces, it premiered in Russia in December 1953, just nine months after Stalin's death. The work marks a new and artistically unfettered period in Shostakovich’s life after the terror of the Stalin regime.

Accompanying the symphony was a screening of William Kentridge’s Oh to Believe in Another World, created specifically in response to Shostakovich's Symphony No.10.

'A brave program that set minds racing off into thoughts seldom contemplated in such depth at a concert hall.' LIMELIGHT REVIEW ★★★★★

Beethoven & Brahms

Brahms, living in the shadow of Beethoven, must have felt some trepidation when composing his first piano concerto, which also happens to be his first orchestral work. It underwent several revisions over a period of five years before emerging as a monumental and celebrated addition to the piano concerto repertoire. Sir Stephen Hough, the highly renowned and acclaimed pianist, masterfully performed Brahms’ Piano Concerto No.1, leaving the audience in awe of his talent and virtuosity.

Lior & Westlake

Compassion is comprised of Seven ancient Hebrew and Arabic texts inspiring the seven songs in this cycle, each urging humanity towards compassion and peace. The work was premiered in 2013, but it is hard to imagine a more fitting time than today for such a message. Lior’s Middle Eastern heritage brought an authenticity to the performance that lifted the heart, leaving the audience confident in the universal values we all share values that transcend all cultures.

Verdi Requiem

Chief Conductor Umberto Clerici led the Orchestra, Brisbane Chamber Choir Collective, and four incredible vocalists through the enduring masterpiece: Verdi’s Requiem. The display of musical mastery on stage took everyone on a journey through life in an impassioned and moving performance of this history-defying work. The orchestra, weaving and intertwining with the powerful vocals of the choir and soloists, took the audience’s breath away with the sheer intensity and veracity of Verdi’s Requiem.

'The QSO and Brisbane Chamber Choir Collective delivered an incredible, terrifying journey from the abyss to salvation in Verdi’s Requiem.' LIMELIGHT REVIEW ★★★★★

Northern Lights Southern Stars

Northern Lights Southern Stars celebrated a program of home-grown works, featuring conductor Sam Weller and the talented baritone Jake Lyle. Showcasing Australian composers, soloists, and conductors is something QSO takes great pride in. A sense of joy fills the concert hall whenever Australian works are performed.