Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 literally saved the composer and his family’s lives by harmonizing Shostakovich’s tumultuous relationship with the highly critical and oppressive Stalinist regime under which he worked. The symphony will take audience members on an emotional journey from indescribable pain and sorrow to joyful triumph by the symphony’s final notes. At the symphony’s premiere, the Largo movement inspired audience members to openly weep, while the triumphant finale movement resulted in an ovation that lasted nearly as long as the symphony itself.

The concert program opens with a work by Australian composer Ella Macens, The Space Between Stars. This ethereally beautiful piece will transport listeners away from their daily struggles here on Earth to experience the harmony of the celestial starscape on a musical voyage to the depths of space.

Rounding out the concert program is classical-era composer Carl Maria von Weber’s vibrant Bassoon Concerto, featuring virtuoso Australian Bassoonist and NCO 2025 Focus Artist Ben Hoadley. The concerto highlights the harmonic traditions of the Classical era, alternately dramatic and joyful, and shares the beauty of one of the orchestra’s loveliest, yet often overlooked instruments.

Performing at the Snow Concert Hall, a stunning music venue in the heart of Canberra and host of world-class classical performances.