The full Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performing on stage at Hamer Hall, with the first few rows of seated audience members visible in the frame.

28 – 30 Nov

MSO Spring Gala: Beethoven's Ninth

Join the MSO for the grand finale of their Beethoven Festival – featuring some of Australia’s best opera singers, the MSO Chorus, and a brand new MSO commission – under the baton of Chief Conductor Jaime Martín.

Known for his exceptional choral music, the title of Sir James MacMillan’s Concerto for Orchestra is something of an enigma, in that a concerto is conventionally written for a solo instrument and orchestra, rather than for orchestra and… orchestra. Witness the MSO crack the code of this newly commissioned work from one of the UK’s most sought-after composers.

After eight symphonies, Beethoven took his Ninth to a whole new level by composing the biggest symphony in existence – a beast of a work depicting the triumphant union of all mankind. Almost entirely deaf by this point, this landmark feat for choir and orchestra is best known for its epic finale of Ode to Joy. A star-studded line-up of soloists join the MSO and MSO Chorus for this rousing performance.