Dates
Thursday 28 August 2025
8:00pm at Elbphilharmonie Hamburg
Program
Elgar In the South (Alassio)
Deborah Cheetham Fraillon Treaty
Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition
About this performance
For the first time ever in the Elbphilharmonie Grand Hall, this concert is set to feature the unique combination of didgeridoo and orchestra as the MSO joins forces with renowned didgeridoo soloist William Barton to bring this extraordinary performance to Hamburg. Alongside this groundbreaking work, this concert also includes Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, a timeless classic that invites the audience on a musical journey through a museum.
In the languages of the First Nations the didgeridoo is also called the yidaki. For William Barton, himself a member of the Kalkadunga people of northern Australia, it is far more than just an instrument: “The yidaki embodies everything of the land, because it’s from the tree, it’s the breath of life and the land, of sustenance to us as human beings. It embodies the history of those old trees. The yidaki has memories, it’s the breath of our ancestors.”
Modest Mussorgsky created a musical monument to his friend, the painter Viktor Hartmann, with his piece Pictures at an Exhibition. Inspired by an exhibition of Hartmann’s works, Mussorgsky transformed a stroll through the gallery into a vivid musical experience – capturing scenes like an ancient castle, children playing in the Tuileries Gardens in Paris, the bustling market square in Limoges, and the famous Great Gate of Kiev. Close your eyes and let the music paint the pictures!
Featuring
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Jaime Martín conductor
William Barton didgeridoo
The MSO’s international touring is generously supported by the Gandel Foundation, Metal Manufactures Electrical Merchandising and MSO Tour Circle patrons.
