A mythic journey celebrating age-old stories and musical masters.

CSO brings Beethoven’s iconic Violin Concerto in D major to life on the Llewellyn Hall stage with full orchestra and the extraordinary soloist Anna da Silva Chen. Anna is one of Australia’s leading concert violinists, known for her expressive power and virtuosic skill. She will join the CSO under the baton of guest conductor Carlo Antonioli.

Widely considered one of the greatest works in the violin repertoire, this concerto blends elegance, intensity and emotional depth—offering a glimpse into Beethoven’s creative mastery and inner world.

This program begins with a world premiere from Australian composer Peggy Polias – our Composer in Connection for 2025. Following threads from the timeless traditions of storytelling, her musical homage to ‘the Narrator’ ranges in inspiration from the Muses of classical Greece to western European fairy tales and into our own time.

Ravel’s Mother Goose suite picks up the fairy tale theme with a set of five magical pieces, which he originally composed for children to play as a piano duet. Each one depicts a story from Charles Perrault’s Contes de ma Mère l’Oye (Tales of Mother Goose) – the Baroque classic from which so many of our best-loved fairy tales come. And in the hands of the 20th century’s ‘virtuoso’ of the orchestra, these pieces emerge in a sonic fantasy of brilliant, sparkling colour.

Polias and Ravel look to the past in different ways. Beethoven, on the other hand, was looking forward – transforming an established genre, the Classical violin concerto – for a new generation. He found a lyrical, almost narrative, power where his listeners expected a superficial showpiece, and the uncompromising result stands alone in the repertoire. We’re delighted to welcome talented young Australian violinist Anna Da Silva Chen as the soloist in this monumental work as she makes her CSO debut.

Artists
Carlo Antonioli Conductor
Anna da Silva Chen Violin
Canberra Symphony Orchestra

Program 
PEGGY POLIAS* Storyteller**
MAURICE RAVEL Ma Mère l’Oye: Suite
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61

* 2025 Composer in Connection
** World premiere of a CSO commission