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Theremin & Beyond

11 May 2025

In the Concert Hall

Australian Chamber Orchestra

Classical Music

Explore new musical frontiers as you take a deep dive into the thrilling soundworld of the theremin, the world’s first electronic instrument.

Theremin & Beyond

The theremin is utterly unique. It’s a sound you’ve definitely heard, even if you’ve never heard of it. Following the success of our sold-out tour of A Clockwork Orange & Beyond comes this series showcasing the range and power of the world’s first electronic instrument.

Richard Tognetti directs an eclectic program starring Carolina Eyck, the internationally renowned superstar of the theremin. When Eyck plays, she stands poised, hands aloft, making intricate moves but touching nothing. Out pours a melody that speaks of other worlds. It looks, and sounds, like magic.

The theremin can create a thousand different colours and moods. Come with us as we experience them all: serenity and beauty, longing and danger, mystery and wonder. From the swinging sounds of The Beach Boys and the unmistakable Star Trek theme, to a new commission from Australian composer Holly Harrison, and closing with the riotous thrumming of the Flight of the Bumblebee, this is a concert full of fun that will take you to other worlds.

Presented by Australian Chamber Orchestra

Program and Artists

Johann Sebastian Bach Orchestral Suite No.3 in D major, BWV1068: II. Air
Holly Harrison New work (World Premiere) *
Jacques Offenbach Orpheus in the Underworld: Can-can
Camille Saint-Saëns The Carnival of the Animals: Selections; Danse macabre, Op.40
Brett Dean Short Stories: IV. Komarov’s Last Words*
Mikhail Glinka A Farewell to St Petersburg: X. The Lark
Erwin Schulhoff Five Pieces for String Quartet
Jörg Widmann 180 beats per minute (Australian Premiere)
Carolina Eyck Fantasias: Oakunar Lynntuja (Strange Birds) (Australian Premiere)
Brian Wilson Good Vibrations
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Flight of the Bumblebee

And selections from the soundtracks to:
Miklós Rózsa’s Spellbound, Jonny Greenwood’s There Will Be Blood, Alexander Courage’s Star Trek, Ennio Morricone’s The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Jim Parker’s Midsomer Murders.

*Commissioned by the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Artists 
Richard Tognetti  Director & Violin
Carolina Eyck  Theremin
Tamara-Anna Cislowska  Piano
Australian Chamber Orchestra

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    Venue information

    Our foyers will be open 90 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Refreshments will be available for purchase from our theatre bars.

    All Sydney Opera House foyers are pram accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to all foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators). Pram parking will be available outside the theatres in the Western Foyer.

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