Yearnings - Woollahra Philharmonic Orchestra

PROGRAM

FAURÉ - Entr'acte & Finale from Shylock
VANHAL - Double Bass Concerto
SIBELIUS - Symphony 3

Conductor - Madeleine Easton
Double Bass - Steven Adler          

Experience the power of longing, love, and desire in YEARNINGS, a program that delves into the depths of human emotion. The Woollahra Philharmonic Orchestra is delighted to welcome back the celebrated artist, Madeleine Easton to conduct  this concert which opens with two excerpts form Fauré’s  Shylock Suite; the Entr'acte & Finale. This work  captures the wistful beauty of romantic yearning. With its gentle melodies and warm orchestration, Fauré’s suite is like a sigh of longing, inviting listeners to reflect on the tenderness and melancholy of unfulfilled desires.

Following Fauré’s charming overture to this program, the rarely heard Double Bass Concerto by Johann Baptist Vanhal offers a luminous and unexpected perspective on longing. Performed by the WPO's very own Principal Bassist, Steven Adler, this exquisite gem reveals the expressive depth of the double bass, an instrument too often overseen in the role of a soloist! With lyrical elegance and virtuosic charm, the concerto’s three movements explore a yearning not just of the heart, but of the instrument itself. Vanhal’s writing elevates the bass from its supporting role to that of a singing soul, resonating with beauty, wit, and tender humanity.

The concert closes with Sibelius’s Symphony No. 3, a work that reflects the composer’s own yearning for simplicity and peace. Known for its stoic beauty and profound restraint, this symphony captures a sense of longing for a world untouched by the chaos of modernity. 

With its powerful harmonies and introspective themes, YEARNINGS is a moving exploration of the human heart, speaking to the universal desire for connection, peace, and understanding.

This concert will run for approximately 90 minutes including interval.