Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto

MACA SYMPHONIC SERIES

Thursday 5, Friday 6 & Saturday 7 March 2026, 7.30pm

Winthrop Hall

West Australian Symphony Orchestra respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and Elders of Country throughout Western Australia, and the Whadjuk Noongar people on whose lands we work and share music.

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Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto

WELCOME TO COUNTRY – THURSDAY & FRIDAY
Gina Williams-Ghouse

Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART The Magic Flute: Overture (7 mins)

Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY Violin Concerto (24 mins)

Allegro moderato
Canzonetta (Andante) –
Finale (Allegro vivacissimo)

Interval (25 mins)

Sergei PROKOFIEV Romeo and Juliet: Highlights (50 mins)

Lawrence Renes has selected movements from Prokofiev’s concert suites and the original ballet to create a narrative suite in three broad sections.

Act I
Romeo at the Fountain –
Scene (The Street Awakens) –
Morning Dance –
Juliet as a Young Girl –
Montagues and Capulets

Act II
Masks –
Romeo and Juliet –
Friar Laurence –
Death of Tybalt

Acts III & IV
Romeo and Juliet Before Parting –
Juliet’s Funeral –
Juliet’s Death

Lawrence Renes conductor
Sergej Krylov violin

WASO Serenades the City with the support of City of Perth.

Listen to WASO
This performance is recorded for broadcast Friday 3 April, 1pm (AWST) on ABC Classic. Date subject to change. For further details visit abc.net.au/classic

Did you know?

Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) was the last opera Mozart completed and an allegory on his Masonic associations and beliefs Mozart makes his “Masonic key” of E-flat (a signature of three flats, three being an important symbolic number for the Masons) the main key of the opera and of its overture.
The Magic Flute is a singspiel – a genre of opera literally meaning “song-play” and referring to German-language music dramas. In crafting its libretto, Emanuel Schikaneder drew on several collections of stories and fairy-tales from Germany and Austria.
Like Beethoven and Mahler, Tchaikovsky liked to take a walk of two hours every day. He believed that if he returned even a minute early great misfortunes would befall him!
The premiere of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in 1881 was a failure, with famed critic Eduard Hanslick writing that the concerto gave "the hideous notion that there can be music that stinks to the ear".
After hearing the first version of the music to Romeo and Juliet, the Moscow Bolshoi company declared it “undanceable” and nullified its agreement with Prokofiev.
Like Mozart, Prokofiev was a child prodigy, composing his first piano piece at age five and his first opera at age nine.

WASO On Stage

VIOLIN
Laurence Jackson
Concertmaster
Riley Skevington
Associate Concertmaster
Semra Lee
Assistant Concertmaster
Alexandra Isted
Principal 1st Violin
Zak Rowntree*
Principal 2nd Violin
Kylie Liang
Associate Principal 2nd Violin
Kate Sullivan
Assistant Principal 2nd Violin
Sarah Blackman
Stephanie Dean
Amy Furfaro
Rebecca Glorie
Beth Hebert
Emma Hunt
William Huxtable
Sunmi Jung
Christina Katsimbardis
Kathryn Lee
Andrea Mendham
Lucas O’Brien
Melanie Pearn
Louise Sandercock
Jane Serrangeli
Luisa Theis^
Cerys Tooby
Samantha Wickramasinghe
Susannah Williams^

VIOLA
Daniel Schmitt
Alex Brogan
Kierstan Arkleysmith
Nik Babic
Alison Hall
Rachael Kirk
James Munro
Elliot O’Brien
Katherine Potter^
Helen Tuckey

CELLO
Rod McGrath
Melinda Forsythe^
Jeremy Garside
Shigeru Komatsu
Sacha McCulloch^
Nicholas Metcalfe
Fotis Skordas
Jonathan Tooby^

DOUBLE BASS
Andrew Sinclair*
John Keene
Robin Brawley
Christine Reitzenstein
Mark Tooby
Giovanni Vinci

FLUTE
Andrew Nicholson
Mary-Anne Blades

PICCOLO
Sonia Croucher

OBOE
Liz Chee
Stephanie Nicholls^

COR ANGLAIS
Jonathan Ryan

CLARINET
Som Howie
Catherine Cahill^

BASS CLARINET
Alexander Millier

BASSOON
Jane Kircher-Lindner
Adam Mikulicz

CONTRABASSOON
Chloe Turner

HORN
David Evans
Eve McEwen
Robert Gladstones
Principal 3rd Horn
Julia Brooke
Doree Dixon^
Francesco Lo Surdo

TRUMPET
Jenna Smith
Orson Paine
Peter Miller

TROMBONE
Joshua Davis
Liam O’Malley
Luke Berlee^

TUBA
Chloe Higgins

TIMPANI
Alex Timcke

PERCUSSION
Brian Maloney
Robyn Gray^
Tegan LeBrun^
Carissa Soares^

HARP
Tijana Kozarcic^

KEYBOARD
Graeme Gilling^

TENOR SAXOPHONE
Matthew Styles^

KEY

Principal
Associate Principal
Assistant Principal
Contract Musician°
Guest Musician^

*Instruments used by these musicians are on loan from Janet Holmes à Court AC. We greatly appreciate the support of our musicians’ Duet partners, acknowledged below.

About the Artists

Lawrence Renes
Conductor

Maltese-Dutch conductor Lawrence Renes garners acclaim in both operatic and symphonic realms, delivering performances brimming with passion, nuance, and style.

The 2025/26 season includes returns to Finnish National Opera, and the Seattle and West Australian Symphony Orchestras, and debuts with the Korean National and Montreal Symphony Orchestras. Renes also makes his debut at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, leading Luca Guadagnino’s new production of John Adams’ The Death of Klinghoffer.

In recent seasons, Renes has appeared in the UK with the Philharmonia and the London Philharmonic Orchestras; in Europe with Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre de Lyon, Netherlands Radio and Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestras, Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Residentie Orkest, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Stockholm, Oslo and Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestras; in Asia and Australasia with NHK, Tokyo Metropolitan and Singapore Symphony Orchestras, the Seoul Philharmonic and at the Seoul Arts Center International Music Festival, Melbourne, Sydney and New Zealand Symphony Orchestras; and in the Americas, OSESP in São Paulo, Minnesota Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, St Louis and New Jersey Symphony Orchestras among many others.

Formerly Music Director of the Royal Swedish Opera, Renes’ repertoire there ranged from Mozart through to the 21st Century. He is an energetic champion of contemporary repertoire and is particularly associated with the music of John Adams and George Benjamin. Recent operatic engagements have included Salomé for Finnish National Opera, and the premiere of George Benjamin’s Written on Skin with Shanghai Symphony Orchestra at the Beijing Music Festival, later followed by performances of the same production with the Orchestra of Santa Cecilia in Rome. He has also led productions at Dutch National Opera, English National Opera, La Monnaie, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera and Santa Fe Opera inter alia.

About the Artists

Sergej Krylov
Violin

Beguiling musicianship, fervent lyricism, and intense tonal beauty comprise merely a few of the qualities that have secured Sergej Krylov’s place amongst the world’s most renowned performers. The violinist displays breathtaking virtuosity as he provides profound and expressive insights into the works forming his exceptionally broad repertoire.

In recent years, Sergej has performed all over Europe with major orchestras such as the London Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, the DSO Berlin, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Filarmonica della Scala, Belgian National Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic, and conductors, such as Mikhail Pletnev, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Vasily Petrenko, Mstislav Rostropovich, Andrey Boreyko, Vladimir Jurowski, Andris Poga, Dmitrij Kitajenko, Yuri Temirkanov, Marin Alsop, Fabio Luisi, Ton Koopman, Roberto Abbado, Dmitry Liss and Karel Chichon.

As Music Director of the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Krylov usually acts as soloist and conductor in a wide repertoire that ranges from Baroque to contemporary music. In recent years, he has increased his activity as a conductor, working with orchestras such as the Russian National Orchestra, the St Petersburg Philharmonic, the English Chamber Orchestra, the ORT di Firenze, and the Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra.

In addition to early recordings for Melodiya and EMI, Krylov’s discography includes two releases on Deutsche Grammophon: Vivaldi Four Seasons with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra and Paganini’s 24 Caprices, for Sony Classical, the world-premiere of Bosso’s Violin Concerto Esoconcerto.

He also recorded Penderecki’s Violin Concerto Metamorphosen under the Polish composer’s direction, as part of a landmark project to record Penderecki’s complete works.

In November 2024, Sergej Krylov inaugurated the symphonic season at Teatro alla Scala in Milan with a performance of Brahms' Violin Concerto, under the baton of Simone Young.

Krylov plays the Stradivarius “Camposelice” (1710), on generous loan from the Sasakawa Music Foundation (formerly the Nippon Music Foundation).

About the Music

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(1756–1791)

The Magic Flute, K.620: Overture

An entertainment devised for a suburban theatre in Vienna, with a Shakespearian mixture of raw comedy, magical elements and high seriousness, became possibly the most influential opera ever written. The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte) by Schikaneder and Mozart is, at its simplest level, a ‘rescue opera’, in which a travelling foreign prince, Tamino, is given the task of returning a daughter, Pamina, to her mother, the Star-Flaming Queen (Queen of Night), only to discover that Sarastro, far from being a wicked ravisher, is the wise and generous leader of an order of priests, into which Tamino and Pamina are initiated together.

Both Mozart and Schikaneder were Freemasons, and this aspect of the opera has sometimes been interpreted as a symbolic presentation of Masonic teachings and ritual. However, Papageno, the bird-catcher who is assigned to Tamino as travelling companion (the role played by Schikaneder himself), is a figure from the world of satirical, knockabout Viennese theatre; and the magic flute, the magic bells and the many transformations are the stock of the magic play.

Mozart brought this ‘play with song’ (Singspiel) alive with every kind of music he had written up to then, and, in the last year of his life, new veins he had not tapped before. The symbolic three-fold knocking of Masonic initiation ritual is heard at the beginning and in the middle of the Overture. It is surrounded by learned yet airy fugal music.

The Overture makes obvious that the opera to follow will be more than the kind of farce audiences at Schikaneder’s theatre might have expected.

First performance:
30 September 1791, Vienna.

Most recent WASO performance:
20 & 21 November 2020, conducted by Guy Noble.

Instrumentation:
two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, strings.

About the Music

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
(1840–1893)

Violin Concerto in D, Op.35

Allegro moderato
Canzonetta (Andante) –
Finale (Allegro vivacissimo)

The first bad review of a masterpiece has a curious allure. There is something forlorn and fascinating about the French critic of the 1850s who proclaimed that Rigoletto ‘lacks melody’, or George Bernard Shaw’s declaration that Goetz was a greater symphonist than Brahms. Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto is a distinguished member of that company of musical masterpieces that survived a traumatic debut to become one of the most beloved works of its kind.

It could almost be described as a love letter. In 1878, the composer was still feeling the repercussions from his short-lived marriage and took a holiday with his brother Modest in Clarens on Lake Geneva. In March, they were joined by the violinist Josef Kotek. One of Tchaikovsky’s pupils at the Moscow Conservatory, Kotek had introduced the composer’s music to his future patron, Nadezhda von Meck. At some point in their long friendship, according to Tchaikovsky biographer Alexander Poznansky, the two men became lovers.

In Clarens, composer and former student spent some time playing over various unfamiliar pieces, including Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole, then a new work which Tchaikovsky admired for its piquancy and melodiousness. The combination of Lalo’s concerto and Kotek’s presence inspired in Tchaikovsky a desire to write a violin concerto himself. He immersed himself in work on the concerto and had it fully sketched in a few weeks. By the end of April, he had orchestrated the whole work.

Kotek’s advice and encouragement, and his belief in Tchaikovsky’s abilities, were crucial in the work’s composition. Kotek was originally to have been the concerto’s dedicatee, but Tchaikovsky was concerned at the gossip this would cause in Moscow, and instead dedicated the work to Leopold Auer, a renowned performer and teacher, whose pupils were to include Mischa Elman and Jascha Heifetz.

Tchaikovsky’s hope that Auer’s fame would help promote the concerto was dashed when Auer claimed that the work was technically impossible and structurally weak; in short, that he would not learn it. Then Kotek decided that he didn’t want to play it either, which caused Tchaikovsky to break with him altogether. In fact, three years were to pass before Jurgenson, who had since published the score, informed Tchaikovsky that Adolph Brodsky was planning to play the piece at a Vienna Philharmonic concert under Hans Richter in December 1881. There was a furious mixture of applause, boos and hissing afterwards, with Brodsky being acclaimed and the work derided. The Viennese critics, always fairly conservative, were almost universal in their condemnation of the concerto. The most influential of these was Eduard Hanslick, champion of Brahms and enemy of Wagner, who wrote a review of infamous vituperation.

“For a while the concerto has proportion, is musical, and is not without genius, but soon savagery gains the upper hand…The violin is no longer played: it is yanked about, it is torn asunder, it is beaten black and blue.”

Tchaikovsky was shocked at the vehemence of Hanslick’s review, but Brodsky was not dissuaded and remained the work’s most fervent champion. Auer eventually overcame his opposition to the concerto and played it to great acclaim, also introducing it to many of his pupils.

The work opens with a scene-setting introduction, after which the soloist enters with a brief flourish, then announces the main theme of the first movement. Soon the second subject appears, a melody of great tenderness. From this point the temperature of the first movement rises considerably, with the solo part becoming much more virtuosic and the orchestral writing increasingly colourful. There is a magnificently varied cadenza for the soloist.

Kotek felt Tchaikovsky’s original slow movement was too insubstantial and sentimental, and the composer agreed, replacing it with the Canzonetta. After a simple chordal introduction for the woodwinds, the soloist takes up a hushed, appropriately song-like theme. This is one of Tchaikovsky’s most purely beautiful creations. He eventually published the original version of this movement as Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Op.42.

The Finale follows on without a break, and immediately the soloist has a dazzling, short cadenza, which leads straight into the movement’s vigorous main theme, a short, folk-like dance tune. The second theme, introduced over a bagpipe-like drone on the strings, is a temporary lyrical resting-place in the movement’s wild infectiousness.

First Performance:
4 December 1881, Vienna. Hans Richter, conductor; Adolf Brodsky, soloist.

First WASO Performance:
1 June 1946. Walter Susskind, conductor; Vaughan Hanly, soloist.

Most Recent WASO Performance:
4 & 5 August 2023. Asher Fisch, conductor; Benjamin Beilman, soloist.

Instrumentation:
two each of flutes, oboes, clarinets and bassoons; four horns, two trumpets; timpani, and strings.

Glossary

Cadenza – a showy passage by a solo instrument, usually towards the end of a concerto movement. Originally, cadenzas were improvised by the soloist to show off their brilliant technique.
Canzonetta – originally, a short song, but the term has come to be used for short instrumental pieces with a song-like feel.
Drone – a single, low note held for a long time while other instruments play melodies above it.
Orchestrate/orchestration – the process by which the composer allocates the various notes and melodies to the different instruments and combinations of instruments in the orchestra.
Subject – a principal theme, or group of themes, on which a composition is based. Symphonic works, and especially first movements, often feature two contrasting subjects.

About the Music

Sergei Prokofiev
(1891–1953)

Romeo and Juliet: Highlights

Lawrence Renes has selected movements from Prokofiev’s concert suites and the original ballet to create a narrative suite in three broad sections.

Act I
Romeo at the Fountain –
Scene (The Street Awakens) –
Morning Dance –
Juliet as a Young Girl –
Montagues and Capulets

Act II
Masks –
Romeo and Juliet (Balcony Scene) –
Friar Laurence –
Death of Tybalt

Acts III & IV
Romeo and Juliet Before Parting –
Juliet’s Funeral –
Juliet’s Death

As a music lover, what first comes to mind when you think of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet? Most likely – if radio playlists and concert programs are any guide – it will be the fierce movement that begins the second and most popular of the concert suites: Montagues and Capulets. But if you know this music from the theatre – if you’re a ballet fan – you’ll know the curtain rises to the quiet strains of a doomed love motif.

Lawrence Renes does neither. He sets out with whimsical music from the ballet’s introduction (Romeo at the Fountain) but omits the love theme ‘spoiler’, allowing the musical tale to unfold without foreshadowing. He’s assembled movements from Prokofiev’s three concert suites in narrative order to create a miniature ballet in three acts, and in an unusual but beautiful choice, turns to the final, anguished scenes of the ballet score itself for the conclusion.

The result captures the essence of the greatest of 20th-century ballets. As its first choreographer, Leonid Lavrovsky, observed, Prokofiev ‘carried on where Tchaikovsky left off’ – developing symphonic principles in ballet music. Lavrovsky also described Prokofiev as: ‘one of the first Soviet composers to bring to the ballet stage genuine human emotions and full-blooded characters. The boldness of his musical treatment, the clear-cut characterisations, the diversity and intricacy of his rhythms, the unorthodoxy of his harmonies … serve to create the dramatic development of the performance.’

Boldness. Clarity. Characterisation. Colour. Heartfelt drama. And a dash of the unexpected, not to mention Prokofiev’s wonderful, quirky melodies. Another ingredient in the ballet’s success is the deft use of motto themes to develop character and shape a cohesive musical narrative. Normally, this feature is lost in the concert suites, which Prokofiev assembled with little regard to the drama, but it re-emerges in this selection.

The genesis of the ballet was a drama in its own right – the course of theatrical success ‘never did run smooth’ – and the suites played their part. Like Tchaikovsky before him, Prokofiev’s music had been dismissed as ‘impossible to dance to’, and by 1936, both the Kirov (Mariinsky) and Bolshoi theatres had backed out. Instead, Prokofiev developed several concert suites (two for orchestra, one for piano), which were favourably received.

The opportunity to give the stage premiere was seized by Ivo Vana-Psota of the Brno Ballet in then Czechoslovakia, and on 30 December 1938, a performance using the first two orchestral suites was presented to acclaim. (The third orchestral suite followed in 1945.)

These suites were no mere hackwork. While some movements are taken more or less verbatim from the original version of the ballet score (the intrepid gate-crashing of Masks and the meditative Friar Laurence), several are cleverly reworked combinations of different numbers. In Montagues and Capulets, for example, the shrieking dissonance of the Prince of Verona’s decree against duelling introduces the aggressive posturing of the Dance of the Knights from the Capulets’ ball with its stamping bass line and the jerky, wide-ranging melody. There’s savagery lurking under the surface; quiet menace in the sound of a saxophone.

The Death of Tybalt – an impetuous study in orchestral virtuosity – conflates the music of two duels. The movement’s conclusion is especially striking: an implacable funeral ‘march’ in three-four time. And Romeo and Juliet Before Parting combines five different sections from Act III, including an intensely felt interlude from much later in the act, when Juliet is alone after her refusal to marry Paris. Listen for the tender viola solo.

By contrast, Juliet as a Young Girl is a self-contained character portrait. Prokofiev gives Juliet three distinct motifs: a vibrant scherzo, playful and spontaneous, that punctuates the movement; then a graceful theme introduced by the clarinet, harmonically richer and more poised but still simple. Finally, there’s a poignant, yearning motif, played at first by the flute but never quite developed into a complete melody. Instead, it gives way to other voices (cello, clarinet, saxophone…) in waves of conflicting emotions. This theme will reach its fruition in Juliet’s Death, when Prokofiev finally unleashes its melodic and harmonic potential.

The suites are illuminating in another way. By the time Romeo and Juliet came home to the Kirov in 1940, with ‘great pomp and our best dancers’, the ballet score had become the victim of ‘meddling’ (Prokofiev’s word). Lavrovsky’s unauthorised changes included thicker orchestrations, emphasising brass and percussion, to create the ‘monumental’ sound that appealed to the Soviet aesthetic, and Prokofiev had been obliged to add conventional solos for the principal characters. (For example, in the final ballet, but not the earlier suite, the Act II balcony scene includes a solo for Romeo.)

The suites preserve the translucency of Prokofiev’s original sound world, but this quality was never lost from the ballet’s final scenes. Juliet’s Funeral is introduced by the unsettling sound of high violin tremolos. The music is sombre yet marked by extreme emotion; when the brass take over, the music becomes edgier. Eventually melody is abandoned to anguished strings and discordant fragments... a return of the great love theme from the Balcony Scene... and all subsides. The waves of emotion hinted at in Juliet as a Young Girl well up in heart-breaking chords and sublimely poised melody. And the ‘curtain’ falls on icy violins poised above the lowest of the orchestral instruments.

Glossary

Orchestration – the composer’s distribution of themes and harmonies among the different instruments and sections of the ensemble; it provides the musical equivalent of colour.
Scherzo – literally, a joke; the term generally refers to a movement in a fast, light triple time, which may involve whimsical, startling or playful elements.
Three-four time – a musical metre in which the beats are grouped in threes, for example, the ‘oom pah pah’ of a waltz (also known as ‘triple time’); normally a march would be in four-four time (groups of four beats): left–right–left–right.

About WASO

Engage | Excite | Experience | Educate

From the centre of Perth to the furthest corners of the state, we have provided the soundtrack to life in WA since 1928.

As the State Orchestra, Perth’s first and finest, WASO is the largest employer of performing artists in Western Australia and reaches two million people with musical experiences each year on stage, in our community, and online.

From concert stages to classrooms, hospitals to aged care, we bring joy, inspire learning, and nurture participation in our community, because everybody deserves the opportunity to experience live music. Every year, through community and leading industry partnerships, we engage a new generation of young and emerging artists to help secure a bright future for music in Australia.

We celebrate our rich classical music heritage with great artists from all over the world and commission and perform new repertoire to renew and expand it. The Orchestra collaborates widely with major arts companies and independent artists, performing opera to ballet, movies to musicals, jazz to rock.

Asher Fisch is Principal Conductor and Artistic Adviser of our Orchestra. We champion the diversity of music in all its forms, with a team of talented and passionate people who create unforgettable experiences for all West Australians to enjoy.

Your Concert Experience

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Crescendo 2025: A Joyful Year of Music and Growth

2025 was a vibrant and inspiring journey for the Crescendo Program. Throughout the year, classrooms at Medina Primary School and North Parmelia Primary School were filled with rhythm, harmony, and the unmistakable buzz of young musicians discovering what they are capable of.

A highlight of the year was the End of Year Concert, ‘Make Some Noise’. Students lit up the stage with energetic performances of favourites such as ‘Walk the Dinosaur’, ‘Eye of the Tiger’, ‘Thunderstruck’, and a powerful whole school three-part rendition of ‘You’re the Voice’. From steady beats in the early years to confident harmonies in upper primary, every performance reflected dedication, teamwork, and growing musical skill. Watching students perform with pride and enthusiasm was a true celebration of their progress.

Strings students have flourished, developing confidence in their technique while learning the joy of making music together. Ensemble rehearsals have nurtured focus, listening skills, and collaboration, culminating in expressive performances of ‘Sunrise at Kakadu’ and ‘We Will Rock You’. The sense of achievement on stage was palpable.

Live music experiences have continued to spark imagination and ambition. Students were captivated by WASO’s Education Chamber Ensemble performances, and finished the year with a festive Crescendo Christmas Concert with vocalist Lauren Ashlea Fraser and a composing workshop with percussion artist Genevieve Wilkins.

We were also delighted to announce our 2025 String Scholarship recipients, Elizabeth Spiridiglioza and Maple Weary, who will continue their musical journeys in 2026.

Crescendo 2025 was a year of confidence, creativity and connection – a joyful reminder of the power of music to bring young people together and help them shine.

We gratefully acknowledge the philanthropic donors, corporate community, and Trusts and Foundations who generously support Crescendo, with special thanks to Lead Partner, The Balnaves Foundation.

Supporting WASO

A new season, an exciting chapter for WASO. We welcome you to a season of music that will astound, delight, inspire, and enchant.

As a not-for-profit organisation that thrives on the enthusiasm, passion, and support of our generous donors, we cannot express our gratitude and excitement enough ahead of the 2026 Season. Through the magnanimity of our WASO family, we are able to bring joyful and inspiring performances to audiences throughout Western Australia.

This evening's performance is made even more special through the generosity of our philanthropic supporters, with Mozart’s The Magic Flute Overture, Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, and two movements from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet having been purchased philanthropically. This support directly enables us to bring great works of the repertoire to life on stage and to share them with our community.

When you support WASO, you become part of a family unified by a love of music. Many people remember the first time they heard a classical piece and were instantly hooked, a moment that inspired their ongoing support for the organisation that makes it all possible.

To learn more about supporting WASO, please contact our Philanthropy team on (08) 9326 0016 or visit our website.

The importance of our giving community is to be valued and congratulated. You are making a difference to what you see on stage - your commitment is a source of constant inspiration for us.

We are proud to acknowledge our donor family, many of whom give to multiple areas and some who wish to remain unnamed.

Thank you.

Patron of Private Giving
Janet Holmes à Court AC

Duet Partnerships
Prue Ashurst
Alexander Millier (Principal Bass Clarinet)
The Baker Family
Kylie Liang (Associate Principal 2nd Violin)
Samantha Wickramasinghe (Violin)
Minoti Bhagat and Richard Bessell-Browne
Giovanni Vinci (Double Bass)
Dr Glenda Campbell-Evans & Dr Ken Evans AM
Joshua Davis (Principal Trombone)
Michelle Todd
Oliver McAslan (Cello)
Future Logic
Benjamin Caddy (Viola)
Maryllis and Paul Green-Armytage
Nik Babic (Viola)
The Gregg Family
Nicholas Metcalfe (Cello)
Brian & Romola Haggerty
Jeremy Garside (Cello)
Dale & Greg Higham
Liam O’Malley (Associate Principal Trombone)
Janet Holmes à Court AC
John Keene (Associate Principal Double Bass)
Gina Humphries
Helen Tuckey (Viola)
Jim & Freda Irenic
François Combémorel (Associate Principal Percussion & Timpani)
Roger Jennings
James Munro (Viola)
Dale & Michael Kitney
Andrea Mendham (Violin)
MACA
Semra Lee (Assistant Concertmaster)
Rod & Margaret Marston
Horn section
MIMI
Akiko Miyazawa (Violin)
Meg O’Neill, Chase Hayes & Vicky Hayes
Adam Mikulicz (Associate Principal Bassoon)
Joshua & Pamela Pitt
Jonathan Ryan (Principal Cor Anglais)
Rosalind & Lyndsay Potts
Rebecca Glorie (Violin)
Jean & Peter Stokes
Alex Timcke (Principal Timpani)
Ruth E. Thorn and Michael & Helen Tuite
Liz Chee (Principal Oboe)
Leanne & Sam Walsh AO
Allan Meyer (Principal Clarinet)
John & Nita Walshe
Jenna Smith (Principal Trumpet)
Unnamed (5)
Mary-Anne Blades (Associate Principal Flute)
Shigeru Komatsu (Cello)
Louise Sandercock (Violin)
Fotis Skordas (Cello)

Giving Circles

Recognising gifts received in the last 12 months, which support our inspiring performances and empower us to enrich lives with music.

Chairman’s Circle
$25,000+
Jean Arkley in memory of Tom Arkley
Prue Ashurst in memory of Eoin Cameron
The Baker Family
Gavin Bunning Family
Dr Glenda Campbell-Evans & Dr Ken Evans AM
Pandy & Professor Michael Clinton
Richard Goyder AO & Janine Goyder
The Gregg family
Jamelia Gubgub & David Wallace
Brian & Romola Haggerty
Janet Holmes à Court AC
Tony & Gwenyth Lennon
Louise & Bryant Macfie
Rod & Margaret Marston
Dr Lesa Melnyczuk Morgan
Meg O’Neill, Vicky Hayes & Chase Hayes
Joshua & Pamela Pitt
Rosalin Sadler in memory of Joyce Durbin Sadler
Geoff Stearn
Peter & Jean Stokes
Ruth Stratton
Clare Thompson SC in memory of Dr Brad Power
Reto Vogel
Leanne & Sam Walsh AO
John & Nita Walshe
Alan Whitham
Unnamed (1)

Principal Conductor’s Circle
$10,000+
Minoti Bhagat & Richard Bessell-Browne
Frauke Chambers in memory of Keith
Catherine Dunn & Barrie Heald
Bridget Faye AM
Dr Penny Herbert in memory of Dunstan Herbert
Dale & Greg Higham
Jim & Freda Irenic
Bill Kean
LeMessurier Charitable Trust
Rosalind & Lyndsay Potts
Paul Rodoreda in memory of Mary Rodoreda
Helen & Roger Sandercock
Michael & Helen Tuite
Fred & Nicola Wehr
Unnamed (2)

Maestro Circle
$5,000+
David & Suzanne Biddles
Gay & Robert Branchi
Stewart Candlish & Bianca Panizza
Prof Rachel & Rev Dr John Cardell-Oliver
Maree Creighton & Kevin Davis
Stephen Davis & Linda Savage
Lorraine Ellard & Ron Bade OAM
Louise Farrell OAM & Eric Isaachsen
The Giorgetta Charity Fund
Sue Hovell
Gina Humphries
Margaret & Peter James
Roger Jennings
Keith & Gaye Kessell
Dale & Michael Kitney
Rosalind Lilley
Marie Mills & Anthony Crocker
Mrs Morrell
Michael & Lesley Page
Kenneth Pettit
Wayne Robinson
Julia Seabrook in memory of Lady Jean Brodie-Hall
Michael Snell OAM & Vicki Stewart
Peter & Jane Thompson in memory of Mrs Freda Stimson
Ruth E. & Neville Thorn
Rhondda Tilbrook
Michelle Todd in memory of Andrew
Fred & Caroline Witting
Sara Wordsworth
Unnamed (9)

Virtuoso Circle
$2,500+
Caroline Allen & Sandy Dunn
Neil Archibald & Alan R Dodge AM
Tony & Mary Beeley
Peter & Marjorie Bird
Anthea Cheney
Robert Clifton
Linda Colville & Frank Glass
Gena Culley
Lesley & Peter Davies
Robyn Glindemann
Maryllis & Paul Green-Armytage
Peter Hansen-Thiim
Warwick Hemsley AO
Peter Ingram
Diane Johnson in memory of Tim Johnson
Ross & Fran Ledger
Lommers Engineering Pty Ltd
Oliver & Sophie Mark
Cynthia McCumiskey
Andreas W. Merk
Sunny & Ann Lee
John S Paterson
Rosemary Peek
Wendy & Stephen Powles
Anne & Robin Salter
Melanie & Paul Shannon
Dorothy Smith OAM
Elisabeth & David Smith
Mary Townsend
George Van Beek
Leonard Walker
Joy Wearne
Unnamed (5)

Principal Circle
$1,000+
Moira Bailey
Ruth Bailey
Clare Bannister & Will Riseborough
Ray & Jan Batey
Peter Bath
Sarah & Colin Beckett AO
Lea Bingemann
Margaret Bloch
E & P Boland
Cathy Bolt in memory of Tony Bolt
K & C Bond
Diane Brennan OAM
Christine Burson
Ian & Marilyn Burton
Adrienne & Phillip Buttrose
Joan Carney
David Castillo & Marian Magee
Fred & Angela Chaney
Grant & Catherine Chappelle
S Cherian
Dr Anne Chester
Jason & Su-Lyn Chong
Dr Frank Christiansen & Dr Keryn Christiansen
Kenneth Clark
Peter & Sue Clifton
Lyn & Harvey Coates AO
Brenda Cohen
Norah & Roger Cooper
Rev Des Cousins
Kaylene Cousins
Megan & Arthur Criddle
Mrs Patricia D'Aurizio
Michael & Wendy Davis
Monique De Vianna
Lee Delaney
Kevin Della Bosca
Rai & Erika Dolinschek
Bev East
Pamela Eldred
Kerry & Norbert Fandry OAM
Dr Jenny & Terry Fay
Susan & Gavin Fielding AM
Archa Fox & Charlie Bond
George Gavranic
Dr Anne Gray
Jannette Gray
Dr Barry Green
Pitsamai & Kevin Green
Shona Hall
Richard B Hammond
Pauline & Peter Handford
Nick Handran Smith & Elizabeth Allan
Mrs Hansen-Knarhoi in memory of Harry
John & Christine Hedges
Elizabeth & Eric Heenan KC
Barbie Henryon
Dallas Hickman & Alex Hickman
Helen Hollingshead
Dr K & Mr J Hopkins OAM
John Hopkins
Judith Hugo OAM
Emy & Warren Jones
Dr Susan M Joubert
Noelle & Dr Anthony Keller AM
C & V Kennedy
Patricia M King
Leonie Kirke
Ulrich & Gloria Kunzmann
Tessa La Mela on behalf of Tim Threlfall & Katie Hill
Yvonne Lamble
Irving Lane
Dr Oon Teik Lee
Ruth & Malcolm Leske
Ian & Judith Lunt
Mal Macey
Graham & Muriel Mahony
Denise Main
Dr Tony Mander & Ms Loretta Byrd
Gregg & Sue Marshman
Geoff Massey
Mrs Carolyn Milton-Smith in memory of Emeritus Prof John Milton-Smith
Jane & Jock Morrison
Patricia Murphy
Lynn Murray
Paul Nendick
Val & Barry Neubecker
G & I Nicholas
Lynne & Bob Nicholson
Dr Walter Ong & Graeme Marshall
John Overton
Robyn Owens
Philippa Packer & Dean McAullay
Adam Parker
Roger Paterson
Athena Paton
Tim Pavy & Cathy Cole
Ruth & Adrian Phelps
Charmian Phillips in memory of Colin Craft
Alison Piacentini
Deborah Piesse
Italo Pizzale
Richard & Sharon Prince
Dr Leon Prindiville
Eveline Read
James & Nicola Ridsdill-Smith
Patricia Rigo
Mark Ritter in memory of Deborah Milton
Bryan & Jan Rodgers
Dr Heather Rogers
Gerry & Maurice Rousset OAM
Stephanie Rusyn in memory of John Kobelke
Margaret & Roger Seares
In memory of Judith Sienkiewicz
Helen Smith OAM
Paul Smith & Denham Harry
Ross & Laurel Smith
Peggy & Tom Stacy
Alan & Jan Stewart
Brian Stewart
Joslyn Summerhayes in memory of Eileen Hayes
Summerlin Audiology
Dr Clare Tait & Dr Tim Haggett
Leon Tang
Lisa Telford
Janet & the late Stephen Thackray
Ruth Thomas in memory of Ken & Hazel Rowley
Amanda & Desmond Thompson
Rosemary Tomkinson
Judith Wilton & David Turner
Agatha van der Schaaf
Maggie Venerys
Stan & Valerie Vicich
Geoff & Sandra Wackett
Jeremy Wade & Tara Mala
Penny Walsh in loving memory of Len Walsh
Diana & the late Bill Warnock
Alan Westle in memory of Jean
Moira Westmore & John Dobson
Dr Chris & Mrs Vimala Whitaker
Barbara Wilcox
David & Anne Williams
Janet Williams
Jean & Ian Williams AO
Jim & Gill Williams
Dr Simon & Mrs Alison Williams
Trish Williams
Hilary & Peter Winterton AM
Margaret Wood
Peter Wreford
Nancy York
Andrew & Marie Yuncken
Unnamed (50)

Tutti Circle
$500+
Catherine Bagster
Bernard & Jackie Barnwell
Michael & Nadia Berkeley-Hill
Dr Caroline Bird & Dr Jim Rhoads
John & Sue Bird in memory of Penny Bird
Davilia Bleckly
E & G Bourgault in memory of Betty Sagar
Sue Boyd
Ann Butcher & Dean R Kubank
Jennifer Butement in memory of Margaret Butement
Michelle Candy
R & R Cant
Jill Clarke
Ian Collins
John Collins
Annette Cottee
Pru Cowan
Carole & John Cox
Ann Darby
Adrian De Graaf
Hanneke & Jop Delfos
Stephen Dennis & Daniel Parker
Tania Dworsky & Charles Sutcliffe
The Hon. Richard Philip Eaton
Mary Ellen in memory of Kerensa
Gregory Fitzpatrick
Sue & David Forster
Margaret Fowler
John & Margaret Freeman
Eléonore Fuchter & Lothar Konle
Marion Funke
Jennifer & Stephen Gardiner
Neville & Jane Gibbs
Andrea Gillett
George Grainger
Allan & Jane Green
Gwenyth Greenwood
Rosemary Grigg & Peter Flanigan
Kat & Jeff Haisma
Max Hansen
P.M. Harris
Alan Harvey & Dr Paulien de Boer
David & Deborah Hayes
Elizabeth & Eric Heenan KC
Siew-Mung Ho
Judith & John Huppatz
Drs Paul & Janis Jansz
John Jarvis
Cynthia Jee
Lynn & Michael Jensen
Michael & Josephine Jones
Dr Ursula Kees
Bob Kelliher
B M Kent
Nelly Kleyn
Francis Landels
Dr Warren Lilleyman
David Lun
Stuart Macklin & Peter Lyle
Robyn Main
David Marmont
Pam Mathews & Dr Mark Brogan
Terence Middleton
Patricia & Kevin Morgan
Dr & Mrs Peter Moss
Margaret & Bruce Murdoch
Phuong N T Nguyen
Matthew Pearce & Kim Denham
Jennifer Rankin
Rosie Reeman
Geraldine Roxburg
Chris & Serge Rtshiladze
Jane & Steve Sherwood
Helen Shilkin-Reinhold
Jan Sillence
Hendrik Smit
John & Elizabeth Spoor
Ian & Di Taylor
Gavin Toovey
Judith & Rod Tudball
Heather & Jim Tunmore
Robyn & Loren White
Deborah Wiseman
Alison Woodman
Andrew Yeates
Dr Susan Young
Mr Chris & Mrs Kathy Ziatas
Unnamed (40)

Friends Circle
$40+
593 Members

The Instrument Fund

John Albright & Susan Lorimer – Education Double Bass and set of Trumpets
Dr Glenda Campbell-Evans & Dr Ken Evans AM – Tenor Trombone
Peter Ingram – Piccolo
Deborah Marsh – Conductor’s Podium and Cor Anglais
Margaret & Rod Marston – Bass Clarinet
Peggy & Tom Stacy – Cor Anglais and Piccolo
Jean & Peter Stokes – Cello, Tuba, Tenor Trombone, Bass Trombone, Wooden Trumpet, French Horn and Music Score Folders

Legacy

Major Gifts
Tom & Jean Arkley
Bendat Family Foundation
Gavin Bunning Family
Janet Holmes à Court AC
Rod & Margaret Marston
Minderoo Foundation
Rosalin Sadler
In memory of Bob Tonkinson
In memory of Francis Edward Yeomans
Sagitte Yom-Tov Fund

Estates
Lee Bickford
Rachel Mabel Chapman
S & J Dale
Sandra Gray
Liz Harrison
Malcolm Hood
Clive Knight
Paul Lee
Wolfgang Lehmkuhl
Tony & Gillian Milne
William Muston
Patricia New
Anna Nottage in memory of Edgar Nottage
Claude & Noreen Riordan
Colleen Rintoul
Wendy Scanlon
Judy Sienkiewicz
Roslyn Warrick
Unnamed (8)

The Symphony Circle
Julian Agafonoff & David Escott

Kevin 'Joe' Blake
Davilia Bleckly
Jon Bonny
Dr G Campbell-Evans
Deirdre Carlin
Phillip & Frances Chadwick
Fleur Challen
Dr Anne Chester
Anita & James Clayton
Lesley & Peter Davies
Dr Michael Flacks
John Foster
Judith Gedero
Robyn Glindemann
Gwenyth Greenwood
The Guy Family
Angus Holmes
J.A.M
Roger Jennings in memory of Lilian Jennings
Emy & Warren Jones
Barbara Joseph
Colin & Jo King
Rachael Kirk & Tim White
Jaehan Lee
Stewart Lloyd
Dr Mary Ellen MacDonald
Anne & William MacLeod
Deborah Marsh
Lesley & Murray McKay
Suzanne Nash
Paul Nendick
Paula Phillips
Wayne Robinson
Jan & Bryan Rodgers
Nigel & Dr Heather Rogers
Rosalin Sadler in memory of Joyce Durbin Sadler
Peta Saunders
Jacinta Sirr-Williams
Ross & Laurel Smith
Susan Stitt
Ruth Stratton
Ruth E. & Neville Thorn
Gavin Toovey
George Van Beek
Agatha van der Schaaf
Sheila Wileman
Sagitte Yom-Tov Fund
Unnamed (55)

Every effort is made to ensure our Giving List is accurate; however, should you notice an error please contact our Philanthropy team on (08) 9326 0016.

To share in our vision and discuss the many opportunities extended through corporate partnerships please contact Corporate Development on 08 9326 0020.

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Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto

How to use your Digital Program

Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto

Did you know?

WASO On Stage

KEY

About the Artists

Lawrence RenesConductor

About the Artists

Sergej KrylovViolin

About the Music

About the Music

Glossary

About the Music

Glossary

About WASO

Your Concert Experience

Crescendo 2025: A Joyful Year of Music and Growth

Supporting WASO

Our Supporters

Connect with WASO

2026 Corporate Partners

Principal Partner

Government Partners

Premiere Partners

Serenade the City Partner

Lead Partners

Major Partners

Supporting Partners

Beverage Partners

Lawrence Renes
Conductor

Sergej Krylov
Violin