MSO What’s On for April and May 2026
Season 2026 celebrates 120 years of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performing for audiences across Victoria, Australia and the globe.
In April and May, the MSO’s program of timeless classics features Beethoven’s Second Symphony alongside works by Mahler and Rachmaninov. In Mahler & Tchaikovsky, flugelhorn virtuoso Sergei Nakariakov performs his distinctive arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, originally composed for cello, alongside the world premiere of a new work by Cybec Young Composer in Residence Andrew Aronowicz.
Chief Conductor Jaime Martín returns to the podium in May to conduct MSO performances of Khachaturian and Shostakovich, featuring Serbian-French violinist Nemanja Radulović. Martín wraps up the month conducting works from Dvorák, Smetana and a new MSO co-commission from Spanish born composer Francisco Coll, performed by Russian American pianist Kirill Gerstein.
Family entertainment includes the 35th anniversary screenings of Disney’s Beauty & The Beast and the blockbuster Jurassic Park, with the MSO performing the scores live to screen, and the first Classic Kids concerts of the year!
APRIL
Disney’s Beauty and the Beast in Concert
Friday 10 April 6:30pm, Saturday 11 April 1:00pm (selling fast) & 8:00pm at Hamer Hall
‘Be our guest’ as the MSO brings Disney’s beloved animated classic Beauty and the Beast to life in a spectacular live-to-film concert experience, celebrating the film’s 35th anniversary. This timeless tale of love and enchantment has captivated generations since its 1991 premiere. Featuring Alan Menken’s Academy Award®- and Grammy Award®-winning score, the film also claimed three Golden Globe Awards® and made history as the first animated feature nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars®. Experience the film on the big screen as the MSO performs Menken’s spellbinding score live under the baton of West Australian Symphony Orchestra Associate Conductor Jen Winley.
Sergei Nakariakov Photo credit: Thierry Cohen
Masterclass with Sergei Nakariakov
Wednesday 15 April 6:30pm at Iwaki Auditorium
Sergei Nakariakov has established himself as one of the most sought-after trumpet players on the international stage and has brought the flugelhorn to international prominence. This masterclass, featuring musicians from the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), is a unique opportunity for brass players to learn from an acclaimed performer, making compelling viewing for aspiring musicians and music lovers alike.
Mahler & Tchaikovsky
Thursday 16 & Friday 17 April (Relaxed performance), 7:30pm; Saturday 18 April 2:00pm at Hamer Hall
A daring new MSO commission from Cybec Young Composer in Residence Andrew Aronowicz, The Erl-King, opens an extraordinary program that includes the world premiere of Flugelhorn virtuoso Sergei Nakariakov’s special arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme, which was originally composed for the cello. Described as “the Paganini of the trumpet” Nakariakov makes his MSO debut under the baton of internationally acclaimed Singaporean conductor Kahchun Wong, who also makes his MSO debut. The adventurous program culminates in Mahler’s Symphony No.1.
Jams for Juniors: Mahler’s First Symphony
Iwaki Auditorium
Saturday 18 April 10:00am (sold out), 11:00am, 12:00pm &1:00pm (Auslan interpreted)
Saturday 02 May 10:00am (sold out), 11:00am, 12:00pm & 1:00pm (Auslan interpreted)
Jams for Juniors is the perfect way to introduce babies and toddlers to the magic of music! Children aged 0-5 and their adults can explore, play and join in at these popular 30-minute musical workshops, led by presenter Karen Kyriakou.
Jurassic Park in Concert
Thursday 23 April & Friday 24 April 7:30pm (Selling fast) and Sunday 26 April 1:00pm (Selling fast) at Hamer Hall
The action-packed adventure pits man against prehistoric predators in the ultimate battle for survival. Featuring visually stunning imagery and groundbreaking special effects, this blockbuster film is sheer movie magic 65 million years in the making. Conductor Nicholas Buc leads the MSO performance of John Williams’ iconic score live to picture.
Music for harp & winds
Sunday 26 April 11:00am at Iwaki Auditorium (Sold out)
This delightful chamber program of works from American and French composers sees harp and wind instruments in colourful combinations that showcase virtuosic versatility through contrasting moods.
Inspired by Rainer Maria Rilke’s poem of the same name, Herbsttag (Autumn Day) was written for flute, bassoon and harp by Uruguayan American Composer Miguel del Aguila. Chamber arrangements of Ravel’s Minuet antique and a suite from Le Tombeau de Couperin find new intimacy in the combination of harp, oboe and bassoon. Samuel Barber’s Summer Music for wind quintet evokes the summer day, while French composer Carlos Salzedo’s Concerto for Harp and Seven Wind Instruments, showcases the harp’s versatility.
APRIL
Chad Kelly
Beethoven, Mozart & more!
Friday 01 May 7:30pm at Frankston Arts Centre Available (sold out)
Saturday 02 May 7:30pm at Hamer Hall
Early music expert Chad Kelly leads the MSO on a tour through the ages, opening with C.P.E Bach’s vibrant Sinfonia. The concert continues with Haydn’s La Passione, written during the ‘storm and stress’ period of German artistic expression, followed by MSO Principal Horn Nicolas Fleury as the starring soloist in Mozart’s Horn Concerto No.2. Matthew Locke’s The Tempest, about Shakespeare’s furious sea storm, sets the scene for Beethoven’s Second Symphony, with its dramatic opening and light-speed strings. Captivating melodies and good cheer prevail despite Beethoven’s deafness becoming more profound during one of the darkest moments of his life.
Beethoven’s Second Symphony Quick Fix at Half Six
Monday 04 May 6:30pm at Hamer Hall – Auslan interpreted
Conductor Chad Kelly guides this journey from darkness to light, complemented by C.P.E Bach’s vibrant Sinfonia and Locke’s atmospheric Tempest theme, culminating in Beethoven’s captivating Second Symphony.
Side by Side: Melbourne Youth Orchestra
Thursday 07 May 7:30pm at Hamer Hall
The next generation of orchestral musicians from the Melbourne Youth Orchestra join musicians of the MSO and soloists from Melba Opera Trust for a very special performance conducted by Nathaniel Griffiths.
Classic Kids: Beethoven’s Gaming Quest
Saturday 09 May 10:30am and 12:30pm Relaxed performance, at Hamer Hall
Cellist, composer and educator Dr Richard Vaudrey joins West Australian conductor Sara Duhig (making her MSO debut) and the MSO to explore the power and emotion of some of Beethoven’s iconic orchestral music and find the perfect musical elements to create the next spectacular gaming score.
Symphony in a Day
Saturday 09 May 7:30pm at Hamer Hall
Passionate ballet and opera conductor Nathaniel Griffiths leads community musicians alongside musicians of the MSO in this special side-by-side performance of Rachmaninov’s Symphony No.2.
MSO Concertmaster Natalie Chee
String Spectacular
Saturday 16 May 7:30pm at Melbourne Recital Centre
Concertmaster Natalie Chee takes the dual roles of director and violin soloist in a program dedicated entirely to the luscious sounds of the string orchestra. String Spectacular opens with Mozart’s sprightly Divertimento, followed by the joyful momentum of Norwegian composer Grieg’s Holberg Suite, and internationally acclaimed Australian composer Ella Macens’profoundly expressive and emotionally resonant work The Lake. Tchaikovsky’s heartfelt Serenade for Strings completes this spectacular program.
Mass of Deliverance
Sunday 17 May 12:00pm at Melbourne Recital Centre
Experience the power of the human voice through two radiant pieces of music from England’s beloved choral composer John Rutter. Gloria begins with a surprisingly high-energy fanfare, and Hymn projects sacred traditions into our modern era. MSO Chorus and musicians will perform these elevating works in the Melbourne Recital Centre, led by conductor Warren Trevelyan-Jones.
Dan Walker’s Mass of Deliverance brings a local voice to our contemporary choral program. Walker’s music is filled with hypnotic moments that chime with magic and majesty and pays direct homage to Rutter’s Gloria, particularly through the choice of instruments.
Gran Partita
Sunday 17 May 6:00pm at Melbourne Recital Centre
Fall in love with one of the most lyrical families in the orchestra as MSO woodwind players soar through melodies from Strauss and Mozart. MSO Principal Oboe Johannes Grosso and Principal Clarinet David Thomas will direct and perform this concert alongside their fellow wind and horn specialists. Already one of Mozart’s most popular pieces, Gran Partita was composed in the 1780s and enjoyed a renewed burst of fame in the 1980s when it featured in the film Amadeus. Richard Strauss modelled his own Wind Sonatina on classic works like this one, which influenced his new style for a fresh generation.
Nemanja Radulović
Great Passions Radulović plays Khachaturian
Thursday 21 May 7:30pm & Saturday 23 May 7:30pm at Hamer Hall
Chief Conductor Jaime Martín conducts the MSO alongside next-generation talent from the Australian National Academy of Music.
The colossal scale of this combined ensemble will envelop audiences in Shostakovich monumental Symphony No.4 and the sounds of Georgian composer Aram Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto, featuring the fiery solos of Franco-Serbian violinist Nemanja Radulović. With “rockstar looks”, Radulović “plays like an absolute angel, caressing the strings like crushed silk to turn the middle movement of Aram Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto into an Armenian lullaby,” (Bachtrack 2024). In his MSO debut, Radulović continues to champion the somewhat neglected Georgian composer.
Kirill Gerstein
Masterclass with Kirill Gerstein
Tuesday 26 May 6:30pm at Iwaki Auditorium
Russian American pianist Kirill Gerstein is known for his fascination for musical discovery combined with boundless curiosity, imagination, and virtuosity. Gerstein is currently Professor of Piano at Berlin’s Hanns Eisler Hochschule and coaches at the Verbier Festival Academy. Featuring musicians from the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), his masterclass is a unique opportunity for pianists to learn from an acclaimed performer and educator, making compelling viewing for aspiring musicians and music lovers alike.
Jaime conducts Dvořák, Smetana & Coll
Thursday 28 May 7:30pm & Saturday 30 May 2:00pm at Hamer Hall
Friday 29 May 7:30pm at Costa Hall, Geelong
Chief Conductor Jaime Martín leads the MSO in the Australian Premiere of a new piano concerto from Spanish-born composer Francisco Coll. Co-commissioned by the MSO, the concerto showcases one of today’s most prolific and compelling performers, Russian American pianist Kirill Gerstein. The program features Dvořák’s Symphony No.7, infused with the Czech composer’s nostalgic love of his homeland. A similarly sentimental theme runs through Smetana’s Má vlast: Vltava, named after the Vltava River, which flows across the Czech countryside.
About the Author
Alex Novus While not travelling, reading, gaming, watching films AND writing reviews and articles, Alex loves exploring the shops of Melbourne searching for classic pop culture trinkets.
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