Sunday 31st August 3:00pm
Program: SAINT SAËNS Danse Macabre TCHAIKOVSKY Romeo & Juliet Overture DVORAK Symphony no 8 Conductor: Sarah-Grace Williams Marrickville Town HallAcknowledgment Of Country
The Metropolitan Orchestra acknowledges the traditional Aboriginal custodians of the land.
We acknowledge this is a country in which the members and elders of the local Aboriginal communities have been custodians for many centuries, and on which these people have performed age-old ceremonies.
The Metropolitan Orchestra acknowledges and pays our respects to the Gadigal, Wangal and Dharug peoples of the Eora Nation, the traditional custodians of this land on which we perform, and we pay our respects to all Elders both past and present.
Supported by Inner West Council
| Saint-Saëns, Camille (1835–1921) | Danse Macabre, Op. 40 |
Few works capture the playful mingling of the eerie and the comic as vividly as Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre. Composed in 1874 as a symphonic poem, it was inspired by a French legend in which Death, at midnight on Halloween, summons the dead from their graves to dance until dawn. The harp strikes twelve on the clock and is followed by the famous ‘Death’s fiddle’ violin solo. Death’s fiddle is portrayed by the concertmaster’s scordatura tuning of the E string to E-flat which produces a sharpened, ghostly dissonance.
Saint-Saëns builds the dance with a lilting waltz that swells in grotesque gaiety. Xylophone clatters imitate rattling bones, woodwinds and brass whirl in mocking echoes, and the music continually balances between sinister atmosphere and sparkling wit. Though unsettling in subject, the tone is often mischievous. Death is not portrayed as a terror, but as a sardonic trickster presiding over a carnival of lively skeletons.
The piece scandalised some early audiences, yet it quickly became one of Saint-Saëns’ most beloved works, admired for its colourful orchestration and dramatic flair. Today, Danse Macabre is a quintessential example of 19th-century program music, blending vivid narrative with dazzling orchestral imagination. As the church bell chimes herald dawn, the spirits vanish, leaving behind only a hushed reminder of the night’s macabre revelry.
| Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Ilyich (1840-1893) | Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy |
Few works capture Shakespeare’s drama in music as vividly as Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy. Written in 1869 and revised several times over the next decade, the piece is not a literal retelling of the play but rather a symphonic reflection on its key emotional ideas – conflict, devotion, and tragic destiny.
The work opens with a solemn chorale for low woodwinds and strings representing Friar Laurence, the well-meaning religious figure who seeks to bring peace to Verona’s feuding families. This quiet meditation is soon shattered by music of violence and urgency, with sharply accented rhythms, brass fanfares, and driving string passages to display the depth of strife between the Montagues and Capulets.
At the heart of the overture lies one of Tchaikovsky’s most enduring melodies, the now famous love theme played by the strings and woodwinds. Radiant and expansive, it conveys both the tenderness and vulnerability of Romeo and Juliet’s devotion to each other amid the turmoil between their families. Yet even as the theme blossoms, it is interrupted by reminders of conflict, foreshadowing the inevitable tragedy.
The conclusion brings a return of turbulence, culminating in a powerful climax that dissolves into a quiet, mournful coda. Here, the love theme reappears transformed, now fragile and wistful, before fading into silence.
Blending symphonic form with dramatic narrative, Tchaikovsky’s overture captures both the passion and poignancy of Shakespeare’s play. Its soaring melodies and sweeping contrasts have made it not only one of Tchaikovsky’s most beloved works, but also one of the great musical interpretations of literature.
| Dvořák, Antonin (1841-1904) | Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. 88 |
I. Allegro con brio
II. Adagio
III. Allegretto grazioso – Molto vivace
IV. Allegro ma non troppo
Dvorak composed this entire symphony between August and November of 1889, and had such little trouble producing material that he was heard to comment at the time – ‘Melodies simply pour out of me’. The first movement took him a mere two weeks to compose, just another week for the second movement, and a few days each for the final two movements.
Despite the symphony overall being in the key of G major (and named accordingly), the beginning of the symphony is very clearly in G minor, with the audience presented with the solemn opening theme by cellos, horns, clarinets and bassoon. This memorable opening statement is used by Dvorak to signal the opening of each of the movement’s important changes – before the exposition, the development section, and it reappears finally at the recapitulation.
The second movement is Dvorak’s version of a pastoral scene, depicting a summer’s day amid serene European country landscapes, interrupted by a thunderstorm of trumpet fanfares and a timpani roll.
The typical third movement symphonic scherzo is altered somewhat and we are presented with a lilting waltz with the theme taken from his own comic opera The Stubborn Lovers.
A trumpet fanfare announces the final movement, with the form of this movement being one of theme and variations. The theme, like many of the most memorable themes in 19th Century orchestral literature, is introduced by the celli. This theme caused Dvorak the most difficulties in the short composition time as despite its apparently simple nature, Dvorak went through nine drafts until he was satisfied. The variations contain a variety of musical whims and gestures, and after fading away in a Haydn-esque Farewell Symphony manner, Dvorak adds a dramatic final page to bring this symphony to its grand conclusion.
© Andrew Doyle 2025
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Today’s Musicians
Concert Master: ^Victoria Jacono-Gilmovich
First Violin: *Dominique Guerbois, Caroline Kelly. Breeana Baxter, Jonathan Karanikas, Fiona Warren, Anna Hansen-Smith, Nan Heo, Greta Lee, Ela Stopa-Zbikowska, Denisa Smeu-Kirileanu
Second Violin: * Catrina Hughes, Katherine Finch, Sarah Anthony, Elisabetta Sonego, Christina Mills, Naomi Warr, Clare Fulton, Jennifer Mee, Victoria Giles, Maria Isaac, Kimberley Santos, Joshua Kok
Viola: *Robyn Botha, Monique Turner, Haemi Lee, Charlie Brown, Alexandra Arkapaw, Liz D’Olier, Kirsten James, Nicola Elsworth, William d’Avigdor, Jane Silcock
Cello: *John Benz, *Ezmi Pepper, Julienne Guerbois, Emily Cavey, Mitchell Quinn, Sally Schinkel-Brown, Lye Lin Ho
Bass: *Jeremy Fox, *Mark Szeto, Jessica Holmes, Paignthor Acevedo-Martin
Flute: *Merryl Neille, Adrienne Hanslow,
Piccolo: *Jacinta Mikus
Oboe: *Alex Fontaine, Katya Amadita
Clarinet: *Alisha Coward, Robert Mackay
Bassoon: *Peta Goh, Joshua Reynolds
French Horn: *Adrian Hallam, Lucy Smith, Jude Kaupe, Robert Stonestreet
Trumpet: *Raphael Harvey, Toby Rands
Trombone: *Gareth Lewis, Mark Brown, Arthur Johnson
Tuba: *James Barrow
Timpani: *Murray Parker
Percussion: *Chiron Meller, Anita Cook, Kaylie Dunstan
Harp: *Kaela Phillips
^ Concert Master * Principal
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