The Sydney Symphony Orchestra has announced its 2022 season, the first with Simone Young officially at the helm as Chief Conductor, and notable for the orchestra’s return to the refurbished Sydney Opera House Concert Hall in July. The venue – which has been closed for upgrading since February 2020 – was scheduled to reopen at the start of the year but delays due to COVID mean that the reopening celebrations have been pushed back to mid-year.

Simone Young

Chief Conductor Simone Young. Photo © Jay Patel

The statistics on paper are impressive: 21 international artists, including seven international guest conductors, works by 14 Australian composers – more than half of them women – including 11 world premieres created as part of the orchestra’s ambitious 50 Fanfares project, and 39 members of the SSO given solo roles in concerts of orchestral or chamber music. There are some welcome returns, notably Principal Guest Conductor Sir Donald Runnicles after a pandemic-enforced absence, and former Chief Conductor Edo de Waart. Soloists that immediately catch the eye include Australians Nicole Car, Emma Matthews and Ray Chen, and international artists James...