The Sydney Symphony Orchestra has announced an eclectic 2015 season with some bold programming that will see contemporary works performed shoulder to shoulder with well-loved staples of the orchestral repertoire.  The standout in next year’s season however, has to be the world-class line up of artists that SSO Chief Conductor David Robertson has assembled for the concert performances of Wagner’s operatic masterwork Tristan and Isolde, taking place next June. The SSO’s Wagner blockbuster, led by Australian heldentenor and Opera Awards Singer of the Year Stuart Skelton in his role debut, and joined by Christine Brewer, Katarina Karneus and Derek Welton with the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, is surely one of the must-see events for Opera lovers in Australia next year.

David Robertson © Jay Fram

Robertson’s confident and bold approach to 2015’s program continues with a series of concerts showcasing Schumann’s sometimes under-rated symphonies, which will share the bill with two Australian premieres.  Robertson’s connection to the European avant-garde (he was the music director of contemporary music heavyweights Ensemble Intercontemporain from 1992 – 2000) has clearly inspired his choice to introduce a relatively unknown European composer, Germany’s Jörg Widmann, to an Australian...