2026 Season Opening Gala

About this performance
What’s the greatest opening theme of all time? If your answer is Star Wars, you’ve chosen well – this is the fanfare that will launch Season 2026. Begin your year with the MSO as you listen to memorable music from John Williams. It kicks off with crashing cymbals before sending you on a journey to a galaxy far, far away...

Our gala continues with Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F. You’re back down on Earth, but you’ve landed in the Jazz Age. Concertgoers who attended the New York City premiere of this work in 1925 would’ve gone home to read the hottest new novel on the shelves, The Great Gatsby. In this performance, you’ll hear French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet conjure the glitz and glamour of this time in history. You may already be familiar with the expertise of the soloist; he’s recorded soundtracks for movies including Pride and Prejudice and The French Dispatch.

MSO Chief Conductor Jaime Martín leads this concert to its climax with Rachmaninov’s lively Symphonic Dances, also composed in the United States during the early 20th Century. Enter your year of live music with these monumental contributions to popular culture.

Featuring
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Jaime Martín conductor
Jean-Yves Thibaudet piano

Program
John Williams Star Wars: Suite for Orchestra
Gershwin Piano Concerto in F
Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances

You may also like the following events from Melbourne Symphony Orchestra:

• This Saturday, 28th February, 09:30 am, Strauss and Mozart in Melbourne
• Next Saturday, 7th March, 09:30 am, 2026 Season Opening Gala in Melbourne
• Next month, 12th March, 09:30 am, Also sprach Zarathustra in Melbourne

Also check out other Music events in Melbourne, Entertainment events in Melbourne, Concerts in Melbourne.