MSO Classical Series - Season 2026 - 3 Show Package

Live music can enrich us with new emotional experiences. It can also provide a great night out. In both of these spirits, the MSO presents a mood-lifting concert program.

Frankston Arts Centre brings the vibe, and Richard Strauss brings the laughs. His Le bourgeois gentilhomme is a musical comedy about a normal bloke who dreams of joining the upper classes, a bit like My Fair Lady but more satirical. As the character attempts to climb a dazzling social ladder, Strauss provides a score that recalls music from the Baroque era in which the original story was written. This echoes another piece on the program, J.S. Bach’s Suite in D Major. Be sure to listen out for Air in G, its most famous movement and one that’s bound to tug at your heartstrings. 

Not only will Jaime Martín lead this event from the podium, but he’ll also swap baton for flute when he performs Mozart’s Flute Concerto in G Major. Be there to see our Chief Conductor in a different light as soloist with the MSO!

Our versatile Concertmaster Natalie Chee will also take a showstopping role in this concert that relies heavily on the expressive foundations of the violin.

Program:
J.S. Bach Suite in D Major
Mozart Flute Concerto in G Major
R. Strauss Le bourgeois gentilhomme

Featuring:
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Jaime Martín director / flute
Natalie Chee violin

Presented by: Frankston Arts Centre and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

How about a crash course in the history of Western music? Maybe you’ve never heard an orchestra, and you’re after a jam-packed program to show you what it’s all about. Or perhaps you’re a masterful listener, and your ears are your instruments. No matter where you’re coming from, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is ready to take you on a tour through the ages.

Haydn wrote La Passione in the ‘storm and stress’ movement. A few centuries on, Matthew Locke composed The Tempest about Shakespeare’s furious sea storm. C.P.E Bach had already laid the foundations upon which these emotionally charged works were created, and his Sinfonia also offers the rare chance to hear the MSO play a period piece. It’s why we’ve invited early music expert Chad Kelly to conduct.

Principal Horn Nicolas Fleury will feature as the starring soloist in Mozart’s Horn Concerto. These two artists were not born in Melbourne, yet they’ve both chosen to make their homes here. Whether you live in the city or you’re travelling here for the concert, we look forward to sharing this chock-full concert with you.

Program:
C.P.E Bach Sinfonia in D major, WQ183: first movement
Haydn Symphony No.49 La Passione
Mozart Horn Concerto No.2
Locke The Tempest: Curtain Theme
Beethoven Symphony No.2

Featuring:
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Chad Kelly conductor
Nicolas Fleury horn

Presented by: Frankston Arts Centre and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra 

He may be in high demand, but violinist Christian Li dedicates himself to learning just one concerto per year – and with expert precision.In 2026, it’s Brahms’ riveting Violin Concerto. We started working with the Melbourne-born virtuoso when he was an early teenager, and he returns to his home city after building a thriving career in the United Kingdom.

Our former Assistant Conductor Tianyi Lu is another familiar face in this exciting event. The Chinese-born New Zealand conductor has worked with orchestras across the globe, and will once again lead musicians of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Be swept into the fairytale of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, a romantic suite based on his ballet about a princess cursed to live as a swan. Hear it alongside a work rarely performed in Australia – Swedish composer Elfrida Andrée’s Andante quasi recitativo. Her stirring music for strings was written in 1877, the same year Swan Lake premiered.

Just like our two special guests, each composer on our program lived at the same time as each other, but left their mark on different places around the world. Join us for this cultural snapshot of the 19th Century, performed by the artists who define our own generation.

Program:
Elfrida Andree Andante Quasi Recitativo for Strings
Brahms Violin Concerto
Tchaikovsky Swan Lake Suite

Featuring:
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Tianyi Lu conductor
Christian Li violin

Presented by: Frankston Arts Centre and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra