Ryman Healthcare Spring Gala: Beethoven's Ninth

The grand finale of our Beethoven Festival – featuring some of Australia’s best opera singers, the MSO Chorus, and a brand new MSO commission – under the baton of Chief Conductor Jaime Martín.

Known for his exceptional choral music, the title of Sir James MacMillan’s Concerto for Orchestra is something of an enigma, in that a concerto is conventionally written for a solo instrument and orchestra, rather than for orchestra and… orchestra. Join MSO in cracking the code of this newly commissioned work from one of the UK’s most sought-after composers.

After eight symphonies, Beethoven took his Ninth to a whole new level by composing the biggest symphony in existence – a beast of a work depicting the triumphant union of all mankind. Almost entirely deaf by this point, this landmark feat for choir and orchestra is best known for its epic finale ­­of Ode to Joy. A star-studded line-up of soloists join the MSO and MSO Chorus for this rousing performance of the great choral symphony.