Protests disrupt the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's Proms appearance

Khatia Buniatishvili

Jaime Martín conducts the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

By Dominic Lowe, 31 August 2025

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“on the impressionist side, with undefined notes blurring into one silky stream”

Reviewed at Royal Albert Hall, London on 29 August 2025

Sutherland, Haunted Hills

Dvořák, Symphony no. 6 in D major, Op.60

Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto no. 1 in B flat minor, Op.23

Bach, Concerto in D minor (after A. Marcello), BWV974

Khatia Buniatishvili, Piano

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

Jaime Martín, Conductor

From Elgar to didgeridoo: the Melbourne Symphony play the Elphi

Mengguang Huang, 28th August

Under Jaime Martín, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra showcase Indigenous music through William Barton’s didgeridoo alongside Elgar and Mussorgsky, creating a visually and sonically vivid, if uneven, evening.

***11

Sir Andrew Davis leads Elgar’s Gerontius in Melbourne

Patricia Maunder, 8th March

The double choir triumphs in the MSO’s massive, mostly successful attack on an English choral masterpiece all too rarely performed in Australia.

***11

Soloists and orchestra shine in MSO Opening Gala

Nicholas Young, 3rd March

A celebration of composer, soloist and orchestral excellence in an eclectic, if slightly eccentric, gala opening program to launch the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's 2018 season.

****1

Bartók and Shostakovich with power and precision in Melbourne

Nicholas Young, 10th August

Pitch-perfect Bartók by Ibragimova and a boldly expansive reading of Shostakovich's Fifth by Hrůša made for an insightful evening's reflection on musical early modernity.

****1

Fraternity and frivolity: from Bizet to Elgar in Melbourne

Nicholas Young, 28th July

Under Benjamin Northey's baton and Kristian Chong's fingers, Bizet's Carmen Suite and Saint-Saëns' Second Piano Concerto dazzle, but it's Elgar's Sospiri and Enigma Variations that truly made the evening.

***11

A meeting of masterly musical minds

Nicholas Young, 15th July

Egarr, Bezuidenhout and the MSO are the perfect match in this celebration of Mozart's wit and genius, delivering historically grounded and exhilarating interpretations of treasured favourites.

****1

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Dominic Lowe

Dominic Lowe recently completed a degree in Classics, and one of his great interests is the reception of Greece and Rome in opera. A regular opera-goer since his very early teens, he is particularly keen on the hidden operatic gems of the 19th century. He is largely based in the South of England.