Ravi Shankar and Anoushka Shankar

Tim Woods and Spiritworks present Farewell to Australia . Now at the age of 89, legendary Indian musician Ravi Shankar is making the long journey to Australia for his final performance. He is joined by his daughter, composer and sitar virtuoso Anoushka Shankar. Ravi Shankar has been called a ‘musician to the world’, and ‘visitor from another time’. He has inspired artists from George Harrison of the Beatles to jazz saxophonist John Coltrane to composer Philip Glass. As a young man in the 1930s he toured Europe and North America with his brother, Uday Shankar and his Indian dance troupe. This was the beginning of his lifelong study and performance of Indian and Western classical music and jazz. His leap to international stardom came when he was introduced to Yehudi Menuhin who invited Shankar to bring his music to the world. Through his work the mesmerising sounds of the sitar and tabla have found their way into Hollywood film scores, on to the concert halls, into jazz venues and pop charts.
‘Ravi Shankar has brought me a precious gift and through him I have added a new dimension to my experience of music. To me, his genius and his humanity can only be compared to that of Mozart.’ – Yehudi Menuhin
When: Monday 15, Tuesday 16 March 8.30pm
Where: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
Tickets: $135–$220
Bookings: 9250 777
www.sydneyoperahouse.com  
www.ravishankar.org 

ACO at the Zoo

Richard Tognetti, artistic director and lead violin; Jack Thompson, narrator
Crocodiles, lizards, dugongs, mosquitos, ducks, rabbits, wombats. Can you imagine what they’d sound like in music? With music and verse depicting many different animals, Saint-Saëns’s Carnival of the Animals – A Zoological Fantasy has introduced generations to classical music, firing imaginations. Michael Leunig has added funny new verse to create an Australian Carnival. What better place to see it than at the Zoo, with the animals all around you? Bring a picnic dinner and enjoy the magnificent views of Sydney Harbour which frame the outdoor stage.
Saint-Saëns/Leunig: Carnival of the Animals
Vivaldi: Winter and Summer from The Four Seasons
Saint-Saëns: Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso
Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances
When: Saturday 6 March 7pm
Where: Taronga Zoological Park, Bradleys Head Road, Mosman
Tickets: $56.50
Bookings: 1800 444 444
www.aco.com.au
Special offer: A limited number of tickets for ACO fans and 2MBS listeners are available through www.aco.com.au or ACO Box Office1800 444 444, at the discounted price of $56.50 (save $10 and don’t pay a booking fee).

Charmian Gadd and Friends

Charmian Gadd, violin; Georg Pedersen, cello; Phillip Shovk, piano; Yvette Goodchild, viola
Central Coast Conservatorium presents Charmian Gadd and friends performing a selection of chamber works including Mozart’s Divertimento in E flat, and Grieg’s Sonata for Cello and Piano.
When: Sunday 7 March 2.30pm
Where: Greenway Chapel, Avoca Drive, Green Point
Tickets: $10–$25
Bookings: 4324 7477
www.centralcoastconservatorium.com.au  
image: Charmian Gadd

Resonate 2010

Tenor Rosario La Spina and baritone José Carbo are two of Opera Australia’s great male voices. In this Mighty Voices concert they are accompanied by pianist Stephen Mould in such popular classics as Granada, the duet from The Pearlfishers, and Nessun Dorma. The concert is preceded by a champagne reception and a private viewing of the Hymn to Beauty: The Art of Utamaro exhibition.
When: Friday 12 March 7pm
Where: Art Gallery of NSW, Art Gallery Road, The Domain
Tickets: $78, members $68
Bookings: 9225 1878
www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au
image: Rosario La Spina

SYO – Beethoven, castanets and salsa

Indulge your rhythmic senses with music from across the globe and through the ages with Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio espagnol and Beethoven’s mighty Symphony no 7. Plus be the first to hear Daniel Rojas’s melting pot of Peruvian-Spanish-African rhythms in the world premiere of Between Rituals and Street Parties featuring the winner of the prestigious 2008 Sydney International Piano Competition, Konstantin Shamray.
When: Friday 12 March 8pm
Where: City Recital Hall Angel Place
Tickets: $17–$42, family $55
Bookings: 8256 2222
www.cityrecitalhall.com  
www.syo.com.au
Special offer: 2MBS–FM has five double passes to give away. To be in the draw email info@2mbs.com with your name and answer to: Name one of the Sydney Youth Orchestra's principal conductors?

Zoe Taylor Recital

Opera Queensland Young Artist 2009, mezzo-soprano Zoe Taylor, and Juilliard graduate pianist Elizabeth Green celebrate Australian women composers. The program features works by the legendary Dulcie Holland, Margaret Sutherland through to modern luminaries Betty Beath, Diana Blom, and illustrates the development of Australian composition for voice and piano. It also includes the premiere of a song cycle by Geri Green, commissioned by ArsMusica Australis.
When: Sunday 7 March 3pm
Where: Chapter Hall, St Mary’s Cathedral, St Mary’s Road, Sydney
When: Sunday 14 March 3pm
Where: St Mary’s Anglican Church, 445 Main Street, Kangaroo Point, Brisbane
Tickets: $20–$25
Bookings: 0419 033 597

Sydney Symphony – Fantastique

Dreams and diversions from the heart of Paris
Pinchas Steinberg, conductor; Louis Lortie, piano
A count goes hunting on a Sunday. A musician (ok, it’s Berlioz) poisons himself with opium. According to the music, they both come to grief: one is chased by demons to eternity, the other is overwhelmed by dreams of witches and the scaffold. It seems wrong to enjoy their fates so much, but who can resist it when these wild stories have been given such exhilarating and evocative music?
Ravel’s piano concerto is just as thrilling – it begins with the crack of a whip and ends in a jazz-inflected whirlwind of notes. Fantastique!
Franck: The Accursed Huntsman
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G
Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique
When: Wednesday 10, Friday 12, Saturday 13 March 8pm
Where: Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
Tickets: $32–$94
Bookings: 8215 4600
www.sydneysymphony.com
image: Louis Lortie

Music at St James’

Sydney Symphony Fellowship Ensemble 2010 features, in its second concert in the Music at St James’ series, the allegro from Devienne’s Trio in F, Haydn’s String Quartet op 74, no 3 and the first and fourth movements of A huit by Francaix.
When: Wednesday 3 March 1.15pm
Where: St James’ Church, 173 King Street, Sydney
Tickets: free, with suggested $5 donation
www.sjks.org.au 

Chopin Talk

The Consulate General of the Republic of Poland and 2MBS-FM present a special musically illustrated talk entitled Chopin – the True Romantic, given by Station Manager Mike Smith. The evening will be followed by a reception courtesy of the Polish Consulate. Entry is free.
When: Wednesday 3 March 7pm
Where: Polish Consulate, 10 Trelawney Street, Woollahra

2MBS-FM Book and Record Bazaar

There is something for everybody at the Bazaar. There are tables of hardback and paperback fiction, children’s books, religion and philosophy, social science, science and technology, history and biography, arts and literature, travel, foreign languages, food and wine, hobbies and sports. In the sheet music section we have solos, duets, chamber music, keyboard, strings, woodwind, children’s songs, pop songs, ballads, and opera, old, new and in-between.
Be there for the usual selection of unbelievable bargains!
When: Friday 26 February – Sunday 7 March, 10am – 6pm daily
Where: Crows Nest Centre, Ernest Place, Crows Nest