World Symphony Series SPRING Season ~ COncert 1

Dive into a thrilling night of orchestral music designed for everyone, whether you are a lifelong aficionado or hearing a live symphony for the very first time. Maestro Jean-Claude Picard kicks off the season with a high-energy journey straight out of nineteenth-century Russia: Alexander Borodin’s Prince Igor Overture. Fun fact: Borodin left behind only scattered notes, but his friend Alexander Glazunov famously reconstructed the entire piece from memory! It is a cinematic, pulse-pounding opener filled with grand melodies and sweeping drama that sets an electrifying tone for the evening ahead.

Next, renowned pianist Polina Osetinskaya joins the orchestra for Sergei Rachmaninoff’s iconic Second Piano Concerto. If you have ever heard a movie soundtrack with a gorgeous, rolling piano melody that builds into an absolute wave of emotion, this is the masterpiece that inspired them all. Starting with moody, bell-like chords that grow into a soaring rush of sound, it swings between heartbreakingly beautiful moments and dazzling, fast-fingered fireworks.

Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony is a masterclass in musical storytelling, built around a haunting “Fate” theme that acts like a recurring character in a gripping drama. As the piece begins, this dark, fateful motif creeps in quietly through the clarinets, setting an atmosphere of gloomy uncertainty. Tchaikovsky brilliantly transforms this single melody across four movements, tracking its journey from quiet despair to roaring defiance. Listeners are pulled into a psychological tug-of-war: will fate crush the music, or will hope triumph? By the time the theme returns transformed into a blazing, victorious march in the finale, you will be utterly captivated by how a few notes can capture the entire emotional rollercoaster of the human spirit.

Date: Thursday, 12 November 2026
Time: 19:00
Venue: Playhouse Opera Theatre, 231 Anton Lembede Street, Durban
Tickets: Season Tickets available through our office on 031 369 9437/8 or info@kznphil.org.za

Single tickets available online through Quicket or at https://qkt.io/9Br2op

We look forward to sharing an evening of beautiful music with you!