World Symphony Series Summer Season ~ COncert 1

Japanese conductor, Yasuo Shinozaki, an enduring favourite with KZN Philharmonic audiences, steps onto the podium for the first concert of the season with a juxtaposed bill of French, English and Austrian crowd-pleasers. In bold stroke of programming, Bryan Cheng, the celebrated Canadian prodigy, joins the maestro onstage as the evening commences to perform Camille Saint-Saëns’s intricate and demanding Cello Concerto No. 2.

This work, known for its technical brilliance and expressive range, is ingeniously cast into two large, continuous movements, effectively creating a four-part structure which makes for thrilling opening to the evening. Introducing an interlude of calm to the evening’s proceedings, the 20-year-old Benjamin Britten’s exquisitely crafted Simple Symphony for Strings draws entirely on musical themes the composer wrote between the ages of nine and twelve. This charming and affectionate retrospective remains one of his most popular and frequently performed works. Bringing the first half to a close, the audience is treated to more thrills in the bravura stakes. Shinozaki, Cheng, and the KZN Philharmonic players are sure to set pulses racing with their account of Saint-Saëns’ visceral Cello Concerto No 1. Structured as a single, continuous movement,  propelled by a headlong rush of energy, it builds in intensity with increasingly brilliant pyrotechnics, culminating in a powerful coda driven by the return of the opening triplet motif.  

After the intermission, Schubert’s beloved ‘Unfinished’ Symphony rounds off the programme with a wealth of the work’s famous melodies. Schubert began composing the work in 1822, but for reasons unknown, set it aside after completing only two movements and sketches for a third. It remained a mystery until it was premiered in Vienna in 1865. Its existing two movements are endowed with profound beauty, dramatic contrasts, and deeply Romantic expression, ensuring that the work occupies a hallowed place in the world’s concert repertoire.

Date: Thursday, 5 March 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 the door

Book tickets to the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2026 Summer Symphony Season Concert 1 https://qkt.io/2es2Ue

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