Presented by Australian Chamber Orchestra
ACO In Motion
Experience the Orchestra in full flight in this irrepressible program featuring Death and the Maiden and Different Trains.
Music is always moving: through time, through bodies and through generations. ACO In Motion draws four landmark works into a single charged arc that plays to everything the Australian Chamber Orchestra does best: electric performance, bold juxtaposition and the brazen energy of an orchestra at full stretch.
American composer Missy Mazzoli is one of the boldest voices writing today, and The Shield of the Heart is the Heart is taut with coiled energy. Bartók’s Third String Quartet, arranged here for string orchestra, releases the Australian Chamber Orchestra at full velocity. Written in 1927 at the height of his powers, it compresses folk memory, dissonance and rhythmic invention into 15 extraordinary minutes. A century on, its imagination still feels startlingly alive.
At the heart of the program is Steve Reich’s Different Trains. Built from recorded voices layered against the relentless pulse of the trains themselves, it is a hypnotic work of remembrance and reinvention. It redrew the boundaries of what a string ensemble could do, and what music could carry. The program closes with Schubert’s Death and the Maiden Quartet, arranged for strings by Richard Tognetti. Written in the shadow of his own mortality, it is Schubert at his most fearless, dark and driven, blazing with defiant life. In Tognetti’s hands, Schubert’s masterwork of radiant intimacy is amplified towards the sublime.
'The ACO’s razor-sharp precision across the ensemble was electrifying in the outer movements, their unanimity and attack enhancing the impact of Schubert’s score.' - The Strad on the ACO performing Death and the Maiden at Carnegie Hall, 2025
About Australian Chamber Orchestra
The Australian Chamber Orchestra is one of the most acclaimed chamber orchestras in the world. Led by their pioneering Artistic Director Richard Tognetti, the Orchestra is defined by its exceptional virtuosity and an irrepressible sense of adventure and curiosity.
Duration: 2 hours (incl. interval) Please note, running times are approximate and subject to change.
Information for Families: This concert is recommended for children ages eight and above, or for younger children who can happily sit through a two-hour concert.
Single tickets on general sale 11am Friday 9 October
Standard
Premium $171
A Reserve $150
B Reserve $113
C Reserve $91
D Reserve $49
Concession
A Reserve $136
B Reserve $103
C Reserve $79
D Reserve $49
Student / Under 35
B - D Reserve $35
Subscriptions On Sale Now
Subscriptions are on sale now via the ACO website.
A Transaction Fee between $4 and $8.50 applies to orders made online and by phone. Delivery Fees may also apply. A ticket limit of six is in place online to ensure fair ticket access for all. Want to bring a bigger party? Call our Box Office during business hours on (03) 9699 3333 to book.
Artists
Richard Tognetti Director & Violin
Australian Chamber Orchestra
Program
Missy Mazzoli
The Shield of the Heart is the Heart
Béla Bartók (arr. strings)
String Quartet No.3, Sz.85
Steve Reich (arr. strings)
Different Trains
Franz Schubert (arr. Richard Tognetti)
String Quartet No.14 in D minor, D.810 Death and the Maiden
Accessibility
