Classical Music in Perth and WA

You can smell the coconut oil, taste the salty air, and feel the sand between your toes.

But before the Freo Doctor comes in, WASO is taking the temperature up a notch! Conductor Benjamin Northey brings the sunny, unstoppable good vibes to lead WASO and special guests through a concert program bursting with classical hits.

From Vivaldi to Gershwin and Ravel, we’ve pulled out all the stops, so come on down, grab a drink and relax with the perfect addition to your summer soundtrack.

Experience an evening of wondrous music inspired by the world’s oceans, waves, ships and those who journey on them.

PROGRAM:

The Little Mermaid Suite Menken

La Mer Debussy

A Sea Symphony Vaughan Williams

ARTISTS:

Katja Webb Soprano

Kristin Bowtell Baritone

Western Australian Charity Orchestra and Choir directed by Samuel Parry

Join us for a romantic evening under the stars with a very special concert of songs and symphony performed by the West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO).

Inspired by love, WASO will take to the stage with a rousing program of music from some of the most loved composers of all time, including Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn and Dvorak.

The full force of WASO will be joined by jazz vocalist Ali Bodycoat and up-and-coming young cellist Max Wung.

This promises to be a truly stunning evening, and a rare opportunity to see WASO play a free outdoor concert, so make sure you’re there!

Food trucks and picnicking open at 6pm, with the concert starting at 7pm.

Claremont Park is on a number of bus routes and only a short walk from Claremont train station, so we encourage you to walk, cycle, or use public transport if you can. If you do need to drive, parking is available in the Claremont Town Centre.

This is a free event for the whole community.

Nestled amongst the trees of the Tropical Grove, experience a serene escape as you're serenaded by every slow movement of every Beethoven Piano Sonata. Performed by some of Perth’s finest pianists, the gently echoing piano sounds will mix with local birdsong in a free offering that brings together the pastoral themes in Beethoven’s work and the beauty of the natural environment on Noongar Boodjar. Other free highlights include Voyces lighting up the foyer of Winthrop Hall, relaxed jazz at the end of each day and William Barton performing with a Bavarian brass band!

In a project called Quartet & Country, the composers and quartet have collaborated to bring the songlines and stories of this vast country into conversation with the masterworks of the European musical canon. Singer Dr Lou Bennett AM, didgeridoo master William Barton, Broome music icon Stephen Pigram and Noongar elder Roma 'Yibiyung' Winmar bring stories from the four corners of this continent and in doing so, ground the great European string quartet tradition in this country. The works have been rapturously received whenever performed and are the centrepiece of the Chamber Music Weekend.

Their musical telepathy is legendary, as is their ability to draw emotion from every note. In a Festival focussed on honouring traditions, the Grigoryans pay homage to the influences that have shaped them - from Bach to Handel to Towner and their father Edward.

His commanding presence – very tall, and with one of the largest hand-spans of any pianist – is at odds with the delicacy and finesse for which he’s famous. Half a tonne of glossy black wood and gleaming metal becomes a time machine, allowing the music of his favourite composers to speak to us with uncluttered immediacy. If you just want to hear good music beautifully performed, this is an ideal opportunity.

"Ohlsson is one of the great American pianists" - The Washington Post 

This concert continues the Festival’s celebration of 250 years since the birth of the great iconoclast Beethoven. The Seraphim Trio are one of Australia’s finest classical ensembles and their program features Beethoven’s monumental Piano Trio Op 97. The Archduke, paired with Richard Mills’ beautifully evocative Portraits & Memories.

Chained in a secret dungeon, an innocent man awaits certain death. But in Beethoven’s ode to love, risk and triumph, there is one prison guard who holds the key to his fate. Fidelio is the uplifting tale of Leonore, a heroic woman who creates a daring plan to free her husband from wrongful imprisonment, and the tyranny that put him there.

Under the direction of Asher Fisch, Beethoven’s score blazes with soul-stirring emotion in this concert production of a work rarely performed in Perth. German soprano Christiane Libor delivers a mighty, no-holds-barred performance as Leonore, leading one of the finest casts ever assembled in Australia.

Celebrating the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birth, Fidelio is presented as a hallmark work of the 2020 Perth Festival. Featuring the full force of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, the West Australian Opera Chorus and WASO Chorus with narrator Eryn Jean Norvill, this once in a generation retelling of one of the most inspiring stories ever set to music is completely unmissable.

Opera in concert sung in German with English subtitles

One of the major music influencers of his generation, piano pop sensation Ben Folds delivers a cavalcade of hits, like 'Landed', 'Capable of Anything', and 'Luckiest' fifteen years after his first ever orchestral concert right here in Perth.

The multi-platinum-selling artist has since released numerous collaboration records, and created music for film, TV and a Billboard chart-topping piano concerto. Folds, who currently serves as the first ever Artistic Advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, just recently released his first book, a memoir entitled 'A Dream About Lightning Bugs', described as a collection of interrelated essays and anecdotes about art, life, and music. He’s also currently touring Australia on a book promotion tour.

But there is no better way to experience one of the modern world’s most distinctive singer-songwriters than with the full power of WASO!

Living, breathing, and dangerous, fire is an element of nature we sometimes cannot control. It's a symbol of passion, destruction and wonder. Conductor and presenter extraordinaire Guy Noble will ignite this red hot program that expresses through music the awesome power of fire to destroy, create or illuminate a night sky in dazzling technicolour bursts.

What is Naked Classics about?

Great music, a relaxed atmosphere, entertaining insights from our presenters, and the full force of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra - all in about an hour. Grab a drink, bring it to your seat, and embrace Thursday like it’s Friday with Naked Classics, our new stripped back social sessions. 6.30pm start, no interval, no worries. Bring your friends and colleagues.

On World Environment Day, we participate in an international United Nations-led project to inspire everyone to take a stance on climate change. Beethoven’s Pastoral symphony is an evocative portrait of the harmonious and fragile unity between mankind and nature that blooms with rich detail in the hands of Asher Fisch.

Britten’s timeless Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra is endlessly entertaining. Iain Grandage will guide us on a journey of infectious discovery with one of the world’s most enduring classics. Bring the family. 

Paris, 1889... The perfect meeting point for high society and high fashion. The ideal rendezvous for God-like men and beautiful women. At a time when public opinion demands strict morals of all Parisians, how is it the artists of the Moulin Rouge can celebrate their liberte´, e´galite´ and fraternite´ with wild abandon? Come with us as we peel back the layers of French society and descend into the cabaret underworld of the 'city of love'.

The WAAPA Symphony Orchestra celebrates the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven's birth in style, performing some of the most dynamic and beautiful music of all time. WAAPA's Head of Strings Paul Wright directs the orchestra in Beethoven's gorgeous Pastoral Symphony, inspired by the composer's legendary love of nature. You’ll also hear Mozart's exquisite Violin Concerto No 5 performed by Paul Wright. It’s a 250th birthday party like no other!

"I believe in God, Mozart and Beethoven." – Richard Wagner

"Paul Wright is a national treasure." – Neville Cohn The West Australian

From the light and playful to the passionate and dramatic, Ludwig van Beethoven’s piano music is beloved repertoire for performers and enduringly popular with audiences. Much of Beethoven’s piano music is expressed through his sonatas, with plenty of magnificent works that are timeless classics. To commemorate the 250th anniversary since this musical genius was born, WAAPA's piano students and staff invite you to immerse yourself in the world of Beethoven's magical piano music.