We conclude the year with our dear friend and regular collaborator Dr Erin Helyard, director of Pinchgut Opera, performing a wonderful orchestral program inspired by the Enlightenment.

J.C. Bach was an important influence on the young Mozart. His Symphony in G minor Op. 6 No. 6 is a signature work of the 18th century. Perhaps his darkest piece, it bursts with the essence of Sturm and Drang.

The program features Helyard as soloist in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 12 in A major, an early work that pays homage to his influence by quoting J.C. Bach’s overture to La Calamita de Cuori and also his Rondo for piano and orchestra K. 386, written around the same time.

Our program closes with Haydn’s dramatic Farewell Symphony, a work in which Haydn displays his classic ability to marry great humour with great beauty, perhaps rather fittingly, getting his point across to Prince Esterhazy that it was time to go home for the holidays!