Live at the Great: Satu Vänskä Trio

You’ve walked past it. Perhaps you’ve wondered what’s inside. Tonight, you’re invited. Behind the doors of Sydney’s Great Synagogue lies a side of the city that many Sydneysiders have never seen. Soaring arches, intricate ornament and a star-studded ceiling: a spectacular setting, mood-lit for an evening you’ll want to share. Start at the gin bar. Let your eyes wander upwards. There’s time for a drink and a conversation before three extraordinary musicians give you something else to talk about. For The Boundless Heart, the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s Satu Vänskä joins cellist Elina Faskhi and one of Australia’s most beloved concert pianists, Konstantin Shamray. Satu brings a nearly 300-year-old Stradivari; all three bring personalities that make the exchanges between them as compelling to watch as they are to hear. And the composers have a few secrets of their own. Haydn was married when he fell for the London widow whose piano lessons became a love affair. His exuberant “Gypsy” Trio belongs to the set he dedicated to her. Shostakovich was sixteen when he met Tatyana and began the First Trio he would dedicate to her. Ravel supplies the sensual colours and sweeping intensity, asking just three musicians to conjure an almost orchestral world of sound. A teenage crush, an indiscreet romance, a violin with three centuries of stories—and you, beneath the stars of one of Sydney’s best-kept architectural secrets. Bring someone you’d like to disappear into the city with for an evening. Program: Haydn — Piano Trio in G major, “Gypsy” Shostakovich — Piano Trio No. 1 in C minor Ravel — Piano Trio in A minor Presented by Live at Yours.