SCO Presents: Beethoven Symphony No. 7

Beethoven called this one of his best works, and it’s not hard to hear why. The Seventh Symphony, first performed in Vienna in 1813, is bursting with energy from start to finish. Richard Wagner once described it as “the apotheosis of the dance”, and it really does feel like music that’s constantly in motion.

This concert also featured a work by Indonesian composer Ananda Sukarlan and Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variation (with Rena Tang- Winner of SCO Concerto Competition 2024)

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Hailed by the Sydney Morning Herald as "one of the world's leading pianists at the forefront of

championing new piano music". He was honored with the Cavaliere Ordine della Stella d'Italia

bestowed by the Italian President Sergio Mattarella in 2020 and the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic by HM King Felipe VI in 2023, the highest recognition from the Kingdom of Spain in

2023, for his outstanding contributions the world of classical music.

Ananda is the first Indonesian citizen to receive this prestigious medal.

The honor is bestowed by the King of Spain.

A word from Ananda:

Fantasy on "Kampuang Nan Jauh di Mato" (a West Sumatran folksong about homesickness) is Indonesian former President B.J. Habibie's fifth --and last-- commission to me before he passed away in 2019.

B.J. Habibie had commissioned me one chamber piece (up to a 10-player Chamber Symphony) every year to commemorate his late wife's birthday concerts and particularly this last one he requested a piece "that could be played by a bigger formation, just like Barber's Adagio [Habibie's favorite piece] that was originally for string quartet".

Since 2014 the premieres of my Habibie commissioned works were in his -now legendary, iconic- library (which could host up to 60 invited guests) and then repeated the next day in a public chamber concert hall in Jakarta.

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Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations is a homage to his beloved Mozart and the elegance of 18th-century style. Written in 1876 for German cellist Wilhelm Fitzenhagen, this charming work presents a theme in the “rococo” manner- graceful, ornamented, and light, followed by a series of

increasingly virtuosic and expressive variations. While it is not a concerto in the traditional sense, the piece demands dazzling technique and lyrical sensitivity from the soloist.

Rena’s performance showcases the lyrical gifts of the cello while revealing Tchaikovsky’s masterful blend of Classical poise and Romantic warmth.

Rena Tang is a Sydney-based cellist, currently completing a Bachelor of Music Performance

under Georg Pedersen and Julian Smiles at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. She has

enjoyed a wide variety of performance opportunities, winning Balmain Sinfonia’s Concerto Competition in 2024, as well as several University of Sydney Academic Merit Prizes and

Sydney Conservatorium Henderson Travellers Scholarship where she was able to travel to

Finland to perform and receive tutelage at the 54th Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival.

She has had memorable lessons and masterclasses with Johannes Meissl, Beata Antikainen, Timothy Nankervis, Elinor Frey, Axel von Huene and Matthew Barley. Rena has held principal positions with the Sydney Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra, Early Music Ensemble and Caesura Ensemble. She has also appeared with emerging and established collectives such as Ensemble Apex, The Orchestra Project and Willoughby Symphony Orchestra. Throughout her

youth, she has benefitted greatly from programs run by Australian Youth and Sydney Youth Orchestras, as well as the Australian Chamber Orchestra Academy.