Skip to main content

Theremin and Beyond

11 May 2025

In the Concert Hall

Australian Chamber Orchestra

Classical Music

Explore new musical frontiers as you take a deep dive into the thrilling soundworld of the theremin, the world’s first electronic instrument.

Theremin and Beyond

The theremin is utterly unique. It’s a sound you’ve definitely heard, even if you’ve never heard of it. Following the success of our sold-out tour of A Clockwork Orange & Beyond comes this series showcasing the range and power of the world’s first electronic instrument.

Richard Tognetti directs an eclectic program starring Carolina Eyck, the internationally renowned superstar of the theremin. When Eyck plays, she stands poised, hands aloft, making intricate moves but touching nothing. Out pours a melody that speaks of other worlds. It looks, and sounds, like magic.

The theremin can create a thousand different colours and moods. Come with us as we experience them all: serenity and beauty, longing and danger, mystery and wonder. From the swinging sounds of The Beach Boys and the unmistakable Star Trek theme, to a new commission from Australian composer Holly Harrison, and closing with the riotous thrumming of the Flight of the Bumblebee, this is a concert full of fun that will take you to other worlds.

Presented by Australian Chamber Orchestra

Program and Artists

Johann Sebastian Bach Orchestral Suite No.3 in D major, BWV1068: II. Air
Holly Harrison New work (World Premiere) *
Jacques Offenbach Orpheus in the Underworld: Can-can
Camille Saint-Saëns The Carnival of the Animals: Selections; Danse macabre, Op.40
Brett Dean Short Stories: IV. Komarov’s Last Words*
Mikhail Glinka A Farewell to St Petersburg: X. The Lark
Erwin Schulhoff Five Pieces for String Quartet
Jörg Widmann 180 beats per minute (Australian Premiere)
Carolina Eyck Fantasias: Oakunar Lynntuja (Strange Birds) (Australian Premiere)
Brian Wilson Good Vibrations
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Flight of the Bumblebee

And selections from the soundtracks to:
Miklós Rózsa’s Spellbound, Jonny Greenwood’s There Will Be Blood, Alexander Courage’s Star Trek, Ennio Morricone’s The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Jim Parker’s Midsomer Murders.

*Commissioned by the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Artists 
Richard Tognetti  Director & Violin
Carolina Eyck  Theremin
Tamara-Anna Cislowska  Piano
Australian Chamber Orchestra

Plan your visit

You may also like

Bach’s St Matthew Passion

17 Apr 2025

Experience all the drama and colour of Bach’s masterwork in a rare performance of Mendelssohn’s 1841 version performed on Romantic period instruments.

  • Classical Music
Woman conducts with a baton in her right hand and a graphic of a crown of thorns as the background

Rossini in Paris

17 May 2025

Sydney Philharmonia’s Festival Chorus sings Rossini’s final masterpiece with dramatic highlights from his grand opera William Tell.

  • Classical Music

Bronzewing

18 May 2025

Australian performer-composers Katie Yap and Donald Nicolson entwine early music gems and lyrical new compositions for the poetic combination of viola and harpsichord.

  • Classical Music

Checking availability