WA Symphony Orchestra returns to Albany in August playing Debussy, Barber and Franck under Asher Fisch

WA Symphony Orchestra will return to Albany in August with principal conductor Asher Fisch and WA star violinist Riley Skevington in a concert of Debussy, Barber and Franck. Tickets go on sale this week for two nights at the Albany Entertainment Centre, on Friday, August 30 and Saturday, August 31, with a triple bill of works not previously played in the Great Southern city. The State’s premier orchestra is bringing The Forgotten Symphony, a program of Debussy’s Prélude à ‘L’après-midi d’un faune’ (Prelude to the afternoon of a faun), Barber’s Violin Concerto, and Franck’s Symphony in D minor. It’s the same repertoire WASO will play on the Perth Concert Hall stage, with the added attraction of a local soloist in Skevington, a graduate of the University of WA and Australian National Academy of Music who also studied in Berlin with the Karajan Academie. “WASO has formed a wonderful relationship with the people of Albany, and we love performing in the Princess Royal Theatre. I’m excited to return with this rare gem of a program,” Fisch said. “I’m especially looking forward to showcasing our talented associate concertmaster Riley Skevington as soloist in Barber’s Violin Concerto — it’s a beautiful work, and we were delighted that he accepted our invitation to perform it.” Claude Debussy’s Prélude is a much-loved symphonic poem regularly included in concert programs for more than a century. Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto was composed in the shadow of World War II and quickly became a 20th century favourite; lavishly tuneful with a breakneck Presto finale. Finally, Cesar Franck’s rarely performed Symphony in D minor is an epic with grandiose, haunting melodies and a third-and-final movement full of variety and flair. Fisch, a specialist in Romantic and operatic repertoire, joined WASO in 2014 and has since established the orchestra among the best in Australia, drawing talented guest artists and conductors. Skevington, 2017 winner of the Kendall International Violin Competition, is one of many gifted young musicians to join WASO on Fisch’s watch. He was appointed associate concertmaster in 2022 after four years in Berlin, playing regularly with the world-renowned Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also acted as music director for WA Ballet in its production of The Goldberg Variations. The performances in Albany will be WASO’s third mainstage regional concert tour in 2024, taking the orchestra to the wider community. This month, WASO associate conductor Jen Winley directs the orchestra in Scheherazade at the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, with WASO soloist Jenna Smith playing Hummel’s popular Trumpet Concerto. In June, international conductor Dalia Stasevska and pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk take WASO to the Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre with a program of Nordic masterpieces including Grieg’s Piano Concerto and Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony. www.waso.com.au. Albany Entertainment Centre Box Office 9844 5005.