Saved events

Luminous

Australian Chamber Orchestra

A woman lying horizontally above a city of lights

Photographer Bill Henson’s dramatic night-time landscapes and moody explorations of sensuality form the backdrop to a meditative soundscape of music in this arresting multi-sensory journey.

Henson’s darkly dramatic photographs ask challenging questions – exploring the twilight zones between day and night, male and female, youth and adulthood, urban and rural settings – as well as defining a new idea of beauty. For artists as imaginative as Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, providing a musical dimension has been a process of true creative discovery.

And the result – with Henson’s images accompanied by specially devised lighting, vocals from cult Australian singer Lior, and live music written by composers ranging from Janáček and Pēteris Vasks to George Crumb and R.E.M. – simply has to be experienced on its own terms. ‘The effect will be like a see-saw: the ebb and flow of all these elements’ says Henson. ‘The most you can hope is that it creates wonder.’

Age guidance 16+

The concert will finish at approximately 9.45pm and will include a twenty-minute interval.

‘It is a brave and moving piece of art‘

Download the programme

Discover

Photo of Lior singing into a microphone

Watch: ACO's Luminous

Singer-songwriter Lior, Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra performing Benjamin Britten's 'Corpus Christi Carol' during rehearsals for 'Luminous', the ACO’s cross-artform collaboration with photographer Bill Henson.

Hall ceiling

Composer Focus – Episode 4: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart & Richard Tognetti

In episode four, host Edward Seckerson is joined by violinist, composer, and Australian Chamber Orchestra artistic director Richard Tognetti to discuss the genius, larger than life character, and prodigious talent of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

photo of Timo-Veikko Valve

Barbican Sessions: Timo-Veikko Valve

 

In our latest session, Timo-Veikko Valve, principal cello at the Australian Chamber Orchestra, performs JS Bach's Sarabande from Suite No.4 for Unaccompanied Cello BWV1010 in E-flat Major at Milton Court.

architecture detail of the barbican hall

Composer Focus – Episode 2: Benjamin Britten with Roderick Williams

In episode two, host Ed Seckerson is joined by baritone and composer Roderick Williams to discuss Benjamin Britten, a complex and often contradictory character, and one of the 20th century’s greatest opera composers.

Photo of man playing drum

Listen: Contemporary Classical on Spotify

Discover music from across the Contemporary Classical spectrum – from Judith Weir and George Benjamin to Nils Frahm and Max Richter.

Eat & drink

Discover our bars, restaurants and cafés

Milton Court Concert Hall