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This performance is available as a part of an Australian Chamber Orchestra 2026 Subscription. Tickets go on sale Wednesday 15 October at 10AM for City Recital Hall Members and Friday 17 October at 10AM for general public. Not a member? Sign up here


The Australian Chamber Orchestra is one of the most acclaimed chamber orchestras in the world. Led by their pioneering Artistic Director Richard Tognetti, the Orchestra is defined by its exceptional virtuosity and an irrepressible sense of adventure and curiosity.


Richard Tognetti leads an Australian Chamber Orchestra octet to celebrate the greatest of musical poets

Schubert composed like an oil painter, drawing from a rich palette of melodic and harmonic colours. With a divine lyricism at its heart, his music is imbued with an intimacy and intensity that taps into the full range of human emotion.  
 
Richard Tognetti’s affinity for Schubert is evident in every note he plays. Here, he directs an ACO ensemble featuring a handpicked selection of Australia’s top wind players in two exquisite works that showcase Schubert as a master of chamber music.  
 
Schubert wrote his Octet to emulate his hero Beethoven’s groundbreaking septet – adding an extra violin and revelling in the textural possibilities of the winds and strings together.  
 
The result offers the drama of a big orchestra with the agility of a small ensemble. The Octet is six movements of unbridled joy, studded with moments of darkness and poignancy that make its resolution even more satisfying.  
 
Schubert’s beloved Fantasy in C major for violin and piano was inspired by Paganini’s brilliance and is arranged by Tognetti for the magic of the ACO octet. It is a shimmering and compelling counterpart that completes this heart-warming, life-affirming concert experience.

  • Franz Schubert
    (arr. Tognetti) Fantasy in C major, D.934
    Franz Schubert
    Octet in F major, D.803

  • Richard Tognetti
    Director & Violin
    Helena Rathbone
    Violin
    Stefanie Farrands
    Viola
    Johannes Rostamo
    Cello
    Maxime Bibeau
    Double Bass
    David Griffiths
    Clarinet
    Todd Gibson-Cornish
    Bassoon
    Carla Blackwood
    Horn
    Australian Chamber Orchestra