NextSunday 15 March, 3:00pm
Handel - Royal Fireworks Suite
Mozart - Piano Concerto No 20 in D minor K466
Mahler - Symphony No 1 'Titan'
Conductor: Paul Terracini
Soloist: Vatche Zambazian
In its opening concert for 2026, the KPO will perform Handel’s Suite of Music for the Royal Fireworks, Mozart’s Piano Concerto no.20 in D minor and Mahler’s first symphony, nicknamed ‘The Titan’.
Handel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks was composed for the grand celebration marking the end of the War of the Austrian Succession. It is a joyous and festive work comprising a rousing overture and dance movements. Its first performance brought London to gridlock as 12,000 people flocked to hear it. The KPO will perform the orchestral suite scored for full orchestra.
The KPO welcomes Vatche Jambazian to perform Mozart’s piano Concerto no.20 in D minor. The majority of Mozart’s compositions are in major keys but this concerto in the brooding key of D minor conjures up a stormy picture. From its very first performance this concerto has been a favourite with audiences and performers alike. Vatche Jambazian is one of Australia’s pre-eminent pianists, who performs regularly with the Omega ensemble and collaborates with some of Australia’s finest musicians.
The climax of KPO’s opening concert is Mahler’s Symphony no.1, possibly one of the most impressive first symphonies ever written. It is scored for a large orchestra used to reveal Mahler’s wide palette of tonal colours as you are taken on a journey of heroism through the work. This symphony will delight all as you hear Mahler’s inspired orchestration of folk-like melodies.
Join the KPO, led by chief conductor and artistic director, Paul Terracini, in an uplifting afternoon of wonderful music at The Concourse in Chatswood.
Paul Terracini
Dr Paul Terracini was born in Sydney and has enjoyed a career in Australia and internationally as an instrumentalist, composer, arranger, and conductor. He has held permanent positions as Principal Trumpet in the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra; Lecturer in Trumpet, Brass Ensemble and Big Band at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music; and Solo Trumpet in the Danish Chamber Players, Denmark.
As an instrumentalist, he performed as soloist in Australia, Europe, USA, and Asia. Within Australia, his solo performances included concertos with the Melbourne, Queensland, West Australian, and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras.
Paul Terracini has appeared as an opera conductor at the German Rossini Festival in Bad Wilbad, for the Danish Bel Canto Society in Copenhagen, and the Storstroms Symphony Orchestra, also in Denmark. Since assuming the role of artistic director of the Penrith Symphony Orchestra in 2010, he has, apart from programming and conducting the symphonic repertoire, pioneered the performance of chamber opera in western Sydney. For many years he has been invited as a guest conductor/composer to music schools and universities in Europe, USA, China, and Australia. He appears regularly as conductor for the Conservatorium High School, in Sydney. As a choral conductor, he has recorded for ABC Classics with Ars Nova Copenhagen, and the Sydney based choir, Cantillation.
As a composer and arranger, his music has been heard throughout the world in a variety of genres, performed by, amongst others, the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Brass, the Danish Chamber Players, the Australian Brass Quintet, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra Brass, and at festivals and conferences on every continent. His music for the two part ABC television series, Hymns of the Forefathers, in which he developed many of the traditional English hymns into symphonic poems, received international acclaim and was released on CD and DVD by ABC Classics. His title music for the television series, Classical Destinations, which was produced for three seasons, was featured on the ‘Number 1 Classical Album of the Year,’ released by Decca.
His CD, Paul Terracini: Music for Brass, was released on the Tall Poppies label in May 2015. On this recording, he conducted his own music with Sydney Brass, featuring members of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
Paul Terracini also holds a PhD from the University of Sydney, having earlier completed a Bachelor of Theology and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours). His book, John Stoward Moyes and the Social Gospel, was published in 2015.