Caesura Ensemble presents its fifth concert, Friction: a return to the ensemble’s chamber-sized projects with a striking programme of colour.

Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, L. 86 (1894) - Claude Debussy, Arr. Benno Sachs
Tango Concerto for Double Bass and Chamber Orchestra (2026) – Harry Young
Pale Fires (2017) – Grace-Evangeline Mason
Dumbarton Oaks (1938) – Igor Stravinsky

The concert opens with Claude Debussy’s sublime Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, inspired by the poetry of Stéphane Mallarmé and skilfully arranged for chamber orchestra by Benno Sachs. This will be followed by the world premiere of a one-of-a-kind tango concerto for the double bass, composed and performed by one Sydney’s finest emerging performers and Caesura Ensemble’s longtime principal bass player, Harry Young. We will then present the Australian premiere of British composer Grace-Evangeline Mason’s Pale Fires, a short but highly expressive work inspired by Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens. The concert will conclude with Igor Stravinsky’s neoclassical masterwork Dumbarton Oaks, showcasing the virtuosity of the group’s highly talented musicians.

The programme’s design explores four musical postcards of friction. Nijinsky’s controversial choreography of Debussy’s tone poem and the resulting stir in Paris; Young’s exploration of the double bass’ colour and the infrequency of its presentation as solo instrument; Mason’s unique soundscape in response to the tense final scene of Act IV in Shakespeare’s play; and the juxtaposition between the elegance of Stravinsky’s baroque-inspired composition against the backdrop of World War II on the horizon in 1938.

This evening of chamber music is not to be missed!