Schubert's Unfinished Symphony

One of Australia’s most successful musical exports, Nicholas Carter, returns to the MSO to conduct a shimmering program of Schreker and Schubert. Franz Schreker’s Kammersymphonie, or Chamber Symphony, is a singularly lush and expansive work. Once a trailblazer of German opera languishing in the shadow of Wagner, the composer was ironically overshadowed by his more radical contemporaries such as Schoenberg. Rather than pursuing angular complexity, Kammersymphonie embraces a wealth of styles to create decadent music encapsulating the intersection of late-Romanticism and Expressionism. Schubert’s Symphony No.8 can be best described as unfinished but not forgotten. Although only two movements are complete, it is one of his enduring works. Although many theories as to why it remained unfinished, including illness that would ultimately take his life, this music is undeniably satisfying in this form; Schubert eloquently explores light and dark, gravitas and playfulness, and poignant melodies. Born in Melbourne, Nicholas Carter’s career has taken him to some of the most storied opera houses and concert halls of the world. Taken under the wing of another shining light of Australian music, Simone Young, he has since held positions at the Deutsche Oper, Adelaide Symphony, Stadttheater Klagenfurt, and now Opera Bern. FEATURING Nicholas Carter, conductor PROGRAM SCHREKER Kammersymphonie SCHUBERT Symphony No.8 Unfinished