Orchestre symphonique de Montreal/Rafael Payare: Symphonie fantastique

Iman Habibi’s Jeder Baum spricht durch dich celebrated the composer’s 250th birthday with a questioning eco-present, there’s authentic Beethoven too in a concerto balancing poised reflection with infectious high jinx. The dream-turned-nightmare of Berlioz’s fantastical symphony, meanwhile, was composed just three years after Beethoven’s death – and spins an opium-fuelled fantasy that marches to the scaffold before stumbling upon the satanic abandon of a witches’ sabbath. 

A former member of the Simón Bolívar Orchestra (which comes to the Hall in January), Rafael Payare is a dynamic presence on the podium, ‘destined’, according to Classical Explorer, ‘to create miracles in Montréal’. He’s joined by Spanish pianist Javier Perianes, who makes ‘the piano sing and glitter with alert, polished brilliance’ (Sydney Morning Herald).