Melbourne Chamber Orchestra to Debut FLEXIBLE SKY with Slava Grigoryan in 2026

Melbourne Chamber Orchestra is launching its 2026 season with Flexible Sky, a bold and wide-ranging program that celebrates reinvention, collaboration and the thrill of new music. Featuring internationally acclaimed guitarist Slava Grigoryan, this season-opening concert moves fluidly between Baroque brilliance, reimagined classics and contemporary Australian voices, setting an ambitious tone for the year ahead.

In true MCO fashion, the season opens with a world premiere by Joe Chindamo OAM, a composer celebrated for his cross-genre fluency, warmth and lyrical imagination. His new work, Machiavelli's Mirror, launches the program with a sense of anticipation and immediacy, inviting audiences into a concert shaped by curiosity and creative exchange.

Grigoryan then takes centre stage in Antonio Vivaldi's Guitar Concerto in D major, a Baroque gem that sparkles with charm, vitality and expressive flair. The program offers a striking new perspective on Ludwig van Beethoven's iconic Moonlight Sonata, reimagined for string orchestra, where rich textures bring fresh depth to one of the most recognisable works in the repertoire.

Folk-inspired energy comes to the fore in Béla Bartók's Romanian Dances, which segue seamlessly into a world-premiere arrangement of Flexible Sky Redux by Wolfgang Muthspiel, written especially for Grigoryan and MCO for this occasion. The program closes with Matthew Hindson's Song and Dance, bringing the evening to a rhythmic and emotionally resonant conclusion.

Slava Grigoryan said of the collaboration:

I can't wait to be working with MCO again. This is an orchestra that I've had a wonderful association with for most of my professional life and on each occasion the experience of playing with them has been inspiring and artistically rewarding. In this year's opening program I'm really looking forward to performing both works in a combination that is always vital to me: something old and something new. Vivaldi's lute concerto in D major, and a brand new re-arrangement of a contemporary piece that I adore - Flexible Sky Redux, composed by my great friend and regular collaborator, Wolfgang Muthspiel.

The Music

Joe Chindamo OAM
Machiavelli's Mirror* 

Antonio Vivaldi
Guitar Concerto in D major, RV 93

Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2 “Moonlight”
(arr. for string orchestra by Jakub Kowalewski)

Béla Bartók
Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 56

Wolfgang Muthspiel
Flexible Sky Redux

Matthew Hindson
Song and Dance

*MCO premiere commission with thanks to the Robert Salzer Foundation

Performance Details

MELBOURNE
Thursday 26 February 2026, 7:30pm
Melbourne Recital Centre
Tickets: https://my.mco.org.au/flexiblesky/thu

MOONEE PONDS
Friday 27 February 2026, 7:30pm
The Clocktower Centre
Tickets: https://clocktowercentre.com.au/flexible-sky/