Alchymia

About the music

— A new generation in an American musical dynasty, Samuel Adams’ music has been described as ‘mesmerising’ (The New York Times) exploring the space between directness and implication, silence and resonance, and emotional aftermath. In a world premiere commissioned by Omega Ensemble, Adams delivers a striking work of light, shade and ever increasing intensity.

— Hailed as ‘one of the composer’s finest recent achievements’ (The Guardian), Thomas Adès’ captivating new clarinet quintet Alchymia is constructed of careful and delicate lines emerging like tendrils that grow towards the sun and down into darkness. This Australian debut marks an important addition from one of the world's indisputable leading contemporary voices.

— Titled after a phrase from Milton's Paradise Lost, Missy Mazzoli's Dark with Excessive Bright is a surreal and evocative work. Loosely based in Baroque idioms, the music slips between techniques from across centuries, twisting a repeated musical statement from delicate simplicity to pandemonium beyond recognition.

— Originally commissioned and premiered by Omega Ensemble in 2022, Grammy Award-nominated composer Christopher Cerrone reconstructs Nervous Systems in an expanded new arrangement that takes the work to new heights of arresting textures and gripping tension.