“Suffused with joy and wonder.” The premiere of Andrew Schultz’s new symphony given by the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Otto Tausk, in their MACA Symphonic Series program at Winthrop Hall in Perth on Friday 20 June and Saturday 21 June 2025 at 7:30pm.
Andrew Schultz’s Symphony No. 4 is a 35-minute work in four movements and was commissioned for the West Australian Symphony Orchestra by Geoff Stearn. The work was composed at the composer’s home in Sydney’s beachside Bronte over 2024 and completed on the last few days of that year.
More than ten years separates the symphony from Schultz’s Symphony No. 3 (Century) – the major commission for the Centenary of Canberra in 2013. That work drew great acclaim, “Century is excellent. It is epic. It is powerful and beautiful” (read more reviews here).
Symphony No. 4 is the third large-scale work that Andrew has recently composed for WASO with Maali in 2017 and Bassoon Concerto in 2023. Both earlier works were finalists in the National Art Music Awards.
The composer comments on the new work:
‘Near and far. Foreground and background. Moving towards or away….The music in my new symphony is laid out in space and time with each listener’s ears the centre of the universe. Each movement begins with bells – metal wind chimes in the first movement, wrist bells in the second, suspended shells in the third, and zils (or finger cymbals) in the fourth. The listener may hardly notice these bells as they are mostly in the background, distant and quiet but they serve as the springboard into music that is spacious, dramatic, joyous and playful.’
Click here to read the full program note for Symphony No. 4.
Click here to see some sample pages from the score.
HEAR SYMPHONY NO. 4 – BROADCAST & STREAMING
Click here to go to the program note page of this website to listen to Symphony No. 4 online.
The Symphony and an interview with the composer is featured in the December 2025, 100% Australian Made podcast from presenter Julie Simonds at 2MBS-FM Fine Music Sydney. Click here to listen at this link.
ABC Classic FM broadcast Symphony No. 4 on Thursday 17 July, 2025 at 1pm, in their Lunchtime Concert program. It was then available on their Listen Again page on their website to listen on-line until 17 August 2025.
ABOUT SYMPHONY NO 4 – INTERVIEWS and REVIEWS – links
Read Sarah McNeill’s interview article from The Post: ‘This, then, is Number Four.’
Read the WASO News interview with Andrew Schultz, ‘A Decade in the Making.’
Read Rhoderick McNeill’s review in Quadrant, “Andrew Schultz’s Fourth Symphony.”
FURTHER CONCERT INFORMATION
PROGRAM
Andrew SCHULTZ Symphony No.4 (World Premiere), Claude DEBUSSY Nocturnes, Francis POULENC Gloria
ARTISTS
Otto Tausk conductor, Rachelle Durkin soprano , WASO Chorus
DATE
Friday 20 & Saturday 21 June, 7.30pm
VENUE
Winthrop Hall, UWA, Perth
“Acclaimed Dutch conductor Otto Tausk reunites with WASO to lead this enthralling concert. One of his most celebrated and enduring works, Poulenc’s Gloria expresses the sacred through a captivating mixture of lush harmonies, deep solemnity and a playful spirit. Debussy’s Nocturnes enchants with its dreamlike soundscapes and serene, shifting hues of twilight. You’ll be intrigued and delighted by the vibrant music of award-winning Australian composer, Andrew Schultz.”
Click here for more information.
Conductor Otto Tausk (left) with Andrew Schultz and WASO at the premiere of Symphony No 4.
Photos above: West Australian Symphony Orchestra (photo credit: Daniel James Grant)