From Bach to bossa and beyond

Over the past couple of years, Live at the Great has been thrilling and entertaining audiences with exquisite concerts at Sydney’s Great Synagogue.

Behind Live at the Great is renowned conductor and pianist Vladimir Fanshil. He and his wife, opera singer Eleanor Lyons, are a dynamic musical couple who fought to keep music ‘live’ through the COVID-19 pandemic, eschewing the move to virtual and online performances. They founded Live at Yours, which offered intimate concerts in keeping with the restrictions of the time and have since expanded to work with other new and unusual venues.

Known for its excellent acoustics, The Great Synagogue allows for a full multi-sensory immersive performance with changing-coloured lighting on the columns and a gorgeous, starred ceiling that sets the mood for each musical number.

“The synergy of our heritage-listed architecture lit up in colour with the embracing acoustics and live music vibrations create an unforgettable concert experience,” Lynn Niselow, general manager of The Great Synagogue, told The AJN ahead of the very first Live at Yours concerts at the synagogue in 2021.

To kick off 2023, Live at the Great is presenting the Australian Guitar Quartet, which performs together for the first time.

Featuring the virtuosic Grigoryan Brothers, dynamic Andrew Blanch and internationally acclaimed Vladimir Gorbach, the program includes Bach’s ornate Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, selections from Bizet’s Carmen Suites, Opals by Australian composer Phillip Houghton and a journey through Latin American composers including Piazzolla and Bellinati.

Expect mind-bending virtuosity, electrifying rhythms and sultry melodies as the Grigoryan Brothers, Blanch and Gorbach present a kaleidoscopic program spanning 300 years from Bach to bossa and beyond.

Bach to Bossa and Beyond is the first of five concerts being held throughout 2023 at The Great Synagogue.

Bach to Bossa and Beyond is on March 1 at 7pm. For tickets, visit liveatyours.com.au