Go to South Australia and see the Adelaide Symphony now! Go on, quit reading this post and start packing your bags.

Amongst the wineries, the European architecture and food, the friendly faces, the random popup festivals – the city’s symphony orchestra stands out as an impressive cultural celebration.

I went to see 26 year old Russian born pianist, Denis Kozhukhin, who won First Prize at the 2010 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. He performed Prokofiev’s most popular piano concerto, his beautifully eccentric and witty Third.

Denis is one show-off powerful youthful dramatic commanding musician. He likes his pianos like he likes his vodka – no messing around.

Conducted by Arvo Volmer, the concert features Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony. Inspired by Lord Byron’s epic poem of the same name, Manfred is a musical fantasy packed full of glorious melody and blazing orchestral colours capturing the drama of Manfred’s Alpine adventures. Opening the concert is Australian composer, Natalie Williams’ Whistleblower.

Every year the Adelaide Symphony runs a funding appeal. Even though they received large sums of money from local, state and national governments they are still strapped for cash. It’s a shocking realisation that without tax dollars these sorts of artistic cultural and progressive socially diverse life enforcing artist collaboration would simply fail. If they are not ‘economically viable’ should they exist?

“All ticket sales only accounts for 28% of our running costs.”
– Adelaide Symphony Orchestra