1987

concert overture for orchestra

By:

• John Ritchie

Duration:

12' 00"

Instrumentation:

(1)2122; 4331; timp., 3 perc (timp, sd-dr, cym, tri, xylo, tram bell, bus horn), hp; strs (10,10,8,6,4)

Availability

• This work has 5 scores and 2 recordings

Programme Note

A concert overture for full symphony orchestra – this work captures “the bustle, the vitality and the peace” of one of Christchurch’s busiest arteries.

The composer’s son, Anthony Ritchie wrote:
“Dad composed this when I was at Varsity in Christchurch. Some years earlier we had moved to a new house next to Papanui Road – he still lives there – so I remember Dad wanting to write a piece that summed up experiences of that street – going back over a long past. There is a motif that represents our old cat, Shosti, sneaking through to the butcher’s on Papanui Road (no longer there, of course!). There is also a sad passage that is a short memorial to Reverend Botting, an old friend of Dad’s, who was killed on his bike, on Papanui Rd – I remember when that happened. The piece is quite personal and yet is likeable just as music.”

Commissioned:

Commissioned by Christchurch Symphony Orchestra

• Christchurch Symphony

Difficulty:

Advanced

Influences:

• Urban - NZ

Performance History

	12 Feb 1988	Performed by the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra conducted by Donald Johanos
	03 Dec 1998	Performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marc Taddei
		Marc Taddei    New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
	09 Oct 2010	Performed by the Southern Sinfonia with conductor Simon Over at the Dunedin Town Hall, in Dunedin
		Southern Sinfonia
	06 Dec 2010	Recording of performance by the Southern Sinfonia with conductor Simon Over at the Dunedin Town Hall, in Dunedin, was broadcast on Radio New Zealand Concert
		Southern Sinfonia