The Birth of a Romantic | CSO 2014

Tom Woods - conductor Jian Liu - piano

Programme: Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 3 op. 37 C minor Ross Harris - Te Moanapouri Beethoven - Symphony No. 4 op. 60 B flat major

Beethoven's third piano concerto marks his departure from the classical traditions of his predecessors Mozrt and Haydn. Embracing the ideals of the new movement established by the Romanticists, this work signals the start of his fascination for representing triumph and heroism within his music.

Chinese-American pianist Jian Liu will be making his debut with the CSO, having recently been appointed Lecturer in Piano at the New Zealand School of Music. Liu is a graduate of the Yale School of Music and has performed extensively with orchestras throughout Europe, Japan, the USA and the Ukraine.

Composed in 1806, three years after his third piano concerto, Beethoven's Symphony No. 4 demostrates a charming and cheerful sensibility alive with energetic and propelling rhythms. As one of his shortest symphonies, Schumann regarded it as an example of perfect form, describing it as "a slender Greek maiden between two Nordic giants."

One of New Zealand's foremost composers, Ross Harris is a four times winner of the APRA Silver Scroll SOUNZ Contemporary Award. Te Moanapouri is composed for strings, cor anglais and harp and has the following dedication from the composer:

"In June 2005 my niece Verona sailed from Nelson heading for a romantic holiday in Rarotonga. She travelled with her beloved partner on his yacht. They ran into a severe storm north of New Zealand and were never found."