Brahms and David Hamilton

DAVID HAMILTON (NZ) Fanfare for Matariki - world premiere
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 3
BRAHMS Symphony No. 4

UWE GRODD Conductor
HENRY WONG DOE Piano

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Brahms’ fourth and last Symphony in E minor was written in 1885. The character of the minor key pervades the work, with an overwhelming sense of reflection on the seriousness of life and fate, and how, despite transitory strength and enthusiasm, bitter resignation is the lot of mankind. It is a ballad about heroes and their heroic deeds.

Beethoven’s C minor Piano Concerto displays masterly strength and grandeur. Energy from the soloist is the driving force combined with expressive power, while the slow movement, a tender dream, is filled with melodic writing.

We welcome celebrated New Zealand pianist Henry Wong Doe to perform this concerto with us. Henry is currently Professor of Piano at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and is well known and highly sought after internationally. He brings brilliance and vitality as well as poetry to all his performances.

New Zealand composer, David Hamilton, sees ‘composition a little like a sculpture – manipulating sounds and moving things around until one is satisfied. Sometimes working instinctively, sometimes in a more structured way.’ We are delighted to give the world premiere performance of his new work Fanfare for Matariki, commissioned by MSO.