Upcoming Events

Applications for the 2020 Art Music Fund are now open, and Australian and New Zealand art music composers are encouraged to apply for a share in this round's $100,000 worth of funding to create new commissioned work. When the grants are awarded in 2020, the initiative's all-time funding of new works will surpass the $500,000 mark.

The Art Music Fund is available for the creation of commissioned work that is innovative, displays professional compositional craft and represents a benchmark of excellence in its field. The intention is to support composers to create works with a long artistic life.

The previous 39 recipients have come from a range of art music backgrounds, from improvisational jazz to sound art to children's opera. The works have been performed and reached audiences in Australia, New Zealand and all around the world.

Previous New Zealand recipients include Dr Eve de Castro Robinson, Dylan Lardelli, and Samuel Holloway.

Key dates:
Applications are due at the close of 5:00PM 24 February 2020 (AEDT)
Successful applicants notified: End of April
Acquittal: Grants must be acquitted within five years

Featuring:

Robert Mealy | Violin
The Historical Performance students from Juilliard

Handel | Overture to “Agrippina”, HVW 6
Marais | Dances from “Semele“
Vivaldi | Concerto for flute in G minor, RV439 “La notte”
Muffat | Sonata V in G major from “Armonico tribute”
Corelli | Concerto grosso in D major, Op 6, No 7
Gillian Whitehead | “time steps out of line”
Rameau | Suite from “Dardanus”

Next generation baroque, this chamber orchestra of young players from one of the world’s most distinguished music schools starts our season with a bang. The New York Times describes Juilliard415 as an ensemble who plays with “consistent poise, and hair-trigger responsiveness” under such prominent artists as William Christie, Jordi Savall and Rachel Podger. For their New Zealand tour, Juilliard415 perform under the leadership of early music legend violinist Robert Mealy in a programme contrasting two baroque styles.

“Our programs are a dialogue between the two main musical languages in the baroque, the French and the Italian styles, focusing on Rome where Corelli was inventing the orchestra in the 1680s and Paris where Lully did the same thing at about the same time. The French pieces explore various dance forms, including everything from brilliant gigues to slow sarabandes, while the Italian works are fiery concertos: a nice contrast of styles!” – Robert Mealy

This programme also features a new commission from Dame Gillian Whitehead providing a striking contrast between old and new.

Featuring:

Robert Mealy | Violin
The Historical Performance students from Juilliard

Handel | Overture to “Agrippina”, HVW 6
Marais | Dances from “Semele“
Vivaldi | Concerto for flute in G minor, RV439 “La notte”
Muffat | Sonata V in G major from “Armonico tribute”
Corelli | Concerto grosso in D major, Op 6, No 7
Gillian Whitehead | “time steps out of line”
Rameau | Suite from “Dardanus”

Next generation baroque, this chamber orchestra of young players from one of the world’s most distinguished music schools starts our season with a bang. The New York Times describes Juilliard415 as an ensemble who plays with “consistent poise, and hair-trigger responsiveness” under such prominent artists as William Christie, Jordi Savall and Rachel Podger. For their New Zealand tour, Juilliard415 perform under the leadership of early music legend violinist Robert Mealy in a programme contrasting two baroque styles.

“Our programs are a dialogue between the two main musical languages in the baroque, the French and the Italian styles, focusing on Rome where Corelli was inventing the orchestra in the 1680s and Paris where Lully did the same thing at about the same time. The French pieces explore various dance forms, including everything from brilliant gigues to slow sarabandes, while the Italian works are fiery concertos: a nice contrast of styles!” – Robert Mealy

This programme also features a new commission from Dame Gillian Whitehead providing a striking contrast between old and new.

BENJAMIN NORTHEY | chief conductor
BENJAMIN BAKER | violin

JACK BODY | Fanfare for Bert
JEAN SIBELIUS | Violin Concerto in D minor
SERGEI RACHMANINOV | Symphonic Dances

Opening the Lamb & Hayward Masterworks Series is Jack Body’s Fanfare for Bert, a humorous and catchy tribute to the easy listening master Bert Kaempfert.

Making his debut with the CSO to perform Sibelius’ brilliant Violin Concerto in D minor, New Zealand born Benjamin Baker has been described by the New York Times as a “fine violinist of virtuosity and refinement”.

Considered to be his greatest work for orchestra, Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances is a sumptuous musical feast. Featuring echoes of musical chants from the Russian Orthodox and Catholic traditions, the work contrasts deeply expressive moments with outbursts of ecstatic exuberance.

Featuring:

Robert Mealy | Violin
The Historical Performance students from Juilliard

Handel | Overture to “Il trionfo del tempo”
Lully | Suite from “Thésée“
Vivaldi | Concerto in D major for two violins and two cellos, RV564
Corelli | Concerto grosso in G minor, Op 6, No 8 “fatto per la notte di Natale”
Gillian Whitehead | “time steps out of line”
Rameau | Suite from “Dardanus”

Next generation baroque, this chamber orchestra of young players from one of the world’s most distinguished music schools starts our season with a bang. The New York Times describes Juilliard415 as an ensemble who plays with “consistent poise, and hair-trigger responsiveness” under such prominent artists as William Christie, Jordi Savall and Rachel Podger. For their New Zealand tour, Juilliard415 perform under the leadership of early music legend violinist Robert Mealy in a programme contrasting two baroque styles.

“Our programs are a dialogue between the two main musical languages in the baroque, the French and the Italian styles, focusing on Rome where Corelli was inventing the orchestra in the 1680s and Paris where Lully did the same thing at about the same time. The French pieces explore various dance forms, including everything from brilliant gigues to slow sarabandes, while the Italian works are fiery concertos: a nice contrast of styles!” – Robert Mealy

This programme also features a new commission from Dame Gillian Whitehead providing a striking contrast between old and new.

Featuring:

Robert Mealy | Violin
The Historical Performance students from Juilliard

Handel | Overture to “Agrippina”, HVW 6
Marais | Dances from “Semele“
Vivaldi | Concerto for flute in G minor, RV439 “La notte”
Muffat | Sonata V in G major from “Armonico tribute”
Corelli | Concerto grosso in D major, Op 6, No 7
Gillian Whitehead | “time steps out of line”
Rameau | Suite from “Dardanus”

Next generation baroque, this chamber orchestra of young players from one of the world’s most distinguished music schools starts our season with a bang. The New York Times describes Juilliard415 as an ensemble who plays with “consistent poise, and hair-trigger responsiveness” under such prominent artists as William Christie, Jordi Savall and Rachel Podger. For their New Zealand tour, Juilliard415 perform under the leadership of early music legend violinist Robert Mealy in a programme contrasting two baroque styles.

“Our programs are a dialogue between the two main musical languages in the baroque, the French and the Italian styles, focusing on Rome where Corelli was inventing the orchestra in the 1680s and Paris where Lully did the same thing at about the same time. The French pieces explore various dance forms, including everything from brilliant gigues to slow sarabandes, while the Italian works are fiery concertos: a nice contrast of styles!” – Robert Mealy

This programme also features a new commission from Dame Gillian Whitehead providing a striking contrast between old and new.

Improvisational and incantatory, this immersive performance will feature Laurie Anderson and her string ensemble, Greg Cohen, Eyvind Kang and Rubin Kodheli, and percussionist Shahzad Ismaily, alongside New Zealand musicians including Horomona Horo.

As well as Laurie’s own writing, The Calling takes text from Rebel in the Soul: An Ancient Egyptian Dialogue Between a Man and His Destiny – a translation of a 4000-year-old discourse between a person and their soul, which speaks to us with intriguing relevance for today.

The Calling is dedicated to the spirit of Laurie’s niece Thea Anderson, who taught dance in New Zealand and lost her life here in a car accident on her 25th birthday.

For this one-night-only event we strip out the seating to invite you to respond to the music in whatever way you feel.

Make a night of it and experience Stewart Hurwood’s guitar feedback installation Lou Reed Drones also at the Lower Hutt Events Centre.

By Laurie Anderson, Greg Cohen, Eyvind Kang, Rubin Kodheli, Horomona Horo and Shahzad Ismaily

Proudly part of the 2020 New Zealand Festival of the Arts.
Thanks to Wellington Amenities Fund.

For artist Laurie Anderson, listening is an art. The pioneering musician’s extraordinary career, renowned for a groundbreaking collaborative approach to process and performance, can be seen as an expedition into the complexities of sound and the ways that a conscious mind can both create and experience it. Laurie’s signature programme for the 2020 New Zealand Festival of the Arts is an invitation to close listening. Laurie joins musicians Shahzad Ismaily and Horomona Horo to discuss the nature of music and mind. Hear it for yourself.

Māori composer Horomona Horo is a specialist practitioner of Traditional Māori Instruments. His extensive history in performance and collaborative work spans over 20 years, during this time he has worked with a vast array of creative disciplines and genre as well as recently completing artist residencies at Government House Wellington and Brandeis University, Boston (USA). Horomona’s work features alongside New Zealand and international artists such as Maisey Rika, Dame Gillian Whitehead, Black Arm Band, QSO, Small Island Big Song (to name a few). Events include WOMAD, The Rainforest Festival (Borneo), WOMEX, Rugby and Cricket World Cups, Olympic and Commonwealth Games, The Celtic Festival, Jazz and Blues Festival (Australia), and many more.

Proudly part of the 2020 New Zealand Festival of the Arts Writers Festival.

Featuring:

Robert Mealy | Violin
The Historical Performance students from Juilliard

Handel | Overture to “Il trionfo del tempo”
Lully | Suite from “Thésée“
Vivaldi | Concerto in D major for two violins and two cellos, RV564
Corelli | Concerto grosso in G minor, Op 6, No 8 “fatto per la notte di Natale”
Gillian Whitehead | “time steps out of line”
Rameau | Suite from “Dardanus”

Next generation baroque, this chamber orchestra of young players from one of the world’s most distinguished music schools starts our season with a bang. The New York Times describes Juilliard415 as an ensemble who plays with “consistent poise, and hair-trigger responsiveness” under such prominent artists as William Christie, Jordi Savall and Rachel Podger. For their New Zealand tour, Juilliard415 perform under the leadership of early music legend violinist Robert Mealy in a programme contrasting two baroque styles.

“Our programs are a dialogue between the two main musical languages in the baroque, the French and the Italian styles, focusing on Rome where Corelli was inventing the orchestra in the 1680s and Paris where Lully did the same thing at about the same time. The French pieces explore various dance forms, including everything from brilliant gigues to slow sarabandes, while the Italian works are fiery concertos: a nice contrast of styles!” – Robert Mealy

This programme also features a new commission from Dame Gillian Whitehead providing a striking contrast between old and new.

Violinist Laurie Anderson and her string ensemble – bassist Greg Cohen, violist Eyvind Kang, cellist Rubin Kodheli and percussionist Shahzad Ismaily – present a concert featuring the songs and texts of Laurie and her late husband and collaborator Lou Reed.

Joining the international ensemble is taonga pūoro composer and musician Horomona Horo.

Backed by the drones – the majestic and strangely harmonic guitar feedback soundscape performed by Stewart Hurwood – let the music wash over you. Both Laurie and Lou wrote many songs about the ocean and these are interpreted, arranged and merged by the musicians into an entirely new symphonic work.

Experience Stewart Hurwood’s guitar feedback installation Lou Reed Drones up-close at the Lower Hutt Events Centre.

By Laurie Anderson, Greg Cohen, Eyvind Kang, Rubin Kodheli, Horomona Horo and Shahzad Ismaily.

Proudly part of the 2020 New Zealand Festival of the Arts.
Partnered by MinterEllisonRuddWatts.
Thanks to Creative New Zealand.

Featuring:

Robert Mealy | Violin
The Historical Performance students from Juilliard

Handel | Overture to “Il trionfo del tempo”
Lully | Suite from “Thésée“
Vivaldi | Concerto in D major for two violins and two cellos, RV564
Corelli | Concerto grosso in G minor, Op 6, No 8 “fatto per la notte di Natale”
Gillian Whitehead | “time steps out of line”
Rameau | Suite from “Dardanus”

Next generation baroque, this chamber orchestra of young players from one of the world’s most distinguished music schools starts our season with a bang. The New York Times describes Juilliard415 as an ensemble who plays with “consistent poise, and hair-trigger responsiveness” under such prominent artists as William Christie, Jordi Savall and Rachel Podger. For their New Zealand tour, Juilliard415 perform under the leadership of early music legend violinist Robert Mealy in a programme contrasting two baroque styles.

“Our programs are a dialogue between the two main musical languages in the baroque, the French and the Italian styles, focusing on Rome where Corelli was inventing the orchestra in the 1680s and Paris where Lully did the same thing at about the same time. The French pieces explore various dance forms, including everything from brilliant gigues to slow sarabandes, while the Italian works are fiery concertos: a nice contrast of styles!” – Robert Mealy

This programme also features a new commission from Dame Gillian Whitehead providing a striking contrast between old and new.

Featuring:

Robert Mealy | Violin
The Historical Performance students from Juilliard

Handel | Overture to “Agrippina”, HVW 6
Marais | Dances from “Semele“
Vivaldi | Concerto for flute in G minor, RV439 “La notte”
Muffat | Sonata V in G major from “Armonico tribute”
Corelli | Concerto grosso in D major, Op 6, No 7
Gillian Whitehead | “time steps out of line”
Rameau | Suite from “Dardanus”

Next generation baroque, this chamber orchestra of young players from one of the world’s most distinguished music schools starts our season with a bang. The New York Times describes Juilliard415 as an ensemble who plays with “consistent poise, and hair-trigger responsiveness” under such prominent artists as William Christie, Jordi Savall and Rachel Podger. For their New Zealand tour, Juilliard415 perform under the leadership of early music legend violinist Robert Mealy in a programme contrasting two baroque styles.

“Our programs are a dialogue between the two main musical languages in the baroque, the French and the Italian styles, focusing on Rome where Corelli was inventing the orchestra in the 1680s and Paris where Lully did the same thing at about the same time. The French pieces explore various dance forms, including everything from brilliant gigues to slow sarabandes, while the Italian works are fiery concertos: a nice contrast of styles!” – Robert Mealy

This programme also features a new commission from Dame Gillian Whitehead providing a striking contrast between old and new.

Featuring:

Robert Mealy | Violin
The Historical Performance students from Juilliard

Handel | Overture to “Il trionfo del tempo”
Lully | Suite from “Thésée“
Vivaldi | Concerto in D major for two violins and two cellos, RV564
Corelli | Concerto grosso in G minor, Op 6, No 8 “fatto per la notte di Natale”
Gillian Whitehead | “time steps out of line”
Rameau | Suite from “Dardanus”

Next generation baroque, this chamber orchestra of young players from one of the world’s most distinguished music schools starts our season with a bang. The New York Times describes Juilliard415 as an ensemble who plays with “consistent poise, and hair-trigger responsiveness” under such prominent artists as William Christie, Jordi Savall and Rachel Podger. For their New Zealand tour, Juilliard415 perform under the leadership of early music legend violinist Robert Mealy in a programme contrasting two baroque styles.

“Our programs are a dialogue between the two main musical languages in the baroque, the French and the Italian styles, focusing on Rome where Corelli was inventing the orchestra in the 1680s and Paris where Lully did the same thing at about the same time. The French pieces explore various dance forms, including everything from brilliant gigues to slow sarabandes, while the Italian works are fiery concertos: a nice contrast of styles!” – Robert Mealy

This programme also features a new commission from Dame Gillian Whitehead providing a striking contrast between old and new.

Featuring:

Robert Mealy | Violin
The Historical Performance students from Juilliard

Handel | Overture to “Agrippina”, HVW 6
Marais | Dances from “Semele“
Vivaldi | Concerto for flute in G minor, RV439 “La notte”
Muffat | Sonata V in G major from “Armonico tribute”
Corelli | Concerto grosso in D major, Op 6, No 7
Gillian Whitehead | “time steps out of line”
Rameau | Suite from “Dardanus”

Next generation baroque, this chamber orchestra of young players from one of the world’s most distinguished music schools starts our season with a bang. The New York Times describes Juilliard415 as an ensemble who plays with “consistent poise, and hair-trigger responsiveness” under such prominent artists as William Christie, Jordi Savall and Rachel Podger. For their New Zealand tour, Juilliard415 perform under the leadership of early music legend violinist Robert Mealy in a programme contrasting two baroque styles.

“Our programs are a dialogue between the two main musical languages in the baroque, the French and the Italian styles, focusing on Rome where Corelli was inventing the orchestra in the 1680s and Paris where Lully did the same thing at about the same time. The French pieces explore various dance forms, including everything from brilliant gigues to slow sarabandes, while the Italian works are fiery concertos: a nice contrast of styles!” – Robert Mealy

This programme also features a new commission from Dame Gillian Whitehead providing a striking contrast between old and new.

Featuring:

Robert Mealy | Violin
The Historical Performance students from Juilliard

Handel | Overture to “Il trionfo del tempo”
Lully | Suite from “Thésée“
Vivaldi | Concerto in D major for two violins and two cellos, RV564
Corelli | Concerto grosso in G minor, Op 6, No 8 “fatto per la notte di Natale”
Gillian Whitehead | “time steps out of line”
Rameau | Suite from “Dardanus”

Next generation baroque, this chamber orchestra of young players from one of the world’s most distinguished music schools starts our season with a bang. The New York Times describes Juilliard415 as an ensemble who plays with “consistent poise, and hair-trigger responsiveness” under such prominent artists as William Christie, Jordi Savall and Rachel Podger. For their New Zealand tour, Juilliard415 perform under the leadership of early music legend violinist Robert Mealy in a programme contrasting two baroque styles.

“Our programs are a dialogue between the two main musical languages in the baroque, the French and the Italian styles, focusing on Rome where Corelli was inventing the orchestra in the 1680s and Paris where Lully did the same thing at about the same time. The French pieces explore various dance forms, including everything from brilliant gigues to slow sarabandes, while the Italian works are fiery concertos: a nice contrast of styles!” – Robert Mealy

This programme also features a new commission from Dame Gillian Whitehead providing a striking contrast between old and new.

BENJAMIN NORTHEY | chief conductor
TE AHIKAAROA | kapa haka
LIOR ATTAR | tenor

VICTORIA KELLY / TE AHIKAAROA | New work for orchestra and kapa haka *
NIGEL WESTLAKE / LIOR ATTAR | Compassion **

* World premiere
** NZ premiere

We open this special concert with the world premiere of a work for kapa haka and orchestra developed in collaboration between Victoria Kelly and Te Ahikaaroa.

Compassion draws from the rich worlds of Islam and Judaism to present a collection of profound and poetic messages surrounding the idea of compassion between human beings. Sung in Hebrew and Arabic, this deeply moving and powerful work weaves together the mesmerising voice of Lior with the sounds of the symphony orchestra.

Rod Oram | Guest Speaker
Zosia Herlihy-O’Brien | Violin
Weihong Yi | Violin
Cecile McNeill | Viola
Vincent Chen | Cello

Gillian Whitehead | New work in response to Beethoven’s late string quartets
Beethoven | String Quartet in D Major Op.18 No.3 (mvts I & II)

This free event features a new, specially commissioned Beethoven-inspired work performed alongside a known work, and the chance to delve deeper into the fascinating life and times of Beethoven.

In the last few years of his life, Beethoven concentrated on string quartets to the exclusion of almost all else. Most of his contemporaries thought these late quartets incomprehensible. Dame Gillian Whitehead disagrees, answering Beethoven’s rarefied questions with her own new utterance.

In his talk, Rod Oram will speak to three key aspects of Beethoven’s life (and music): his intense involvement with nature; with politics and revolution; and with ageing. Rod will weave these together with his musings on Beethoven’s and Gillian Whitehead’s music.

The concert rounds off with two movements from Beethoven’s String Quartet Op.18 No.3 performed by the talented APO Young Achievers.

Suzanne Purdy | Guest Speaker
Diane Huh | Violin
Ta Hee Kim | Cello
Modi Deng | Piano

Chris Gendall | New work in response to Beethoven’s Piano Trio Op.70 No.2
Beethoven | Piano Trio Op.70 No.2

This free event features a new, specially commissioned Beethoven-inspired work performed alongside a known work, and the chance to delve deeper into the fascinating life and times of Beethoven.

The infinitely lyrical violin and cello, versus the more mechanical piano: a combination of opposites? Beethoven thought not, saying ‘One can also sing with the pianoforte’. New Zealand composer Chris Gendall has long experience writing for piano trio, and his new piece will be the perfect foil to Beethoven’s.

Suzanne Purdy will investigate Beethoven’s progressive hearing loss in relation to his music, how he transitioned from a hearing person to a hearing-impaired person trying to access sound through various means, and the act of composing music in a late phase of deafness. What if cochlear implant technology had been around in Beethoven’s time?

To wrap up the concert you will hear two movements from Beethoven’s Piano Trio Op.70 No.2 performed by the talented APO Young Achievers.

Paula Morris | Guest Speaker
Sophia Yang | Soprano
Sid Chand | Tenor
Arthur Adams-Close | Baritone
Ki Hei Lee | Violin
TBC | Double Bass
Billie Hart | Clarinet
Leon Reynolds | Flute
Marianna Kang | Piano

Celeste Oram and Alex Taylor | New work (a collaborative work in collage in response to Beethoven’s complete oeuvre and legacy)

This free event features a performance of a specially commissioned Beethoven-inspired work and the chance to delve deeper into the fascinating life and times of Beethoven.

Paula Morris will speak about Beethoven from the perspective of literature, from those writing around the time of Beethoven to how Beethoven’s legacy has impacted contemporary writers. Her talk will explore the Vienna of Beethoven’s day and reflect upon him as a social being embroiled in various professional friendships, rivalries, collaborations and feuds.

New Zealand composers Celeste Oram and Alex Taylor have frequently worked together, but this time they have a new collaborator – a sprightly 250-year-old by the name of Ludwig. Based on Beethoven’s music, this new piece promises to be a playful, theatrical and robustly provocative examination of Beethoven’s art and influence. This brand-new work will be performed by the talented APO Young Achievers.

Kenneth Young | Conductor
Glenn Christensen | Violin

Mozart | Overture to ‘The Magic Flute’
Beethoven | Violin Concerto
Tabea Squire | Variations
Stravinsky | The Firebird Suite

Beethoven is a towering colossus in the history of music, known for his revolutionary stretching of the boundaries of musical convention. Although he wrote only one violin concerto, it is one of the most frequently performed. Violinist Glenn Christensen has appeared as a soloist with many Australian orchestras and ensembles, and is currently a member of the prestigious Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite are both based on mythical tales: Mozart’s with tantalising hints of Masonic links, and Stravinsky’s a vividly colourful portrayal of a Russian folk legend.

Tabea Squire’s Variations was composed in 2019 and is based on a well-known medieval pavane. She is one of New Zealand’s younger composers and already her works are performed around New Zealand and internationally.

Kenneth Young is both a composer (the 2020 University of Otago Mozart Fellow) and a conductor, so he has a unique combination of skills to apply to this concert’s wide-ranging repertoire.

HAMISH MCKEICH | Conductor
ARIANA TIKAO | Taonga puoro

TORU TAKEMITSU | Archipelago S.
CHINARY UNG | Water Rings
KAIJA SAARIAHO | Nymphéa Reflection
PHILIP BROWNLEE / ARIANA TIKAO | Ko te tātai whetū

Wai features five outstanding 20th and 21st century works on the theme of water – its power, tranquillity, flow and different forms.

Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu’s Archipelago S. will have the NZSO dispersed into five groups like an archipelago of islands.

Water Rings is influenced by dance rhythms and folk tunes of composer Chinary Ung’s native Cambodia. Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho is renowned for sonic images of magnetic power, blending acoustic and electronic music. Her acclaimed Nymphéa Reflection features a poem whispered by the players, echoing the reflection of water.

Premiered in 2015, Ko te tātai whetū is a concerto for orchestra and taonga puoro. Featuring performer Ariana Tikao, it tells the story of Tāne’s journey between the underworld and the world of the living.

HAMISH MCKEICH | Conductor
ARIANA TIKAO | Taonga puoro

TORU TAKEMITSU | Archipelago S.
CHINARY UNG | Water Rings
KAIJA SAARIAHO | Nymphéa Reflection
PHILIP BROWNLEE / ARIANA TIKAO | Ko te tātai whetū

Wai features five outstanding 20th and 21st century works on the theme of water – its power, tranquillity, flow and different forms.

Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu’s Archipelago S. will have the NZSO dispersed into five groups like an archipelago of islands.

Water Rings is influenced by dance rhythms and folk tunes of composer Chinary Ung’s native Cambodia. Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho is renowned for sonic images of magnetic power, blending acoustic and electronic music. Her acclaimed Nymphéa Reflection features a poem whispered by the players, echoing the reflection of water.

Premiered in 2015, Ko te tātai whetū is a concerto for orchestra and taonga puoro. Featuring performer Ariana Tikao, it tells the story of Tāne’s journey between the underworld and the world of the living. Presented in association with ISCM World New Music Days 2020.

André de Ridder | Conductor
Olli Mustonen | Piano

Ross Harris | Symphony No.7 (world premiere)
Shostakovich | Piano Concerto No.1
R. Strauss | Death and Transfiguration

Ross Harris is an artist of deep integrity and powerful imagination. He’s also an old friend of the APO, which has given the premieres of all his symphonies, and is eagerly looking forward to doing so again. This concert promises to be an important night for New Zealand music.

Shostakovich wrote his gleefully crazy concerto at 26. It’s uproarious music from a high-spirited young man. Strauss was even younger when he composed a tone-poem set at an artist’s deathbed. We hear the high ideals the artist sought all his life, and at the last hour, the radiant transformation of his soul.

Performed in association with ISCM World Music Days 2020.

Tecwyn Evans | Conductor
John Chen | Piano

Beethoven | Overture to ‘Prometheus’
Beethoven | Piano Concerto No. 3
Anthony Ritchie | Symphony No. 1, 'Boum'

Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto, written in 1801, is described as a masterpiece. It reveals the development of the emotional impact and intellectual depth in his music which evolved after his deafness began in 1796.

John Chen is a Malaysian-born New Zealand concert pianist, and in 2004 he became the youngest-ever winner of the Sydney International Piano Competition. After finishing his studies in Auckland, he continued in the USA, and his career now takes him to all corners of the world.

As well as celebrating 250 years since Beethoven’s birth, this concert also celebrates the 60th birthday of the Dunedin-based composer Anthony Ritchie who has been hailed “one of the greatest composers of his time”. His first symphony was composed in 1993 while he was the DSO’s Composer in Residence. The DSO is delighted to mark this milestone for a composer with whom its relationship has flourished, especially as May is New Zealand’s Music Month.

BENJAMIN NORTHEY | chief conductor
MICHAEL HOUSTOUN | piano
ANTHONY FERNER | flute

CLAUDE DEBUSSY | Lindaraja (arr. Bill Hopkins) *
FELIX MENDELSSOHN | Symphony No 4 “Italian”
FRANCIS POULENC | Cantilena for Flute (arr. Chris Cree Brown)
JOHANNES BRAHMS | Concerto No. 1 for Piano

* NZ premiere

Mendelssohn’s fourth symphony is bursting with exuberance and youthful energy. Inspired by his travels around Italy, it is characterised by bright, sunny melodies and an uplifting freshness.

Also featuring in this programme are two exquisite miniatures, Debussy’s Lindaraja, originally composed for two pianos, and Poulenc’s Cantilena both re-imagined in sensitive arrangements for orchestra.

New Zealand’s foremost pianist, Michael Houstoun, joins the CSO to perform Brahms' magnificent first piano concerto in his final performance with the CSO as he farewells the concert platform.

MARTIN RISELEY | violin

J S BACH | Sonata No. 3 in C major
J S BACH | Partita No. 2 in D minor
GARETH FARR | Wakatipu
JOHN PSATHAS | Gyftiko

This series is presented in the Ron Ball Studio situated in the CSO’s new home within the Town Hall. Celebrating the talents of the musicians of the orchestra, each one hour programme is carefully curated to explore the different sounds of an orchestra in an up-close and intimate setting.

Tianyi Lu | Conductor
Thomas Hutchinson | Oboe

Ravel | Le Tombeau de Couperin
Vaughan Williams | Oboe Concerto
Gareth Farr | Le Temps est à la Pluie
Shostakovich | Chamber Symphony

Each of this programme’s works embodies their composer’s reflections on war or violent loss of life:

• Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin’s movements are each dedicated to the memory of one of his friends who died fighting in World War I.
• Vaughan Williams’ music is alternately contemplative and sinister reflecting how deeply his First World War experiences affected him.
• New Zealand composer Gareth Farr’s Le Temps est à la Pluie is a threnody to those in the Pacific region adversely affected by nuclear testing.
• Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8 (transcribed by Rudolf Barshais as the ‘Chamber Symphony’ for strings) is dedicated ‘to the victims of fascism and war’.

Conductor Tianyi Lu continues her busy conducting schedule, with concerts in New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Lapland, the USA, Turkey, and Singapore.

Concerto soloist Thomas Hutchinson, the first New Zealander to win the prestigious 66th ARD competition in Munich in 2017, is now Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s Principal Oboist.

Tianyi Lu | Conductor
Thomas Hutchinson | Oboe

Ravel | Le Tombeau de Couperin
Vaughan Williams | Oboe Concerto
Gareth Farr | Le Temps est à la Pluie
Shostakovich | Chamber Symphony

Each of this programme’s works embodies their composer’s reflections on war or violent loss of life:

• Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin’s movements are each dedicated to the memory of one of his friends who died fighting in World War I.
• Vaughan Williams’ music is alternately contemplative and sinister reflecting how deeply his First World War experiences affected him.
• New Zealand composer Gareth Farr’s Le Temps est à la Pluie is a threnody to those in the Pacific region adversely affected by nuclear testing.
• Shostakovich’s String Quartet No. 8 (transcribed by Rudolf Barshais as the ‘Chamber Symphony’ for strings) is dedicated ‘to the victims of fascism and war’.

Conductor Tianyi Lu continues her busy conducting schedule, with concerts in New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Lapland, the USA, Turkey, and Singapore.

Concerto soloist Thomas Hutchinson, the first New Zealander to win the prestigious 66th ARD competition in Munich in 2017, is now Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s Principal Oboist.

Programme:

Eichberg | Sedna
Tchaikovsky | Piano Concerto No. 1
Lilburn | Symphony No. 2 - Vincent Hardaker (NZ), conductor

With the annual workshops, the Odense Symphony Orchestra gives the young conductors the opportunity to gain experience in working with professional musicians. Prior to the workshop itself, many hours of study and preparation with score and piano have been passed in order to create a personal interpretation that is at the same time true to the composer's intentions. The big task on the podium is to translate sound, phrasing, tempo and expression - just with mimicry and gestures. Come hear the sounding result of the hard work.

Collaboration with the Royal Danish Music Conservatory.

Ludwig van Beethoven | Piano Trio in C minor Op. 1, No. 3
Kriztos Hatzis | Old Photographs
Salina Fisher | New Commission
Dinuk Wijeratne | Love Triangle
Maurice Ravel | Piano Trio in A minor

This is the new NZTrio with Amalia Hall (violin) – Concertmaster of Orchestra Wellington – and Somi Kim (piano) joining Ashley Brown (cello). This concert, which begins with the dark lyric beauty of Beethoven’s explosive C minor trio, will finish with the piano trio of Ravel – among the most treasured works written for violin, cello and piano. Between these two masterworks, the heart of the programme consists of a new commission by NZ composer Salina Fisher and moving pieces by composers who have made Canada home. Born in Greece, Kriztos Hatzis has been a composition professor in Toronto since 1995 and established an impressive reputation. The sinuous melodies that another Canadian, Dinuk Wijeratene, winds through Love Triangle evoke the sounds of Middle Eastern and North Indian music. Before the end of this work each of the three members of the trio have the opportunity to shine in dazzling solos.

Alpesh Chauhan | Conductor
Akiko Suwanai | Violin

Gillian Whitehead | Resurgences
Mendelssohn | Violin Concerto
Sibelius | Symphony No.2

Ask any violinist for their favourite concerto and there’s a good chance you’ll be told Mendelssohn. It’s one of those pieces in which musicians can always find new depths, no matter how familiar it is.

The same is true of Sibelius’s life affirming Second Symphony, warm and expansive music which ends in exultation.

Dame Gillian Whitehead has said Resurgences is about ‘living away from the sea and being drawn back to ideas of the sea, ideas that are very strong with all New Zealanders – looking out to distant horizons’.

GIANCARLO GUERRERO | conductor
VALENTINA LISITSA | piano

TABEA SQUIRE | Variations
PROKOFIEV | Piano Concerto No. 3
RACHMANINOV | The Isle of the Dead
BARTOK | Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin

Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero, renowned for his Grammy Award-winning recordings of contemporary American composers, conducts the NZSO in a clutch of provocative 20th-century classics.

Rachmaninov’s lush and brooding Isle of the Dead sprang from Arnold Böcklin’s painting of a looming island, approached by a lone rowboat carrying a coffin. Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin was originally a pantomime ballet depicting both the sounds of the urban jungle, but also the depravity within.

Valentina Lisitsa performs Prokofiev’s best-loved Piano Concerto, his third. Lisitsa, one of the first viral classical music stars, is now a globe-trotting concert pianist whose playing has been praised by The Guardian as displaying “a special combination of utterly self-assured virtuosity and real lyricism and communication.”

NZ composer Tabea Squire’s piece Variations is the first of her works to be premiered in an NZSO subscription series. The youngest ever composer to be awarded the NZSO/NYO Composer-in-Residence position, her works have been premiered in Melbourne, Adelaide, and London.

GIANCARLO GUERRERO | conductor
VALENTINA LISITSA | piano

TABEA SQUIRE | Variations
PROKOFIEV | Piano Concerto No. 3
RACHMANINOV | The Isle of the Dead
BARTOK | Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin

Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero, renowned for his Grammy Award-winning recordings of contemporary American composers, conducts the NZSO in a clutch of provocative 20th-century classics.

Rachmaninov’s lush and brooding Isle of the Dead sprang from Arnold Böcklin’s painting of a looming island, approached by a lone rowboat carrying a coffin. Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin was originally a pantomime ballet depicting both the sounds of the urban jungle, but also the depravity within.

Valentina Lisitsa performs Prokofiev’s best-loved Piano Concerto, his third. Lisitsa, one of the first viral classical music stars, is now a globe-trotting concert pianist whose playing has been praised by The Guardian as displaying “a special combination of utterly self-assured virtuosity and real lyricism and communication.”

NZ composer Tabea Squire’s piece Variations is the first of her works to be premiered in an NZSO subscription series. The youngest ever composer to be awarded the NZSO/NYO Composer-in-Residence position, her works have been premiered in Melbourne, Adelaide, and London.

Giancarlo Guerrero | conductor
Valentina Lisitsa | piano

Lilburn | Drysdale Overture
Prokofiev | Piano Concerto No. 3
Beethoven | Symphony No. 6 'Pastoral'

Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero has won six Grammys for his recordings as Music Director of the Nashville Symphony. Maestro Guerrero visits New Zealand to conduct a programme awash in musical landscapes.

When studying at the Royal College of Music, Douglas Lilburn was asked by his teacher Ralph Vaughan Williams, “isn’t it time you composed something?” Lilburn responded by writing the Drysdale Overture, a loving depiction of his family’s farm in the upper Turakina River Valley.

By contrast, Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony is his famous expression of his love of the German countryside. Replete with simulated cuckoo calls, country dances, babbling brooks and a wild storm; the 'Pastoral' nickname is well-earned.

Valentina Lisitsa performs Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto. One of the first viral classical music stars, with more than 214 million views on YouTube, Lisitsa is a highly sought after concert pianist, praised for “the aesthetic honesty of her performances.”

Giancarlo Guerrero | conductor
Valentina Lisitsa | piano

Lilburn | Drysdale Overture
Prokofiev | Piano Concerto No. 3
Beethoven | Symphony No. 6 'Pastoral'

Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero has won six Grammys for his recordings as Music Director of the Nashville Symphony. Maestro Guerrero visits New Zealand to conduct a programme awash in musical landscapes.

When studying at the Royal College of Music, Douglas Lilburn was asked by his teacher Ralph Vaughan Williams, “isn’t it time you composed something?” Lilburn responded by writing the Drysdale Overture, a loving depiction of his family’s farm in the upper Turakina River Valley.

By contrast, Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony is his famous expression of his love of the German countryside. Replete with simulated cuckoo calls, country dances, babbling brooks and a wild storm; the 'Pastoral' nickname is well-earned.

Valentina Lisitsa performs Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto. One of the first viral classical music stars, with more than 214 million views on YouTube, Lisitsa is a highly sought after concert pianist, praised for “the aesthetic honesty of her performances.”

Programme:

CHRIS WATSON | Homage to Varèse’s “Octandre”
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART | Serenade in E flat
EDGARD VARÈSE | Octandre

This series is presented in the Ron Ball Studio situated in the CSO’s new home within the Town Hall. Celebrating the talents of the musicians of the orchestra, each one hour programme is carefully curated to explore the different sounds of an orchestra in an up-close and intimate setting.

Giancarlo Guerrero | conductor
Valentina Lisitsa | piano

Lilburn | Drysdale Overture
Prokofiev | Piano Concerto No. 3
Beethoven | Symphony No. 6 'Pastoral'

Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero has won six Grammys for his recordings as Music Director of the Nashville Symphony. Maestro Guerrero visits New Zealand to conduct a programme awash in musical landscapes.

When studying at the Royal College of Music, Douglas Lilburn was asked by his teacher Ralph Vaughan Williams, “isn’t it time you composed something?” Lilburn responded by writing the Drysdale Overture, a loving depiction of his family’s farm in the upper Turakina River Valley.

By contrast, Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony is his famous expression of his love of the German countryside. Replete with simulated cuckoo calls, country dances, babbling brooks and a wild storm; the 'Pastoral' nickname is well-earned.

Valentina Lisitsa performs Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto. One of the first viral classical music stars, with more than 214 million views on YouTube, Lisitsa is a highly sought after concert pianist, praised for “the aesthetic honesty of her performances.”

Giancarlo Guerrero | conductor
Valentina Lisitsa | piano

Lilburn | Drysdale Overture
Prokofiev | Piano Concerto No. 3
Beethoven | Symphony No. 6 'Pastoral'

Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero has won six Grammys for his recordings as Music Director of the Nashville Symphony. Maestro Guerrero visits New Zealand to conduct a programme awash in musical landscapes.

When studying at the Royal College of Music, Douglas Lilburn was asked by his teacher Ralph Vaughan Williams, “isn’t it time you composed something?” Lilburn responded by writing the Drysdale Overture, a loving depiction of his family’s farm in the upper Turakina River Valley.

By contrast, Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony is his famous expression of his love of the German countryside. Replete with simulated cuckoo calls, country dances, babbling brooks and a wild storm; the 'Pastoral' nickname is well-earned.

Valentina Lisitsa performs Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto. One of the first viral classical music stars, with more than 214 million views on YouTube, Lisitsa is a highly sought after concert pianist, praised for “the aesthetic honesty of her performances.”

Anna Im | Violin
Stephen De Pledge | Piano

Mozart | Violin Sonata No 18 in G major, K301
Lyell Cresswell | Chatoyance
Grieg | Violin Sonata No 3 in C minor, op 45
C Schumann | Three Romances for violin and piano, Op 22
Ysaye | Violin Sonata No 2 in A minor, Op 27, No 2
Weniawski | Variations on an Original Theme, op 15

Winner of the 2019 Michael Hill International Violin Competition Anna Im and beloved New Zealand pianist Stephen De Pledge come together for a concert of works by Mozart, Beethoven, Wieniawski and Clara Schumann. This is a celebration of the beauty of the violin and piano, and a chance to support exciting young talent.

Anna Im started playing the violin aged six and just two years later was invited to perform for the Thai Royal Family. After winning various competitions in Korea, Anna was awarded a full scholarship by the Korean Government to study at the Korean National Institute for the Gifted in Arts, and in 2012 she received a scholarship to study at the Millfield senior school in the UK.

Anna has studied with Shmuel Ashkenasi and Aaron Rosand at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia since 2014, and has maintained her tutelage with So-ock Kim since 2012. She has been kindly loaned instruments for her performances from the Beares International Violin Society.

Anna Im | Violin
Stephen De Pledge | Piano

Mozart | Violin Sonata No 18 in G major, K301
Lyell Cresswell | Chatoyance
Grieg | Violin Sonata No 3 in C minor, op 45
C Schumann | Three Romances for violin and piano, Op 22
Ysaye | Violin Sonata No 2 in A minor, Op 27, No 2
Weniawski | Variations on an Original Theme, op 15

Winner of the 2019 Michael Hill International Violin Competition Anna Im and beloved New Zealand pianist Stephen De Pledge come together for a concert of works by Mozart, Beethoven, Wieniawski and Clara Schumann. This is a celebration of the beauty of the violin and piano, and a chance to support exciting young talent.

Anna Im started playing the violin aged six and just two years later was invited to perform for the Thai Royal Family. After winning various competitions in Korea, Anna was awarded a full scholarship by the Korean Government to study at the Korean National Institute for the Gifted in Arts, and in 2012 she received a scholarship to study at the Millfield senior school in the UK.

Anna has studied with Shmuel Ashkenasi and Aaron Rosand at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia since 2014, and has maintained her tutelage with So-ock Kim since 2012. She has been kindly loaned instruments for her performances from the Beares International Violin Society.

Anna Im | Violin
Stephen De Pledge | Piano

Beethoven | Violin Sonata No 2 in A major, Op 12, No 2
C Schumann | Three Romances for violin and piano, Op 22
Ysaye | Violin Sonata No 2 in A minor, Op 27, No 2
Lyell Cresswell | Chatoyance
Franck | Violin Sonata in A major

Winner of the 2019 Michael Hill International Violin Competition Anna Im and beloved New Zealand pianist Stephen De Pledge come together for a concert of works by Mozart, Beethoven, Wieniawski and Clara Schumann. This is a celebration of the beauty of the violin and piano, and a chance to support exciting young talent.

Anna Im started playing the violin aged six and just two years later was invited to perform for the Thai Royal Family. After winning various competitions in Korea, Anna was awarded a full scholarship by the Korean Government to study at the Korean National Institute for the Gifted in Arts, and in 2012 she received a scholarship to study at the Millfield senior school in the UK.

Anna has studied with Shmuel Ashkenasi and Aaron Rosand at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia since 2014, and has maintained her tutelage with So-ock Kim since 2012. She has been kindly loaned instruments for her performances from the Beares International Violin Society.

Anna Im | Violin
Stephen De Pledge | Piano

Beethoven | Violin Sonata No 2 in A major, Op 12, No 2
C Schumann | Three Romances for violin and piano, Op 22
Ysaye | Violin Sonata No 2 in A minor, Op 27, No 2
Lyell Cresswell | Chatoyance
Franck | Violin Sonata in A major

Winner of the 2019 Michael Hill International Violin Competition Anna Im and beloved New Zealand pianist Stephen De Pledge come together for a concert of works by Mozart, Beethoven, Wieniawski and Clara Schumann. This is a celebration of the beauty of the violin and piano, and a chance to support exciting young talent.

Anna Im started playing the violin aged six and just two years later was invited to perform for the Thai Royal Family. After winning various competitions in Korea, Anna was awarded a full scholarship by the Korean Government to study at the Korean National Institute for the Gifted in Arts, and in 2012 she received a scholarship to study at the Millfield senior school in the UK.

Anna has studied with Shmuel Ashkenasi and Aaron Rosand at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia since 2014, and has maintained her tutelage with So-ock Kim since 2012. She has been kindly loaned instruments for her performances from the Beares International Violin Society.

Anna Im | Violin
Stephen De Pledge | Piano

Mozart | Violin Sonata No 18 in G major, K301
Lyell Cresswell | Chatoyance
Grieg | Violin Sonata No 3 in C minor, op 45
C Schumann | Three Romances for violin and piano, Op 22
Ysaye | Violin Sonata No 2 in A minor, Op 27, No 2
Weniawski | Variations on an Original Theme, op 15

Winner of the 2019 Michael Hill International Violin Competition Anna Im and beloved New Zealand pianist Stephen De Pledge come together for a concert of works by Mozart, Beethoven, Wieniawski and Clara Schumann. This is a celebration of the beauty of the violin and piano, and a chance to support exciting young talent.

Anna Im started playing the violin aged six and just two years later was invited to perform for the Thai Royal Family. After winning various competitions in Korea, Anna was awarded a full scholarship by the Korean Government to study at the Korean National Institute for the Gifted in Arts, and in 2012 she received a scholarship to study at the Millfield senior school in the UK.

Anna has studied with Shmuel Ashkenasi and Aaron Rosand at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia since 2014, and has maintained her tutelage with So-ock Kim since 2012. She has been kindly loaned instruments for her performances from the Beares International Violin Society.

Anna Leese | soprano
Maaike Beekman | mezzo
Manase Latu | tenor
Robert Tucker | baritone
Kirsten Robertson | piano

Featuring:

“Sure on this Shining Night”
Beethoven | Collection of songs
Mahler | 'Lieder' from Des Knaben Wunderhorn
Works by American and New Zealand composers: Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland, Morten Lauridsen, Anthony Ritchie and Bic Runga

Internationally acclaimed soprano Anna Leese returns to Waikanae with the Tākiri Ensemble, an exciting vocal ensemble of New Zealand musicians – four opera singers and a pianist.

Anna is one of this country’s most successful sopranos. Since her debut at the 2006 BBC Proms, she has sung at Covent Garden, the Royal Albert Hall and has performed for the Canadian Opera Company, Opera Köln, Flanders Opera, Opera Holland Park and our own New Zealand Opera.

She will be joined by experienced mezzo-soprano Maaike Beekman, who has performed widely in Europe and New Zealand.

Relatively new to the group is Tongan tenor Manase Latu. He studied music at the University of Auckland, and has won several competitions, including the 2018 New Zealand Aria. He was a finalist in the 2018 Lexus Song Quest and, most recently, won the 2019 Australian Singing Competition.

Baritone Robert Tucker sang opera professionally in England and Japan before returning to New Zealand where he appears regularly with New Zealand Opera.

Kirsten Robertson, one of this country’s most experienced vocal accompanists, has worked with such greats as Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Dame Malvina Major.

The programme will include solos, duos and ensembles by a wide variety of composers.

Anna Im | Violin
Stephen De Pledge | Piano

Beethoven | Violin Sonata No 2 in A major, Op 12, No 2
C Schumann | Three Romances for violin and piano, Op 22
Ysaye | Violin Sonata No 2 in A minor, Op 27, No 2
Lyell Cresswell | Chatoyance
Franck | Violin Sonata in A major

Winner of the 2019 Michael Hill International Violin Competition Anna Im and beloved New Zealand pianist Stephen De Pledge come together for a concert of works by Mozart, Beethoven, Wieniawski and Clara Schumann. This is a celebration of the beauty of the violin and piano, and a chance to support exciting young talent.

Anna Im started playing the violin aged six and just two years later was invited to perform for the Thai Royal Family. After winning various competitions in Korea, Anna was awarded a full scholarship by the Korean Government to study at the Korean National Institute for the Gifted in Arts, and in 2012 she received a scholarship to study at the Millfield senior school in the UK.

Anna has studied with Shmuel Ashkenasi and Aaron Rosand at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia since 2014, and has maintained her tutelage with So-ock Kim since 2012. She has been kindly loaned instruments for her performances from the Beares International Violin Society.

Anna Im | Violin
Stephen De Pledge | Piano

Mozart | Violin Sonata No 18 in G major, K301
Lyell Cresswell | Chatoyance
Grieg | Violin Sonata No 3 in C minor, op 45
C Schumann | Three Romances for violin and piano, Op 22
Ysaye | Violin Sonata No 2 in A minor, Op 27, No 2
Weniawski | Variations on an Original Theme, op 15

Winner of the 2019 Michael Hill International Violin Competition Anna Im and beloved New Zealand pianist Stephen De Pledge come together for a concert of works by Mozart, Beethoven, Wieniawski and Clara Schumann. This is a celebration of the beauty of the violin and piano, and a chance to support exciting young talent.

Anna Im started playing the violin aged six and just two years later was invited to perform for the Thai Royal Family. After winning various competitions in Korea, Anna was awarded a full scholarship by the Korean Government to study at the Korean National Institute for the Gifted in Arts, and in 2012 she received a scholarship to study at the Millfield senior school in the UK.

Anna has studied with Shmuel Ashkenasi and Aaron Rosand at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia since 2014, and has maintained her tutelage with So-ock Kim since 2012. She has been kindly loaned instruments for her performances from the Beares International Violin Society.

Anna Im | Violin
Stephen De Pledge | Piano

Beethoven | Violin Sonata No 2 in A major, Op 12, No 2
C Schumann | Three Romances for violin and piano, Op 22
Ysaye | Violin Sonata No 2 in A minor, Op 27, No 2
Lyell Cresswell | Chatoyance
Franck | Violin Sonata in A major

Winner of the 2019 Michael Hill International Violin Competition Anna Im and beloved New Zealand pianist Stephen De Pledge come together for a concert of works by Mozart, Beethoven, Wieniawski and Clara Schumann. This is a celebration of the beauty of the violin and piano, and a chance to support exciting young talent.

Anna Im started playing the violin aged six and just two years later was invited to perform for the Thai Royal Family. After winning various competitions in Korea, Anna was awarded a full scholarship by the Korean Government to study at the Korean National Institute for the Gifted in Arts, and in 2012 she received a scholarship to study at the Millfield senior school in the UK.

Anna has studied with Shmuel Ashkenasi and Aaron Rosand at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia since 2014, and has maintained her tutelage with So-ock Kim since 2012. She has been kindly loaned instruments for her performances from the Beares International Violin Society.

JUANITA HEPI (TE HAPŪ O NGĀTI WHEKE) | artistic director
DANNY SYME | co-director/head trainer
HAMISH OLIVER | composer

Tūmahana: Exchange is a bilingual (Te Reo Māori and English) performance that offers a glimpse into a past where generations of our tīpuna and ancestors have made their homes in and around the Ngāi Tahu takiwā of Te Waipounamu.

This all ages performance weaves theatre, aerial and visual arts, acrobatics, Toi Māori and Tāonga Pūoro with orchestral music in collaboration with Te Hapū o Ngāti Wheke, Christchurch Circus Collective and CSO.

Programme: TBA

Claire Cowan’s Blackbird Ensemble are thrill-seekers, liberty takers and musical magpies inviting you into their treasure-filled nest. Aiming to move you and groove you against a backdrop of a futuristic dystopia, they explore ideas about the future, technology and its impact on our lives and planet, and our interconnectedness and interdependence as human beings in society.

This ground-breaking young New Zealand ensemble walks the line between genres with traditional instruments and weird and wonderful new ones. In this concert Blackbird Ensemble explores new territories through a retro-futurist lens, creating ritualistic performances of music spanning multiple centuries, that will leave you feeling like you’ve time-travelled into a strange new reality.

Programme: TBA

Claire Cowan’s Blackbird Ensemble are thrill-seekers, liberty takers and musical magpies inviting you into their treasure-filled nest. Aiming to move you and groove you against a backdrop of a futuristic dystopia, they explore ideas about the future, technology and its impact on our lives and planet, and our interconnectedness and interdependence as human beings in society.

This ground-breaking young New Zealand ensemble walks the line between genres with traditional instruments and weird and wonderful new ones. In this concert Blackbird Ensemble explores new territories through a retro-futurist lens, creating ritualistic performances of music spanning multiple centuries, that will leave you feeling like you’ve time-travelled into a strange new reality.

Gemma New | conductor
Johannes Moser | electric cello

Brahms (orch. Parlow) | Hungarian Dance Nos. 5 & 6
Composer TBC | Solo work for electric cello
Stravinsky | Danses Concertantes
Maria Grenfell | Clockwerk
WA Mozart | Idomeneo Ballet Music

New Zealand conductor Gemma New leads the NZSO in a concert full of rhythm and dance.

Originally written for piano, Brahms’ Hungarian Dances evokes the spirit of the travelling gypsy bands that served as the inspiration for this music, while Schulhoff’s Suite für Kammerorchester is reminiscent of 1920’s jazz.

Acclaimed cellist Johannes Moser brings something different to his performance as he presents a solo work for electric cello, an instrument that allows him to add new textures and effects to his performance.

Stravinsky originally wrote Danses Concertantes for the concert hall, but it wouldn’t feel out of place as a ballet. The rhythms, syncopation and structure of the piece led to it being choreographed several times, first in 1944 by acclaimed choreographer and co-founder of the New York City Ballet, George Balanchine.

Maria Grenfell's Clockwerk, with its fugal structure, introduces the different string sections of the Orchestra. The feeling of the work changes often before ending on a driving, accelerating end.

Written when he was just 24, Idomeneo is considered one of Mozart’s first great operas. Dance was a large part of opera at the time and the selection of works performed from this opera shows the young genius’ talent as a composer and adaptability to the style.

BENJAMIN NORTHEY | chief conductor
DAVID MCGREGOR | clarinet

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART | Overture to Don Giovanni
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART | Clarinet Concerto in A major, K.622
ANTHONY RITCHIE | Symphony No. 5 *

* World premiere

Having watched his father conduct Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony at the inaugural concert of the Christchurch Town Hall in 1972, Anthony Ritchie had some of his most formative and positive musical experiences in this building. The CSO is delighted to perform the world premiere of Anthony Ritchie’s fifth symphony, written for the orchestra to celebrate the restoration and re-opening of the Christchurch Town Hall.

Performed by the CSO’s Principal Clarinet, David McGregor, Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto is considered to be one of his most sublime works. Composed during the final year of Mozart’s life this concerto conveys a reflective poignancy.

Gemma New | conductor
Johannes Moser | cello

Robin Toan | Tū-mata-uenga "God of War, Spirit of Man"
Elgar | Cello Concerto
Tchaikovsky | Symphony No. 6 'Pathétique'

A former Conducting Fellow under the mentorship of LA Philharmonic’s Music Director Gustavo Dudamel, New Zealander Gemma New has lead performances at Carnegie Hall and with the symphony orchestras of San Diego, Atlanta, Indianapolis, and San Francisco. You will look forward to her intelligent interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, 'Pathétique' – the vehicle par excellence for expressivity and emotion.

Johannes Moser also returns for the concert. His third time performing with the NZSO, Moser’s easy-going demeanour belies his intensely lyrical playing and superb musicianship.

Written in 2005 as the first NYO Composer-in-Residence commission, Robin Toan’s Tū-mata-uenga “God of War, Spirit of Man” was inspired by the Māori story of creation.

Programme: TBA

Claire Cowan’s Blackbird Ensemble are thrill-seekers, liberty takers and musical magpies inviting you into their treasure-filled nest. Aiming to move you and groove you against a backdrop of a futuristic dystopia, they explore ideas about the future, technology and its impact on our lives and planet, and our interconnectedness and interdependence as human beings in society.

This ground-breaking young New Zealand ensemble walks the line between genres with traditional instruments and weird and wonderful new ones. In this concert Blackbird Ensemble explores new territories through a retro-futurist lens, creating ritualistic performances of music spanning multiple centuries, that will leave you feeling like you’ve time-travelled into a strange new reality.

Programme: TBA

Claire Cowan’s Blackbird Ensemble are thrill-seekers, liberty takers and musical magpies inviting you into their treasure-filled nest. Aiming to move you and groove you against a backdrop of a futuristic dystopia, they explore ideas about the future, technology and its impact on our lives and planet, and our interconnectedness and interdependence as human beings in society.

This ground-breaking young New Zealand ensemble walks the line between genres with traditional instruments and weird and wonderful new ones. In this concert Blackbird Ensemble explores new territories through a retro-futurist lens, creating ritualistic performances of music spanning multiple centuries, that will leave you feeling like you’ve time-travelled into a strange new reality.

Gemma New | conductor
Johannes Moser | cello

Robin Toan | Tū-mata-uenga "God of War, Spirit of Man"
Elgar | Cello Concerto
Tchaikovsky | Symphony No. 6 'Pathétique'

A former Conducting Fellow under the mentorship of LA Philharmonic’s Music Director Gustavo Dudamel, New Zealander Gemma New has lead performances at Carnegie Hall and with the symphony orchestras of San Diego, Atlanta, Indianapolis, and San Francisco. You will look forward to her intelligent interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, 'Pathétique' – the vehicle par excellence for expressivity and emotion.

Johannes Moser also returns for the concert. His third time performing with the NZSO, Moser’s easy-going demeanour belies his intensely lyrical playing and superb musicianship.

Written in 2005 as the first NYO Composer-in-Residence commission, Robin Toan’s Tū-mata-uenga “God of War, Spirit of Man” was inspired by the Māori story of creation.

Gemma New | conductor
Johannes Moser | cello

Robin Toan | Tū-mata-uenga "God of War, Spirit of Man"
Elgar | Cello Concerto
Tchaikovsky | Symphony No. 6 'Pathétique'

A former Conducting Fellow under the mentorship of LA Philharmonic’s Music Director Gustavo Dudamel, New Zealander Gemma New has lead performances at Carnegie Hall and with the symphony orchestras of San Diego, Atlanta, Indianapolis, and San Francisco. You will look forward to her intelligent interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, 'Pathétique' – the vehicle par excellence for expressivity and emotion.

Johannes Moser also returns for the concert. His third time performing with the NZSO, Moser’s easy-going demeanour belies his intensely lyrical playing and superb musicianship.

Written in 2005 as the first NYO Composer-in-Residence commission, Robin Toan’s Tū-mata-uenga “God of War, Spirit of Man” was inspired by the Māori story of creation.

Programme: TBA

Claire Cowan’s Blackbird Ensemble are thrill-seekers, liberty takers and musical magpies inviting you into their treasure-filled nest. Aiming to move you and groove you against a backdrop of a futuristic dystopia, they explore ideas about the future, technology and its impact on our lives and planet, and our interconnectedness and interdependence as human beings in society.

This ground-breaking young New Zealand ensemble walks the line between genres with traditional instruments and weird and wonderful new ones. In this concert Blackbird Ensemble explores new territories through a retro-futurist lens, creating ritualistic performances of music spanning multiple centuries, that will leave you feeling like you’ve time-travelled into a strange new reality.

Programme: TBA

Claire Cowan’s Blackbird Ensemble are thrill-seekers, liberty takers and musical magpies inviting you into their treasure-filled nest. Aiming to move you and groove you against a backdrop of a futuristic dystopia, they explore ideas about the future, technology and its impact on our lives and planet, and our interconnectedness and interdependence as human beings in society.

This ground-breaking young New Zealand ensemble walks the line between genres with traditional instruments and weird and wonderful new ones. In this concert Blackbird Ensemble explores new territories through a retro-futurist lens, creating ritualistic performances of music spanning multiple centuries, that will leave you feeling like you’ve time-travelled into a strange new reality.

Gemma New | conductor
Johannes Moser | electric cello

Brahms (orch. Parlow) | Hungarian Dance Nos. 5 & 6
Composer TBC | Solo work for electric cello
Stravinsky | Danses Concertantes
Maria Grenfell | Clockwerk
WA Mozart | Idomeneo Ballet Music

New Zealand conductor Gemma New leads the NZSO in a concert full of rhythm and dance.

Originally written for piano, Brahms’ Hungarian Dances evokes the spirit of the travelling gypsy bands that served as the inspiration for this music, while Schulhoff’s Suite für Kammerorchester is reminiscent of 1920’s jazz.

Acclaimed cellist Johannes Moser brings something different to his performance as he presents a solo work for electric cello, an instrument that allows him to add new textures and effects to his performance.

Stravinsky originally wrote Danses Concertantes for the concert hall, but it wouldn’t feel out of place as a ballet. The rhythms, syncopation and structure of the piece led to it being choreographed several times, first in 1944 by acclaimed choreographer and co-founder of the New York City Ballet, George Balanchine.

Maria Grenfell's Clockwerk, with its fugal structure, introduces the different string sections of the Orchestra. The feeling of the work changes often before ending on a driving, accelerating end.

Written when he was just 24, Idomeneo is considered one of Mozart’s first great operas. Dance was a large part of opera at the time and the selection of works performed from this opera shows the young genius’ talent as a composer and adaptability to the style.

Gemma New | conductor
Johannes Moser | cello

Robin Toan | Tū-mata-uenga "God of War, Spirit of Man"
Elgar | Cello Concerto
Tchaikovsky | Symphony No. 6 'Pathétique'

A former Conducting Fellow under the mentorship of LA Philharmonic’s Music Director Gustavo Dudamel, New Zealander Gemma New has lead performances at Carnegie Hall and with the symphony orchestras of San Diego, Atlanta, Indianapolis, and San Francisco. You will look forward to her intelligent interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony, 'Pathétique' – the vehicle par excellence for expressivity and emotion.

Johannes Moser also returns for the concert. His third time performing with the NZSO, Moser’s easy-going demeanour belies his intensely lyrical playing and superb musicianship.

Written in 2005 as the first NYO Composer-in-Residence commission, Robin Toan’s Tū-mata-uenga “God of War, Spirit of Man” was inspired by the Māori story of creation.

Programme: TBA

Claire Cowan’s Blackbird Ensemble are thrill-seekers, liberty takers and musical magpies inviting you into their treasure-filled nest. Aiming to move you and groove you against a backdrop of a futuristic dystopia, they explore ideas about the future, technology and its impact on our lives and planet, and our interconnectedness and interdependence as human beings in society.

This ground-breaking young New Zealand ensemble walks the line between genres with traditional instruments and weird and wonderful new ones. In this concert Blackbird Ensemble explores new territories through a retro-futurist lens, creating ritualistic performances of music spanning multiple centuries, that will leave you feeling like you’ve time-travelled into a strange new reality.

CHRIS CREE BROWN | Memories Apart
IGOR STRAVINSKY | Ragtime for Eleven Musicians
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Adagio molto for harp and string quartet
ELENA KATS-CHERNIN | Hemispheres
MAURICE RAVEL | Introduction and Allegro for harp, flute, clarinet and string quartet

This series is presented in the Ron Ball Studio situated in the CSO’s new home within the Town Hall. Celebrating the talents of the musicians of the orchestra, each one hour programme is carefully curated to explore the different sounds of an orchestra in an up-close and intimate setting.

Miguel Harth-Bedoya | conductor
Augustin Hadelich | violin

Anthony Ritchie | Remember Parihaka
Sibelius | Violin Concerto
Beethoven | Symphony No. 3 'Eroica'

Conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya is a familiar face to New Zealand audiences, returning to conduct an offering of time-tested classics.

Anthony Ritchie was inspired to write Remember Parihaka as testament to the plight of Māori at Parihaka, forcibly removed from their Pā, unjustly arrested and imprisoned in 1881.

Augustin Hadelich, one of this generation’s greatest violinists, performs Sibelius’ Violin Concerto. After a disastrous premiere, Sibelius reworked the concerto substantially, removing some of its most difficult sections. Even in this more commonly played revised version, the Concerto remains one of the most difficult works written for violin – while still retaining the power to move, inspire and exhilarate.

Beethoven’s Third Symphony also looms large as a great work. Its effect on 19th-century classical music was cataclysmic; after the Third, the symphony as a form was never the same again.

Miguel Harth-Bedoya | conductor
Augustin Hadelich | violin

Anthony Ritchie | Remember Parihaka
Sibelius | Violin Concerto
Beethoven | Symphony No. 3 'Eroica'

Conductor Miguel Harth-Bedoya is a familiar face to New Zealand audiences, returning to conduct an offering of time-tested classics.

Anthony Ritchie was inspired to write Remember Parihaka as testament to the plight of Māori at Parihaka, forcibly removed from their Pā, unjustly arrested and imprisoned in 1881.

Augustin Hadelich, one of this generation’s greatest violinists, performs Sibelius’ Violin Concerto. After a disastrous premiere, Sibelius reworked the concerto substantially, removing some of its most difficult sections. Even in this more commonly played revised version, the Concerto remains one of the most difficult works written for violin – while still retaining the power to move, inspire and exhilarate.

Beethoven’s Third Symphony also looms large as a great work. Its effect on 19th-century classical music was cataclysmic; after the Third, the symphony as a form was never the same again.

Franz Schubert | Quartettsatz in C minor, D 703
Claude Debussy | String Quartet in G Minor, Op. 10
Salina Fisher | New commission
Felix Mendelssohn | String Quartet in F minor, Op. 80

Founded in 2013 at the Royal College of Music, London, the quartet are winners of the 2018 Royal Overseas League Competition and Second Prize at the 8th International Joseph Joachim Chamber Music Competition, as well as the Special Prize for the best interpretation of a contemporary work (Four Quarters by Thomas Adès). As the current holders of the Guildhall School of Music String Quartet Fellowship, they are based in London.

Johannes Marmen | violin
Ricky Gore | violin
Steffan Morris | cello
Bryony Gibson-Cornish | viola

Schubert | Quartettsatz in C minor, D 703
Debussy | Quartet in G minor, Op 10
Salina Fisher | New Commission
Mendelssohn | Quartet No 6 in F minor, Op 80

Founded at the Royal College of Music in 2013, the Marmen Quartet has gone on from success to success, winning numerous awards and prizes, participating in masterclasses with eminent musicians and performing regularly in the UK and internationally.

In 2017-18 they achieved the Artist Diploma degree at the Royal College and currently hold the String Quartet Fellowship at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. They have made radio broadcasts for Swedish Radio and the BBC and have performed at several UK festivals.

Johannes Marmen, chamber musician, orchestral leader and composer, divides his time between the UK and Sweden where he has appeared as guest concertmaster of the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra. Ricky Gore, born in Japan, moved to the UK to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School. He works with several chamber ensembles and freelances with leading orchestras. New Zealander Bryony Gibson-Cornish is a graduate of Canterbury University, the Juilliard School of Music and the Royal College of where she won the Tagore Gold Medal. Steffan Morris also studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School and in Vienna. He has appeared as guest principal cello and as soloist with several prominent orchestras.

This concert is presented in association with Chamber Music New Zealand.

Johannes Marmen | Violin
Ricky Gore | Violin
Bryony Gibson-Cornish | Viola
Steffan Morris | Cello

Schubert | Quartettsatz in C minor, D703
Debussy | String Quartet in G minor, Op 10
Salina Fisher | New commission
Mendelssohn | String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, Op 80

A fresh and talented string quartet featuring New Zealand-born violist Bryony Gibson-Cornish, Marmen Quartet is one to watch.

Joint winners of the Banff International String Quartet Competition, the Grand Prize at the 2019 Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition, 2018 Royal Over-Seas League Competition and Music in the Round ‘Bridge’ Scheme, they are current String Quartet Fellows at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London.

Marmen Quartet offers you a journey through time to the present and back again. They begin with a quartet from Schubert’s more mature output, the Quartettsatz in C minor, which shines for its sweeping transformations between turbulence and sweetness. Debussy’s first impressionist masterwork, the Quartet in G minor, then carries Marmen Quartet from the classical to the 20th century, before we arrive firmly in the 21st century with a commission from Salina Fisher.

The dial of time turns full circle to Mendelssohn’s final quartet, a neat juxtaposition of old and new from a young quartet embarking on an exciting international career.

Johannes Marmen | Violin
Ricky Gore | Violin
Bryony Gibson-Cornish | Viola
Steffan Morris | Cello

Schubert | Quartettsatz in C minor, D703
Debussy | String Quartet in G minor, Op 10
Salina Fisher | New commission
Mendelssohn | String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, Op 80

A fresh and talented string quartet featuring New Zealand-born violist Bryony Gibson-Cornish, Marmen Quartet is one to watch.

Joint winners of the Banff International String Quartet Competition, the Grand Prize at the 2019 Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition, 2018 Royal Over-Seas League Competition and Music in the Round ‘Bridge’ Scheme, they are current String Quartet Fellows at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London.

Marmen Quartet offers you a journey through time to the present and back again. They begin with a quartet from Schubert’s more mature output, the Quartettsatz in C minor, which shines for its sweeping transformations between turbulence and sweetness. Debussy’s first impressionist masterwork, the Quartet in G minor, then carries Marmen Quartet from the classical to the 20th century, before we arrive firmly in the 21st century with a commission from Salina Fisher.

The dial of time turns full circle to Mendelssohn’s final quartet, a neat juxtaposition of old and new from a young quartet embarking on an exciting international career.

Johannes Marmen | Violin
Ricky Gore | Violin
Bryony Gibson-Cornish | Viola
Steffan Morris | Cello

Schubert | Quartettsatz in C minor, D703
Debussy | String Quartet in G minor, Op 10
Salina Fisher | New commission
Mendelssohn | String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, Op 80

A fresh and talented string quartet featuring New Zealand-born violist Bryony Gibson-Cornish, Marmen Quartet is one to watch.

Joint winners of the Banff International String Quartet Competition, the Grand Prize at the 2019 Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition, 2018 Royal Over-Seas League Competition and Music in the Round ‘Bridge’ Scheme, they are current String Quartet Fellows at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London.

Marmen Quartet offers you a journey through time to the present and back again. They begin with a quartet from Schubert’s more mature output, the Quartettsatz in C minor, which shines for its sweeping transformations between turbulence and sweetness. Debussy’s first impressionist masterwork, the Quartet in G minor, then carries Marmen Quartet from the classical to the 20th century, before we arrive firmly in the 21st century with a commission from Salina Fisher.

The dial of time turns full circle to Mendelssohn’s final quartet, a neat juxtaposition of old and new from a young quartet embarking on an exciting international career.

Johannes Marmen | Violin
Ricky Gore | Violin
Bryony Gibson-Cornish | Viola
Steffan Morris | Cello

Schubert | Quartettsatz in C minor, D703
Debussy | String Quartet in G minor, Op 10
Salina Fisher | New commission
Mendelssohn | String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, Op 80

A fresh and talented string quartet featuring New Zealand-born violist Bryony Gibson-Cornish, Marmen Quartet is one to watch.

Joint winners of the Banff International String Quartet Competition, the Grand Prize at the 2019 Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition, 2018 Royal Over-Seas League Competition and Music in the Round ‘Bridge’ Scheme, they are current String Quartet Fellows at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London.

Marmen Quartet offers you a journey through time to the present and back again. They begin with a quartet from Schubert’s more mature output, the Quartettsatz in C minor, which shines for its sweeping transformations between turbulence and sweetness. Debussy’s first impressionist masterwork, the Quartet in G minor, then carries Marmen Quartet from the classical to the 20th century, before we arrive firmly in the 21st century with a commission from Salina Fisher.

The dial of time turns full circle to Mendelssohn’s final quartet, a neat juxtaposition of old and new from a young quartet embarking on an exciting international career.

Johannes Marmen | Violin
Ricky Gore | Violin
Bryony Gibson-Cornish | Viola
Steffan Morris | Cello

Schubert | Quartettsatz in C minor, D703
Debussy | String Quartet in G minor, Op 10
Salina Fisher | New commission
Mendelssohn | String Quartet No. 6 in F minor, Op 80

A fresh and talented string quartet featuring New Zealand-born violist Bryony Gibson-Cornish, Marmen Quartet is one to watch.

Joint winners of the Banff International String Quartet Competition, the Grand Prize at the 2019 Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition, 2018 Royal Over-Seas League Competition and Music in the Round ‘Bridge’ Scheme, they are current String Quartet Fellows at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London.

Marmen Quartet offers you a journey through time to the present and back again. They begin with a quartet from Schubert’s more mature output, the Quartettsatz in C minor, which shines for its sweeping transformations between turbulence and sweetness. Debussy’s first impressionist masterwork, the Quartet in G minor, then carries Marmen Quartet from the classical to the 20th century, before we arrive firmly in the 21st century with a commission from Salina Fisher.

The dial of time turns full circle to Mendelssohn’s final quartet, a neat juxtaposition of old and new from a young quartet embarking on an exciting international career.

Gemma New | conductor
Simon Tedeschi | piano

Salina Fisher | Rainphase
Gershwin | Concerto in F
Copland | Symphony No.3

Jazz, blues and the American century.

Young New Zealand conductor Gemma New makes her MSO debut with a stunning collection of American greats.

It was one day after the raging success of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue that he was approached to write a “real piano concerto”, something closer to the traditional classical model and orchestrated by the composer himself. Rather than turn his back on the then current musical forms, Gershwin decided to incorporate them. The result was Concerto in F, a work that ranges effortlessly over different musical structures, to create something truly wonderful and unique. Australian pianist Simon Tedeschi joins the MSO for this performance.

There are suggestions of the Charleston, ragtime, jazz and blues throughout the work, and flexibility in the way these elements emerge from one another. Unsurprising from the composer of Porgy and Bess, which refused to conform to set notions of opera or musical theatre, and An American in Paris, which is as much a ballet and a musical. The Concerto in F is likewise a masterful, consummate fusion.

Accompanying this work is Copland’s Symphony No.3, another pillar of 20th century American composition. A grand and stirring work, composed between 1944 and 1946, it suggests the mammoth achievements of the United States at the close of WWII without a hint of triumphalism.

New Zealand conductor Gemma New brings with her a work by fellow New Zealander Salina Fisher, Rainphase. Inspired by the rain falling on the city of Wellington, it is sonically adventurous and beautifully evocative.

Giordano Bellincampi | Conductor
Ingrid Fliter | Piano

Leonie Holmes | New work
Schumann | Piano Concerto
Tchaikovsky | Symphony No.4

Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony opens with a stark fanfare which, Tchaikovsky said, represented ‘Fate, that ominous power’, adding ‘There is no alternative but to submit to Fate’. His friend and patron, Mme von Meck, heard ‘profound, terrifying despair’ in this music. True, but it has also passion, drama and ultimately catharsis.

The superb pianist Ingrid Fliter returns with Schumann’s ineffably poetic concerto, and to open the concert, a new work from the multifaceted Auckland composer, and former APO composer-in-residence, Leonie Holmes.

Hamish McKeich | conductor

Eisler | Kleine Sinfonie
Simon Eastwood | Quanta
Weill (arr. Bruckner-Ruggerberg) | Suite from Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
Satie (arr. Debussy) | Gymnopédies Nos. 1 & 3
Schreker | Kammersymphonie

The final Shed Series concert of 2020 celebrates some of the weird and wonderful music linked to the flourishing cabaret scene of the 1920s and 30s and which continues to inspire composers and delight audiences today.

Austrian composer Hanns Eisler also worked with Weill, and the concert features his sweeping and engrossing Kleine Sinfonie before New Zealand composer Simon Eastwood’s Quanta.

Kurt Weill is best known for his cabaret-era songs with librettist Bertolt Brecht. His Suite from Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny (Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny) is a stunning arrangement by Wilhelm Brückner-Rüggeberg. Rarely performed in New Zealand, it features banjo, bass guitar, saxophone and more, alongside orchestral instruments, to capture the essence of Weill and Brecht’s hit 1930 opera.

Shed Series 2020 concludes with Claude Debussy’s orchestral arrangement of fellow Frenchman Eric Satie’s timeless and hugely influential Gymnopédies Nos. 1 & 3 and Austrian Franz Schreker‘s Kammersymphonie. Written in 1916 Kammersymphonie was ahead of its time and remains a heartfelt and emotive work, anticipating orchestral music’s wide use in film.