Work
Papanui Road
concert overture for orchestra
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About
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 note
Commissioned by Christchurch Symphony Orchestra
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
25 Mar 2001: Performed by Christchurch Symphony Orchestra conducted by Brian Law on 24th March 2001.
09 Oct 2010: Symphony No. 3: Dunedin
06 Dec 2010: Otago Festival of the Arts 2010 on Music Alive
15 Aug 2020: POSTPONED: Kāpiti Concert Orchestra | Music for a New World
26 Aug 2023: Noteworthy — celebrating 150 years of the University of Canterbury
Performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir William Southgate
17 Jul 2025: NZSO | Firebird (Wellington)