NZSO to play popular favourites on tour

11 August, 2015

NZSO to play popular favourites on tour

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) will celebrate spring with a grand tour of familiar classical hits to nine centres around New Zealand next month.

The audience will be treated to a number of songs that have been embraced by popular culture. From Johann Strauss Jr’s stately Blue Danube Waltz – which features in the Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey and has become the unofficial Austrian national anthem – to the galloping blast of Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries – famously played in the 1979 film Apocalypse Now – the NZSO’s Classical Hits tour is a chance to experience the thrill of a live orchestra as it plays some of classical music’s best-known tunes.

The repertoire will also include Rossini’s William Tell Overture, best known as the theme music for The Lone Ranger; Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture which has appeared in many television series and movies including South Park, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Wayne’s World; and Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, popularly known as the Can-Can.

Classical Hits will be conducted by British-born James Judd, the NZSO’s Music Director Emeritus, who was the NZSO’s music director from 1999 to 2007. An artist of outstanding versatility, Judd is sought after for his passionate musicianship and his charismatic presence both on and off the podium. Known for his extraordinarily communicative style, repeat engagements in concert halls from Prague to Tokyo attest to his rapport with audiences and musicians alike.

Classical Hits will be a sparkling evening of glorious dances and mighty displays of orchestral splendour, and is a must for concertgoers of all ages. The concert will tour New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Wellington, Blenheim, Napier, Rotorua, Hamilton, Auckland and Whangarei.

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