Orchestra Wellington Plans Musical Journey To Paris

MEDIA RELEASE

Monday, 17 October 2016

Orchestra Wellington music director Marc Taddei.

Orchestra Wellington Plans Musical Journey To Paris

ORCHESTRA WELLINGTON’S SEASON TEASER

Orchestra Wellington have become masters of the slow reveal, and their 2017 “Season Teaser” was no exception. Audiences at the Orchestra’s “Nutcracker” concert on Saturday [ed: October 15] were given dates and a few names, but the full programme for 2017 will not be known until the Orchestra’s final 2016 concert on December 3.

The biggest name dropped by Music Director Marc Taddei was that of Sergei Diaghilev. The 2017 season is named “The Impresario” after Diaghilev, the one-man creative whirlwind who inspired some of the Twentieth Century’s greatest music.

Diaghilev was a vital part of Paris’ Golden Age of the arts, the Belle Epoque. He pulled the most famous composers, artists, writers, dancers and choreographers from across Europe and Russia into his orbit, creating a hothouse for inspiration whose results burst across the cultural firmament like a bolt of lightning.

The Orchestra will play some of the phenomenal music commissioned by Diaghilev during the glory days of his famous Ballets Russes. Stravinsky’s three great ballets The Firebird, Petrouchka and The Rite of Spring are standouts in the programme, as is Ravel’s orchestral masterpiece, Daphnis and Chloe.

The programme hints at more delights from the Ballets Russes in a programme titled “Invitation to the Dance”.

Only one soloist is named, pianist Michael Houstoun. He features in a programme called Houstoun and Debussy, hinting at a leading role for him in that concert.

Remaining soloists for the year will be revealed at the orchestra’s full season launch. The catch is that prices go up when the full programme is announced. Pre-launch ticket prices are “a fantastic deal”, according to Orchestra Wellington general manager, Kirsten Mason.

It is a system that requires trust from the Orchestra’s audience, she says. “Previous years have shown that they are willing to trust us, and they have been rewarded for that trust with the kind of imaginative programming and superb artists they love to hear, at a brilliant price.”

/ENDS

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