NZSO Presents Two Nights Of Exhilarating Music In Wellington

Some of the most exciting and innovative music ever written by Mozart, Bach and other great composers is performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra over two nights in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington in March.

Mozart & Salieri on 10 March not only brings to Wellington two magnificent works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri. Led by NZSO Concertmaster and violinist Vesa-Matti Leppänen, this unmissable live experience also features breathtaking music by their contemporaries Franz Joseph Haydn and Johann Nepomuk Hummel.

Brandenburg, on 11 March at Wellington’s Cathedral of St. Paul, boasts a programme of some of the most exquisite music ever written by Baroque giants Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann and George Frideric Handel.

A highlight of Mozart & Salieri at the Michael Fowler Centre will be mesmerising performances with the Orchestra by NZSO Section Principal Oboe Robert Orr, Associate Principal Bassoon Justin Sun and Section Principal Horn Samuel Jacobs.

Brandenburg opens with Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, a thrilling and innovative work, featuring soloist NZSO Section Principal Flute Bridget Douglas.

“I've been enamoured with Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 ever since I was introduced to it at high school,” says Douglas.

“It's one of Bach’s most joyous works and his use of three concerto soloists makes it particularly fun to perform as we musically ‘converse’ with each other. The second movement is especially gorgeous with just three soloists performing. It’s beautifully intimate chamber music at its absolute best.”

In the talented hands of soloist NZSO Associate Principal Viola Alexander McFarlane, Telemann’s groundbreaking Viola Concerto is not to be missed.

“Telemann was one of the most popular composers of his day, and his Viola Concerto is one of the seminal works for the viola from the Baroque period,” says McFarlane.

“I am excited to be performing this work, a compact yet profound journey through warmth, energy, pathos, and vitality. Telemann was also known for the expectation of ornamentation in his work, which I intend to uphold in the upcoming tour.”

All four composers featured in Mozart & Salieri knew each other and were intertwined in different ways. Mozart was friends with Haydn and – unlike the fictionalised account in the film and play Amadeus – was on good terms with Salieri. Hummel was a student of Mozart, Haydn and Salieri.

The concert opens with Haydn’s uplifting and enchanting Overture from his short comic opera L'infedeltà delusa.

The origins of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, also known as Sinfonia Concertante for Winds, is surrounded in mystery and the debate continues to this day. Regardless, its melodious charm has made it an audience favourite.

Salieri’s 26 Variations on La folia di Spagna, written late in his career, is one of his finest works. The Austrian composer’s 26 Variations are based on ‘La Folia’ one of the oldest European musical themes, believed to have arisen in the 15th century.

Hummel’s Eight Variations and Coda on O du lieber Augustin is based on a popular Viennese song Oh, you dear Augustin.

Brandenburg also features another superb Telemann orchestral work, his Overture Suite La Changeante, and Handel’s enchanting Concerto Grosso No.1.

In March Mozart & Salieri is also performed in Palmerston North, Invercargill, Dunedin, Oamaru and Ashburton. Brandenburg is also performed in Christchurch, Greymouth, Westport and Nelson.

Tickets to Mozart & Salieri in Wellington are on sale via ticketmaster.co.nz. For Brandenburg email ticketing@nzso.co.nz and include a daytime contact number.

ENDS

Photos attached: NZSO Concertmaster Vesa-Matti Leppänen, NZSO Section Principal Flute Bridget Douglas, NZSO Associate Principal Viola Alexander McFarlane.

For interviews, more photographs and further information, please contact:

Tom Cardy | Publicist

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra | Te Tira Pūoro o Aotearoa
M +64 27 574 5294
E tom.cardy@nzso.co.nz

Mozart & Salieri

VESA-MATTI LEPPÄNNEN Director/Violin

ROBERT ORR Oboe

JUSTIN SUN Bassoon

SAMUEL JACOBS Horn

J HAYDN Overture to L'infedelta delusa

WA MOZART Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat Major, K.297b

SALIERI 26 Variations on La folia di Spagna

HUMMEL Eight Variations and Coda on O du lieber Augustin

TE WHANGANUI-A-TARA WELLINGTON | Michael Fowler Centre|Friday 10 March| 6.30pm

TE PAPAIOEA PALMERSTON NORTH | Regent on Broadway|Saturday 11 March| 7.30pm

WAIHOPAI INVERCARGILL | Civic Theatre|Wednesday 15 March| 7.30pm

ŌTEPOTI DUNEDIN | Glenroy Auditorium|Thursday 16 March| 7.30pm

TE OHA-A-MARU OAMARU | Opera House|Friday 17 March| 7.30pm

HAKATERE ASHBURTON | Trust Events Centre|Saturday 18 March| 7.30pm

Brandenburg

YUKA EGUCHI Violin

BRIDGET DOUGLAS Flute

ALEXANDER MCFARLANE Viola

RACHAEL GRIFFITHS-HUGHES Harpsichord

JS BACH Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, BWV 1050

TELEMANN Concerto for Viola in G Major, TWV 55:G9

HANDEL Concerto Grosso in G Major, Op. 6 No. 1

TELEMANN Overture Suite in G Minor, TWV 55:g2 Le Changeante

TE WHANGANUI-A-TARA WELLINGTON | Cathedral of St Paul|Saturday 11 March| 7.30pm

ŌTAUTAHI CHRISTCHURCH | The Piano|Tuesday 14 March| 6.30pm

MĀWHERA GREYMOUTH | Regent Theatre|Wednesday 15 March| 7.30pm

KAWATIRI WESTPORT | NBS Theatre|Thursday 16 March| 7.30pm

WHAKATŪ NELSON | Centre of Musical Arts|Friday 17 March| 7.30pm

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