Star Conductor And Cellist Join NZSO For Spirited Shows In April

Internationally renowned Scottish conductor Sir Donald Runnicles and acclaimed German-French cellist Nicolas Altstaedt debut with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in April.

Sir Donald, one of the world’s top conductors, and Altstaedt, a virtuoso across music genres, feature in concerts celebrating Ernest Bloch’s legendary work for cello Schelomo, and Dmitri Shostakovich’s magnificent Tenth Symphony.

Bloch & Shostakovich Enduring Spirit, in association with The Grand by SkyCity, is performed in Wellington on 28 April and Auckland on 29 April.

Sir Donald, who hasn’t conducted in Aotearoa New Zealand before, is General Music Director of the prestigious Deutsche Oper Berlin, Music Director of the Grand Teton Music Festival in the United States and Principal Guest Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

The Guardian hailed his interpretation of Shostakovich’s Tenth Symphony with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra as “outstanding… stunning… and absolutely riveting.”

Altstaedt is one of the most sought-after cellists in the world. His versatility spans early to contemporary music performed with leading orchestras and ensembles.

The Australian declared that the audience in one performance “hung on every note as if they were the words of a master storyteller.”

“The cello – it’s a physical addiction, I’m bound to it,” says Altstaedt. “I’ve always been driven by an urgent need to find the connections – between composers, philosophers, artists, writers.”

In recent years Altstaedt has also garnered a reputation as an accomplished conductor. “The fascinating thing with conducting is that with the cello I’ve played a lot of pieces already, and they grow with you. For me, it’s very exciting to [conduct] things for the first time.”

For Bloch & Shostakovich Enduring Spirit, the NZSO will also perform Musica Celestis by Aaron Jay Kernis, a Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award-winning American composer. Kernis, whose influences range from Bach to hip-hop, took inspiration for the piece from the medieval idea of angels singing perpetually to God in heaven.

Tickets to Bloch & Shostakovich Enduring Spirit are on sale via ticketmaster.co.nz

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