NZSO Classical Hits Tour From Kerikeri To Blenheim Begins 31 May

Journey from the hall of the mountain king to the Viennese countryside with a selection of classical music’s greatest hits performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in Wellington, Blenheim, Nelson, Manukau and Kerikeri from 31 May.

Masterworks: Mozart, Beethoven & Haydn is part of the NZSO’s annual Setting Up Camp tour, which includes daytime community performances and events in each centre where the orchestra plays.

Led by NZSO Music Director Emeritus James Judd and featuring NZSO Concertmaster Vesa-Matti Leppänen as soloist for Mozart’s exquisite Fifth Violin Concerto, Masterworks is an unmissable musical experience.

The tour programme has been tailored for each centre. Along with Mozart’s Violin Concerto, Wellington and Blenheim feature Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, including the instantly recognisable In the Hall of the Mountain King, Beethoven’s beloved Sixth Symphony Pastoral and the world premiere of Kiwi composer Briar Prastiti’s The Garden.

The Manukau and Kerikeri concerts feature The Garden, Peer Gynt and Pastoral, along with Haydn’s magnificent Symphony No. 100 Military.

Nelson audiences will enjoy Military, Mozart’s Fifth Violin Concerto and, as a special treat, Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio Overture.

“New Zealand is unrivalled in producing so much wonderful new music of all genres. Our programme includes The Garden by Briar Prastiti, a SOUNZ/Tarling Trust commission which establishes, alongside Grieg’s Peer Gynt, an underlying presence of the natural world in our programme,” says Maestro Judd.

“Beethoven’s love of nature inspired his Sixth Symphony, not merely at times as a vivid picture but more so representing the personal feelings we experience through the spirit of nature.

“Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5, written at the age of 19, features as soloist the superb Concertmaster of the NZSO, Vesa-Matti Leppänen. Listen out for the third movement of this concerto with its delights from Türkiye.”

Beyond the concerts, Setting Up Camp daytime performances and events include, in Nelson (6 June) and Manukau (10 June), NZSO Relaxed Concerts which cater for neurodivergent people of all ages who may feel uncomfortable in a traditional concert environment.

Schools’ Concerts take place in Wellington (29 May), Manukau (11 June), Whangārei (12 June) and Kerikeri (13 June). Side-by-Side concerts, where local musicians perform alongside NZSO players, will be held in Nelson (7 June) and Whangārei (12 June).

Tickets to Masterworks range from $17 to $48. For more information go to nzso.co.nz.

COMING UP

NYO Adventure: Rachmaninov & Strauss – conductor Adam Johnson, soprano Madison Horman. Wellington (5 July), Auckland (6 July).

Firebird: Ravel & Stravinsky

– conductor Emilia Hoving, piano Javier Perianes. Wellington (17 July), Christchurch (19 July).

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