NZSO takes “rock star” US violinist on tour

NZSO takes “rock star” US violinist and Japanese conductor on tour around North Island

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra tours the North Island with a vivacious Italian programme this November in Tuscan Summer.

Our concert opener - Rossini’s Overture to The Barber of Seville, is the epitome of Italian music. It’s sunny and giggly and roars with energy. One of the most loved and best recognised works in the classical/opera repertoire, thanks in part to its use in countless movies, commercials, and even a Bugs Bunny cartoon, it is one of the greatest masterpieces of comedy within music. Listen to famous Overture theme here >

Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto remains a gold standard among violin works. Technically fearsome to play, with its dancing themes that won’t settle, it was instantly popular when it premiered in 1845, and still remains so. In the hands of American violin star Stefan Jackiw - described by the Los Angeles Times as a “rock star”, this lyrical score will sweep you off your feet.

Jackiw made his professional début at the age of 12. He’s since performed across Europe and the United States, notably appearing with the Boston, Cleveland, Chicago and San Francisco symphonies and the New York Philharmonic. Around 30 million viewers watched his 2011 online performance of this concerto in Sydney with the YouTube Symphony Orchestra and he has been described as a “legend in the making” (Chicago Tribune).

One of the miracles and mysteries of music is how the exceptionally gifted young performer can renew the art by making you hear unexpected things in music you've known longer than they've been alive, by making you feel the music as freshly and intensely as you did when you were first discovering it. Violinist Stefan Jackiw can do this. Boston Globe

Another great work by Mendelssohn features in this concert series. Mendelssohn was a wide-eyed young traveller new to Italy when he started composing his Symphony No. 4 in A major, commonly known as the Italian. Inspired by the colour and atmosphere of Italy, Mendelssohn wrote his symphony during a prolific tour of Europe when he also composed his Scottish Symphony No. 3 and orchestral overture The Hebrides. Although largely unsatisfied with the final version of his fourth symphony, Mendelssohn called it the “jolliest piece I have ever done” in a letter to his sister Fanny - “especially the last movement”.

Leading our tour is Japan’s Junichi Hirokami whose impressive reputation precedes him. He is Chief Conductor of the Kyoto Symphony and has guest conducted the Vienna Philharmonic and the Royal Concertgebouw, among other major international orchestras.

In the hands of this acclaimed conductor, Britten’s Soirées Musicales, an orchestral arrangement of piano pieces by Rossini, revels in dance rhythms and demonstrates Britten’s orchestral mastery and tongue-in-cheek sense of humour. Later choreographed by one of the 20th century’s most prolific choreographers, George Balanchine, this uplifting work will delight the senses with its lush orchestral colours.

Enjoy our final North Island tour for 2014 and join us in the concert hall for Tuscan Summer, in association with Pub Charity.

ENDS

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