Auckland City's putting on the Ritz
Auckland City Music in Parks is putting on the Ritz this summer with a free nostalgia concert set in the beautiful
surrounds of Alberton House, Mt Albert.
From 2pm to 4pm on Saturday 14 January, the Auckland Salon Orchestra will be performing Palm Court music from the early
1900s through to the 1940s that is sure to set heads nodding and toes tapping.
Palm Court music traditionally belongs to the glamorous salons of grand, opulent hotels in England and Europe.
It encompasses a range of musical styles from the Edwardian Era and, like the teas served in the grand hotels it was
played in, it is an interesting blend.
The repertoire of light music and popular classics customarily includes the merriment of Gilbert and Sullivan and the
music halls, Edward Elgar's elegant Salut d'Amour, twentieth century favourites like Percy Grainger's Country Garden and
Ketelby's In a Persian Market, glamorous musicals by Ivor Novello and Noel Coward, a dash of Viennese Strauss, Hungarian
Lehar, Parisian Offenbach's CanCan, Victor Herbert, Friml and Kern, and tunes from Gershwin and Leroy Anderson.
The Palm Court tradition evokes an image of the epitome of British high society between the wars - afternoon tea at the
Ritz amid potted palms and wicker furniture, cruising the French Riviera or dancing at the Savoy.
Alberton House provides the perfect venue to step back in time and relive the experience. The timber mansion began as a
farmhouse in 1863 and was later expanded to 18 rooms, with fairy-tale decorative verandahs and towers.
Alberton was famous in the 19th century for its balls, hunts, garden parties and music. It contains a wealth of original
family furniture and other possessions, and several rooms retain their nineteenth century wallpapers.
Auckland City is encouraging friends, sons, daughters, grandsons and granddaughters to make the most of this opportunity
to get the family together and enjoy a fantastic free concert. Pack a picnic and a deckchair for an afternoon of
first-class music. Check out www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/mips or listen to Radio Live 100.6FM and 703AM for more details.
Music in Parks concerts are produced by Auckland City, with support from Radioworks. They are just some of more than 60
free events provided by Auckland City as part of the Ak@Play summer events programme. Check out
www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/mips for more details.
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