Media Release
for immediate release
4 July 2006
Audience speaks out
“Elgar's vast Finale ended our quest with optimism and poetry and, I'm sure, eagerness all around to have a return visit
from the English conductor [Paul Mann].”
[NZ Herald, 2005]
“The gleaming passagework of pianist Sarah Watkins was a bonus…” [NZ Herald, 2005]
The second concert in the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra’s Lion Foundation Midwinter Masterpieces comprises
“favourites” – favourite pieces, as chosen by the audience during the Orchestra’s 2005 Fundraising Appeal; and favourite
artists: Paul Mann, who in his two appearances with the APO (first in 2005 and then in April this year) has clearly won
the audience over; and Sarah Watkins, an accomplished New Zealand pianist who impresses audiences in her roles as
chamber musician, collaborative partner and recording artist.
On Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 July, the audience-chosen works are Mozart’s Overture to The Marriage of Figaro, Bach’s
immortal Brandenburg Concerto No.3, the great Piano Concerto No.21 by Mozart, often known as the Elvira Madigan from the
film of the same name in which it was used, and Haydn’s Symphony No.96 – the Surprise Symphony.
Paul Mann, whose conducting style has been described as “flamboyant, charismatic and compelling”, has emerged as one of
the finest conductors of the younger generation. Noted for his broad-ranging repertoire and versatility, he has
established relationships with orchestras as far afield as Australia, the Far East, Europe, Scandinavia and the United
States. He achieved early success by winning the 1998 Donatella Flick Conducting Competition, which brought him to the
London Symphony Orchestra as Assistant Conductor. Special projects with them included the Duke Ellington Centenary
Concert at the Barbican with Wynton Marsalis, and a famous collaboration with legendary rock band Deep Purple at the
Royal Albert Hall.
Sarah Watkins has enjoyed an impressive career as a chamber musician, collaborative partner and recording artist,
touring widely throughout Japan, England and the United States with some of the US’s leading instrumentalists. A
graduate of the University of Canterbury, she holds a Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degree in collaborative
piano from the Juilliard School in New York City. Resident in the US for 14 years, she has been a staff pianist at
Juilliard, Yale University and the Aspen Music Festival. Academic highlights include co-ordinating the collaborative
piano programme at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California, and several years’ tenure on the music
faculty of Purchase College, New York. She is currently a member of the NZ Trio and teaches at the University of
Auckland.
Apo: Lion Foundation MIDWINTER MASTERPIECES
Saturday 29 July – 4pm, Bruce Mason Centre, Takapuna
Sunday 30 July – 2pm, Holy Trinity Cathedral, Parnell
TICKETS: Adults $30-$50; concessions available (service fees may apply)
Bookings: Phone Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra on 0800-744 542
Lion Foundation is the proud supporter of Midwinter Masterpieces.
The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra receives major funding from Creative New Zealand and major grants from Auckland City
and the ASB Charitable Trust.
ENDS