Russian Romance & Revolution In Concert

MEDIA RELEASE
February 15, 2007

Russian Romance & Revolution In Concert

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra APN News & Media Premier Series, Concert 2, ‘Romance & Revolution’, Thurs 1st March, 8pm, Auckland Town Hall, THE EDGE.

Oleg Caetani – Conductor
John Chen – piano

The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra will combine two audience favourites – Russian repertoire and pianist John Chen – at the second APN News & Media Premier Series Concert on Thursday 1st March called ‘Romance & Revolution’.

The rousing programme includes the rarely played Piano Concerto No. 2 by Tchaikovsky featuring John Chen followed by Shostakovich’s mighty Symphony No. 11.

The concert will be conducted by Oleg Caetani, Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Mr Caetani is renowned for his interpretations of the great Russian repertoire and his recordings with Italy’s Giuseppe Verdi Orchestra of the full Shostakovich cycle have been widely acclaimed.

The APO concert will be Maestro Caetani’s first performance in New Zealand.

“Maestro Caetani has worked extensively with Australia’s top orchestra’s including the Melbourne and Sydney Symphony Orchestras, and I am sure Auckland audiences will find his mastery of the great Russian repertoire to be a richly rewarding and rousing experience,” says APO Chief Executive, Barbara Glaser. “It is also a pleasure to welcome back John Chen whose list of career achievements continues to grow with every performance. I am particularly pleased to offer Auckland the rare opportunity to hear him perform Tchaikovsky’s second piano concerto.”

The revolutionary aspect of the concert will be found in the Shostakovich symphony describes the events of 9th January 1905, dubbed Bloody Sunday, when a demonstration by workers and their families against Tsar Nicholas II in St. Petersburg was turned into a massacre as Russian troops opened fire on the crowd.

Shostakovich commemorates this attempted revolution in a single symphonic movement, divided into four sections, into which he incorporates themes from nine revolutionary songs. Written in 1957, the work has also been interpreted as a protest against the crushing of the 1956 revolution in Hungary.

The romance is found in the Tchaikovsky work that promises to be as moving and emotive as the rest of his more frequently performed repertoire.

Ends

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