Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra presents a French feast

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra presents a French feast, with a selection of orchestral pieces that bear a distinctly Gallic flavour.

Featured soloist for the 19 September ‘Joie de Vivre’ concert is saxophonist Amy Dickson, who stunned audiences on her last visit to the APO with her own transcription of Philip Glass’s Violin Concerto. This time Dickson plays Dubois’s Saxophone Concerto, a work with all the sultry allure of a Parisian nightclub.

The concerto is one of two works to receive its New Zealand professional debut on the night. The other is Dukas’s Symphony in C. Dukas is best known these days as the composer of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, but his symphony was also immensely successful, and is a colourful, effervescent work that appears regularly on European programmes.

The concert opens with Ravel’s charming suite of nursery tales, Mother Goose.

Leading the orchestra is the French conductor Jean Deroyer, music director of Ensemble Court-Circuit. Acclaimed for his “ability to bring the musicians right in to the heat of moment and present each work’s poetic uniqueness to the audience” (ResMusica), Mr Deroyer is one of the leading lights in the new generation of French conductors.

The concert marks Mr Deroyer’s APO debut.

“These works are all evocatively French and yet they sound quite different from each other,” says APO Chief Executive Barbara Glaser. “Taken together they capture what’s so special about French music. We’re delighted that among the pieces are two New Zealand premieres, and we couldn’t ask for better advocates for this music than Amy Dickson and Jean Deroyer.”

Note: Jean Deroyer replaces Fabrice Bollon, who was advertised in the APO’s 2013 season brochure.

WHO: Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, with Jean Deroyer (conductor) and Amy Dickson (saxophone)

WHAT: Joie de Vivre, featuring music by Ravel, Dubois and Dukas.

WHERE: Auckland Town Hall

WHEN: 8pm, Thursday 19 September

BOOKINGS: 0800 BUY TICKETS / buytickets.co.nz

MORE ON AMY DICKSON: www.amydickson.com/uk/home

MORE ON JEAN DEROYER: www.jeanderoyer.com/index.en.htm

QUICK CUTS

- Amy Dickson last performed with the APO in 2008, playing her own arrangement of Philip Glass’s Violin Concerto. Reports say that Dickson spent 6 months learning to circular breathe especially so that she could play the piece.

- Dukas’s most famous work, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, is best known for its use in the Disney cartoon Fantasia.

- Ravel’s Mother Goose was originally a piano piece for four hands written for the two children of Ravel’s friend. It was too difficult for the kids to play.

Richard Betts | Publicist
Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
P +64 9 638 6266 x210 | M 021 520 546 | F +64 9 623 5629 | PO Box 56 024, Dominion Road | 1 St. Albans Ave | Mt. Eden | Auckland 1446
www.apo.co.nz | @UpperCircle | Facebook

MY COUNTRY| Bayleys Great ClassicsSeries | Chopin Piano Concerto No.2 PLUS Dvorak Symphony No.8 | 8pm, Thurs 5 September| Auckland Town Hall, THE EDGE | Tickets and more information, click HERE

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