Uzbek pianist and US conductor team up

Uzbek pianist and US conductor team up for NZSO debuts in Opulence

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra presents an evening of musical indulgence this November with Opulence.

To mark the 150-year anniversary of Richard Strauss, we present the large-scale extravaganza - Der Rosenkavalier Suite by the famous German composer. Based on the comic opera of the same name, this humorous Suite offers the Orchestra an irresistible opportunity to shine. The score draws on the central love triangle of the story and recreates the grand splendour of old Vienna, its waltzes and love affairs.

Award-winning Uzbek piano star Eldar Nebolsin will tackle the rarely-performed Piano Concerto No 2 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky on this tour to Hamilton, Auckland and Wellington, making his New Zealand début with the NZSO.

Nebolsin was lauded in Gramophone as a “virtuoso of power and poetry” and he’s been likened to Rubinstein and Richter as the greatest pianist of his time. He triumphed at the XI Santander International Piano Competition in 1992 at the age of 17 and in 2005 he won the First Prize at the Sviatoslav Richter International Piano Competition. A fiery and exciting performer, Nebolsin has a dazzling capacity to capture every nuance of the great masters in performances that are fresh and invigorating. He has been the piano professor at the prestigious Hochschule Hanns Eisler Berlin since 2013.

Maurice Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite may have had fairy-tale beginnings as a piano duet for children but Ravel’s orchestrated version features all the characteristic elegance you’d expect of the impressionist composer. Known for his masterful orchestration and richly evocative harmonies, Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite is no exception. Later expanded into a ballet, Mother Goose is a sweet, endearing work which leads the listener into a world of child-like wonder and imagination.

We are delighted to welcome Michael Stern to New Zealand for his début appearance with the NZSO. He has been Music Director of the Kansas City Symphony since 2005 and makes regular guest appearances with leading orchestras across the US, Europe and Asia. The son of famous Soviet-born, US violinist Isaac Stern, it is fitting that he should lead the NZSO through Tchaikovsky’s American influenced Piano Concerto No. 2 which premiered in New York in 1881 with the New York Philharmonic, pianist Madeline Schiller, and conductor Theodore Thomas.

Recently, Michael Stern made history with The Kansas City Symphony when he and three players in the orchestra donned Google Glass headgear while playing Beethoven's 5th Symphony to give the audience an entirely different perspective. It showed viewers what it is like to sit in the second violin chair, or principal horn chair, or even stand at the podium.

Our free pre-concert talk will be led by renowned New Zealand singer Roger Wilson. Held inside the venue 45 minutes before the music begins, this is your chance to enrich your experience by learning more about the exciting works on offer.

There’s nothing like seeing and hearing luxuriant classical music, played at the highest level. Enjoy our music and join us in the concert hall for Opulence this November.

ENDS

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