Virtuoso & Sensational Conductor Join NZSO In Wellington & Christchurch

Sensational Hungarian conductor Gábor Káli leads the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra for the first time in two concerts featuring a folk-inspired masterpiece by his country’s legendary composer Béla Bartók.

Joining the accomplished maestro and the orchestra will be acclaimed New Zealand violinist Amalia Hall for an unforgettable performance of Bartók’s evocative Second Violin Concerto.

Echoes of Home: Bartók & Dvořák in Wellington (23 May) and Christchurch (25 May) opens with a homegrown masterpiece: Douglas Lilburn’s Aotearoa Overture, a tribute to New Zealand's sweeping landscapes and unique cultural heritage.

Rounding out the evening is Antonín Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony, a haunting expression of the composer’s deep love for his Czech roots.

Hall, one of New Zealand’s most celebrated violinists, made her NZSO debut in 2022 to critical acclaim with The Post and The New Zealand Herald declaring her “a superb soloist”.

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Britain’s The Strad has praised her performances for their “blazing insight and dazzling virtuosity.” Such is Hall’s versatility; she’s also Concertmaster of Orchestra Wellington—a position she earned in 2016 as New Zealand’s youngest concertmaster—and as a violinist with NZTrio.

Maestro Káli played piano and violin at the Béla Bartók Conservatory in Budapest before studying conducting. His career skyrocketed after a celebrated debut with the Budapest Festival Orchestra in 2019.

“Every piece is different, and every orchestra is different,” Maestro Káli has said.

“The challenge is always to find a new way or different way with new musicians to cooperate – that’s important.”

While he began conducting at age 18, his dream to become a conductor was sparked when he was just eight years old.

“[That wish] came from instinct. My parents took me to the opera house in Hungary to listen to classical music and I asked ‘what is a conductor? What is he doing?’ I felt I could do it.”

A recipient of the prestigious Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award, he’s recognised as one of the most promising conductors of his generation. His profound expertise in Bartók’s works has earned him accolades and invitations to conduct major orchestras and operas worldwide, cementing his reputation as an innovative and compelling leader in classical music.

Amalia Hall appears with support from Jason Boyes and Nickie Van Der Beek.

Tickets to Echoes of Home are from $22 (NZSO Members) and $26 (non-members). For more information go to nzso.co.nz.

COMING UP

Masterworks: Mozart, Beethoven & Haydn – conductor James Judd, violinist Vesa-Matti Leppänen. Wellington (31 May), Blenheim (5 June), Nelson (7 June), Manukau (10 June), Kerikeri (13 June).

NYO Adventure: Rachmaninov & Strauss – conductor Adam Johnson, soprano Madison Horman. Wellington (5 July), Auckland (6 July).

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