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Concerts

Pietari Inkinen & Li-Wei with the NZSO

Concert 8

HARRIS Three Pieces for Orchestra
HAYDN Cello Concerto No.1
MAHLER Symphony No.5

Haydn’s Concerto in C is a pillar of the cello repertoire, one that every cellist must master, though it’s far from easy. Virtuoso runs, passages high in the cello’s vocal range and expansive melodies abound, as does Haydn’s trademark lively wit and joie de vivre. Inkinen, acclaimed cellist Li-Wei Qin and the NZSO will bring this Classical charmer to life. Since the concerto’s rediscovery in the 1960s, it has become an audience and performer favourite. The operatic slow movement looks forward to the show-stopping arias of Mozart, and in its pathos, perhaps you’ll hear an echo of an even later resident of Vienna, Mahler.

Like all of Mahler’s Symphonies, the Fifth encloses a world of experience, somehow more achingly beautiful and more painful than ‘real life’. From the funereal trumpet calls of the opening to the joyous kaleidoscopic tumult of the finale, Mahler turns the volume up on our emotions. This symphony’s humanity must be experienced live in the communal space of the concert hall to feel its full force.

As the great conductor Herbert von Karajan said “a great performance of Mahler’s Fifth
is a transformative experience.”

Ross Harris reflects on the decadence of Vienna in Mahler’s time with Vienna (Mahler) from Three Pieces for Orchestra, his latest commission for the NZSO.

Wellington / Sat 17 July / 8pm
Book at TICKETEK / 0800 842 538

Hamilton / Thu 22 July / 8pm
Book at TICKETEK / 0800 842 538

Auckland / Sat 24 July / 8pm
Book at THE EDGE / 0800 289 842

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