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Concerts

Soundscapes with Colin Currie and the NZSO

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The Radio Network Tour

Concert 2

Alexander Shelley conductor
Colin Currie percussion

Concert 10

BRITTEN Peter Grimes Four Sea Interludes
MACMILLAN Veni, Veni, Emmanuel
RAVEL Pavane for a dead princess
STRAUSS Death and Transfiguration

Scottish composer James MacMillan’s heaven-and-earth-shaking percussion concerto Veni, Veni, Emmanuel has become a contemporary classic, electrifying audiences with its savage joy. MacMillian explores a medieval chant, but also a message of hope: the text of Veni, Veni, Emmanuel speaks of transcending anguish and oppression. From quiet heartbeats to an explosive, dancing finale, this concerto is a stunning demonstration of soloist Colin Currie’s skill and athleticism: he plays dozens of drums, gongs, marimba and bells.

If the MacMillan and Strauss works are about the struggles of the soul, Britten takes us to a place where human cares disappear into insignificance. His Four Sea Interludes are studies of the moods of nature: the huge skies of Suffolk at morning and night, a tumultuous storm, the glitter of the waves and Sunday bells.

Strauss’ visionary Death and Transfiguration imagines nothing less than death and the hereafter. Strauss places us beside the bed of our hero as he takes his final breath, surveys his life and begins his journey to eternity. The power of a vast orchestra and arcing melody lifts us all to heaven in a blaze of brass. They say that when Strauss reached his own time for transfiguration he told his daughter-in-law that indeed death was exactly as he had depicted it. It is a suitably grandiose end for a towering composer.

Napier Municpal Theatre / Thu 9 September / 8pm
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Auckland Town Hall / Fri 10 September / 6.30pm
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Dunedin Town Hall / Wed 15 September / 6.30pm
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Christchurch Town Hall / Thu 16 September / 6.30pm
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Wellington Michael Centre / Sat 18 September / 3pm
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