2009 Concert Series
Chamber Music for Summer
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The 2008 Season
Illuminations
Patricia Wright, Soprano
Peter Scholes, Conductor
Anthony Young, Summer Is Icumen In
Gustav Holst, St Paul’s Suite
Ludwig van Beethoven, Grosse Fugue. Op.133
Arvo Pärt, Silouan’s Song
Edward Elgar, Serenade for Strings
Benjamin Britten, Les Illuminations
A concert of string favourites which features the hallucinogenic Les Illuminations by Benjamin Britten with the stunning Patricia Wright as soloist. The concert opens with Summer by Anthony Young. This was an audience favourite in 2007. String works by Holst and Elgar have unstoppable appeal and the Grosse Fugue by Beethoven is a monument of classical music. It is a piece where the intellectual and emotional power of Beethoven
is realised in a single movement for strings.
The Ring of Fire
John Rimmer, Composer
Peter Scholes, Conductor
John Rimmer, Octet
John Rimmer, De Aestibus Rerum
John Rimmer, Emergence
John Rimmer, Gossamer
John Rimmer, Murmures
John Rimmer, The Ring of Fire
John Rimmer’s music spans many decades of New Zealand music development. He has been a central
figure in the New Zealand music scene and his work
and advocacy has inspired many composers.
His music is colourful and exotic with a fine sense
of form. He is a great communicator both in person
and through his music. Every John Rimmer composition
is a journey through new dimensions in sound.
Serenade
Indra Hughes, Harpsichord
Peter Scholes, Conductor
Johann Sebastian Bach,
Brandenburg Concerto No.5 BMV 1050
Benjamin Britten, Simple Symphony
Arvo Pärt, Fratres for Strings and Percussion
Antonin Dvo?ák, Serenade for Strings
Dvoák’s gift for writing glorious melodies has made
his presence in concerts a treat for audience and musicians alike. The hints of folk music and dance
make the Serenade for Strings an audience favourite. Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos are masterworks
of invention. This is a concert of Baroque and 20th Century string music.
Beethoven 1
Diedre Irons, Piano
Peter Scholes, Conductor
Ludwig van Beethoven, Coriolan Overture
Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Concerto No.1
Arvo Pärt, Summa
Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No.1
Beethoven forged new dimensions into the expressive possibilities of all the forces he composed for. In his first symphony we hear the embryonic stages of this revolution taking place as he perfects and breaks free from the classical masters. As soloist in the first piano concerto Diedre Irons’ virtuosity and expressive playing is not to be missed.
The Man from Olympus
Read Gainsford, Piano
Peter Scholes, Conductor
John Psathas, Fragment
John Psathas, Ancient Greek Songs
John Psathas, Island Songs
John Psathas, Abhisheka
John Psathas, Piano Concerto
John Psathas’ music is highly charged and exudes exotic melodic invention and fantastic rhythms. He was the composer for the 2004 Olympics in Athens and his strength and command of the art of composition makes
a concert of his music a memorable and significant event..
Beethoven Chamber Music
Peter Scholes and Friends
Ludwig van Beethoven, Sextet for Winds
Ludwig van Beethoven, Quintet for Piano and Winds
Ludwig van Beethoven, Septet
From the pen of the mighty Beethoven comes this
music for smaller forces that shows his craft in chamber music. The instrumentation is unique and original and
the melodies are charming.
Beethoven 2
Michael Houstoun, Piano
Peter Scholes, Conductor
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Overture to Marriage of Figaro
Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Concerto No.2
Arvo Pärt, Fratres for Wind Octet and Percussion
Franz Joseph Haydn, Symphony No. 104, D major
Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven are icons of classical music
and their juxtaposition in the same concert is an enlightening
experience. These works speak with the same clarity and
relevance today as they did at their premiere performance.
Their perfection of form is timeless and universal.
We welcome Michael Houstoun as soloist in the second
piano concerto by Beethoven. He is one of New Zealand’s
leading pianists and his performances of the piano music
of Beethoven are legendary.