Orchestra Wellington

Think classical music is quiet and polite? Not this concert. Intense, athletic, and up-close musicianship is put front and centre. Works include Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto and Belá Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra.

This programme is a celebration of sound and movement. It features music built on rhythm, motion, and pure adrenaline. It features Carl Nielsen’s Symphony 4 (also known as the Inextinguishable) and Béla Bartók’s Concerto for two pianos, percussion and orchestra.

Scale and impact define this breathtaking programme. The world premiere of Joshua Pearson’s Digital Fenua: Fakatili Te Kiloga Fou introduces a work rooted in contemporary Pacific identity. Then Berlioz’s monumental Requiem requires vast forces.

The orchestra invites Orpheus Choir Wellington to join. Together they tackle Debussy’s Nocturnes — a work based on the paintings of James McNeill Whistler and Busoni’s mammoth Piano Concerto. The thrilling piece puts insane demands on the pianist.

Beloved New Zealand chamber music group, the NZTrio, collaborates with the orchestra on Beethoven's Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano. Kiwi composer Victoria Kelly premieres a new work based on an Antarctic trip.