NZSO: Russian Romantics

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) and special guest Freddy Kempf, will perform live at the Founders Theatre in Hamilton as a part of The Fairfax Media Tour.

Alexander Lazarev - conductor
Freddy Kempf - piano

The programme will include:
• Dvorak - The Noon Witch
• Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No.1
• Prokofiev - Symphony No.7

The unforgettable opening of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto is the epitome of Russian ardour and Romantic splendour. It’s just one of many magnificent moments in this much loved concerto. The prodigious Freddy Kempf performs this classic with his trademark panache.

If any composer was heir to the Tchaikovsky tradition it was Sergei Prokofiev. Equal parts modern cosmopolitan and sentimental romantic, Prokofiev created works that blend irony, delicious melody and thrilling razzle-dazzle. His Seventh Symphony, his final, seems to come from the same innocent world as his Peter and the Wolf, but it is cast in a sombre key of C sharp minor. In spite of the high-spirited – and sometimes slightly savage – play of its central movements, this symphony has more than a hint of darkness. Prokofiev was encouraged by authorities to revise the ending to be happier.

With Maestro Lazarev we will hear both the ‘official’ finale and then Prokofiev’s original, more ambiguous ending.

Tickets will be available from Ticketek.

Event listed by NZSO

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