Strings Possessed

Sponsored by National Bank Private Banking & Ryman Healthcare Ltd

Vesa-Matti Leppänen - director
NZSO Soloists String Ensemble
Ilya Kaler - guest soloist violin
Hiroshi Ikematsu - NZSO Principal double bass

Rossini - Sonata No. 6
Bottesini - Gran Duo concertante
Paganini - Il Palpiti variations by Rossini
Tchaikovsky - Serenade

NZSO Soloists Tour No. 4

Experience the HEART of the NZSO.

Ilya Kaler upholds the great tradition of Russian violin-playing, and joins the members of the NZSO as leader and soloist to explore the richness of the chamber strings repertoire, from the virtuoso fireworks of Paganini to the lush, sublime sentimentality of Tchaikovsky’s immortal Serenade. In the Bottesini Gran Duo, Kaler will be joined by one of the NZSO’s own principal players, the brilliant Hiroshi Ikematsu, a virtuoso who is transforming the perception of an instrument not known for its virtuoso qualities, the double bass.

“Ilya Kaler, an explosive virtuoso, assaults the ears and compels with his sheer fluency“ - BBC Music