Mozart chosen for final concert

Dutch conductor Edo de Waart. Photo / NZ Herald

The NZSO completes its exciting series of Masterworks concerts for 2016 with the final concert in this year's series in the Napier Municipal Theatre at 7pm next Tuesday, November 1.

Known for his love of music by Mozart, Edo de Waart has chosen the great composer's Piano Concerto No 24 in C minor to be performed by his fellow countryman, Dutch piano virtuoso Ronald Brautigam, in his debut tour with the NZSO.

"Mozart's treasure is in safe hands with the brilliant Ronald Brautigam," de Waart enthuses.

"Only a truly great pianist can make a work as mysterious as this appear so simple. His performance will be an unforgettable experience for Mozart fans all around New Zealand."

Completed in 1786, this concerto was distinctive in its time. Few concertos from the 18th century were composed in minor keys and it was the first Mozart concerto to include both oboes and clarinets. Famously, Beethoven exclaimed after hearing the work, 'We shall never be able to do anything like that!'

This concerto certainly lingered in Beethoven's memory as its first movement coda would later appear in his C minor piano concerto, and it has remained a firm favourite with music lovers ever since.

Brautigam is renowned for his virtuosity and eclectic musical interests.
A student of the legendary Rudolf Serkin, Brautigam performs regularly with leading orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw, London Philharmonic and BBC Philharmonic orchestras.

He has received numerous awards including the Dutch Music Prize and a MIDEM Classical Award for best concerto recording in his CD of Beethoven Piano Concertos in 2010.

Opening the concert will be Mendelssohn's charming A Midsummer Night's Dream overture. Dedicated to the Crown Prince of Prussia, this work takes the listener into Shakespeare's magical world with a succession of mysterious chords.

Mendelssohn creates lyrical pictures of the young lovers, the fairy king and queen and most memorably, the heaving braying of Bottom. It is amazing to think that this magical work was composed when Mendelssohn was just 17 years old.

Completing this Masterworks programme will be Beethoven's Symphony No 7 in A major. The second movement, Allegretto, is perhaps one of Beethoven's most famous pieces of music. Featured in the 2010 Oscar-winning movie The King's Speech, this well-known funeral march begins with an unstable A minor chord, showcasing Beethoven's mastery of harmony and eccentricity.

The appeal of this much loved work lies in its complexities of rhythm and harmony that suggest that almost anything is possible. Beethoven evokes a sense of the infinite in his music and this unique quality is what makes his Symphony No 7 so utterly compelling and unforgettable.

- Pre-concert talk at 6.15pm. Tickets $28 to $70 (plus fees). Book at Ticketek, phone 0800 842 538.