NZSO cellist Ken Ichinose to play with Manawatū Sinfonia in Palmerston North

Ken Ichinose is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London. Photo / Andrew Empson

The Manawatū Sinfonia will play an ambitious concert that almost wasn't this Saturday afternoon.

A wayward avocado nearly put paid to the farewell to the sinfonia's permanent guest conductor, Peter van Drimmelen.

Van Drimmelen, who has been with the orchestra for 20 years, wanted to conduct a programme of Dmitri Shostakovich's 1st cello concerto with New Zealand Symphony Orchestra cellist Ken Ichinose together with Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony last year.

"The Shostakovich is a great concerto and Ken is a fantastic cellist. The combination is a musical dream team for me.

"I couldn't think of a better way to finish my time with the sinfonia," van Drimmelen says.

But just before rehearsals began Ichinose badly sliced his hand cutting an avocado.

"It sounds silly but if the knife had cut just a little deeper it would have ended Ken's career," van Drimmelen says.

The concert would have to wait for Ichinose's hand to heal but the wait was worth it. The Shostakovich is widely regarded as one of the most difficult cello concertos written.

"From the first bar Ken just grasps you with this music that is both aggressive and hauntingly beautiful," van Drimmelen says.

It is also a work that resonates today. Dimitri Shostakovich was no friend of the Soviet Union regime in which he lived. For a period he had his bag packed in readiness for the dreaded 3am knock on the door from the secret police that fortunately never came.

And while Shostakovich was always quiet about what his music meant, he borrowed one tune from his earlier film music that illustrates a group of Soviet soldiers being marched to their deaths at the hands of the Nazis. Another was a song that satirised the Soviet system.

Ichinose joined the NZSO as associate principal in 2014. He previously played with London orchestras including the Philharmonia, Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He plays on a Lorenzo Carcassi cello, made in Florence, 1747.

The sinfonia welcomes former Palmerston North French hornist Shadley van Wijk back to play the demanding horn solos in the piece.

"Shadley is a wonderful musician and he plays this fiendishly difficult music effortlessly," van Drimmelen says. "I conducted Shadley in concerts when he was still at school here in Palmerston North. Now he is an established musician. I think it is fantastic to see the next generation come through as I bow out."

The Details
What: Manawatū Sinfonia Autumn Concert
When: Saturday, May 28, 2.30pm
Where: Speirs Centre
Tickets: Eventfinda