Concert favourite Vivaldi's The Four Seasons coming to Hamilton

Clockwise from top left, NZSO violinist Malavika Gopal, concertmaster Vesa-Matti Leppänen, Alan Molina, Anna van der Zee and Simeon Broom. Photo / NZSO

Antonio Vivaldi's masterpiece The Four Seasons, performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Te Tira Pūoro o Aotearoa, is coming to Kirikiriroa Hamilton on May 20 and 21.

The orchestra will also present Open Doors, a free daytime series of family-friendly events on May 21.

Vivaldi's The Four Seasons is one of the most recognisable and loved pieces of music from the Baroque era, a concert favourite and frequently heard in movies and television.

Written in 1723, the series of four groundbreaking string concertos were largely forgotten until a new recording in 1947 became a bestseller. A 1989 recording by virtuoso violinist Nigel Kennedy reached No 3 in the British charts and to this day is one of the biggest-selling classical albums in history.

The NZSO concert Four Seasons in Association with Sky City Hotels Group will also feature a performance of tango legend Astor Piazzolla's Vivaldi-inspired tour de force The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.

Four exceptional NZSO violinists – Anna van der Zee, Malavika Gopal, Simeon Broom, and Alan Molina – will perform a season each as soloists in The Four Seasons and The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, directed by NZSO Concertmaster Vesa-Matti Leppänen.

The NZSO's North Island Four Seasons tour in 2021 was a hit with audiences and critics.

"It was a completely coherent performance – the poetry, the soloists, the orchestra, the brilliant pairing of Vivaldi and Piazzolla. What might have seemed old and stale reappeared as vivid and fresh. In short, a triumph." – The Dominion Post

"At times astonishing … the four soloists led the incredible line-up of NZSO musicians." – Manawatu Guardian

Open Doors is at Gallagher Concert Chamber and Gallagher Playhouse Theatre on Saturday, May 21, 10.30am-4.30pm.

Not to be missed by families are two live performances (10.30am and 11.30am) of the NZSO's popular Storytime for Kids, where Aotearoa New Zealand children's stories are read to the accompaniment of original music by New Zealand composer Claire Cowan, performed by NZSO players.

Throughout the day Open Doors also features NZSO Foundation Masterclasses and workshops, beginning with Vesa-Matti Leppänen's violin masterclass at 10.30am. Other masterclasses include cello with NZSO associate principal cello Ken Ichinose and flute with associate principal flute Kirstin Eade.

Among the workshops are jam sessions for people to sign up and participate in. These include sessions for string instruments, woodwind and percussion, and brass and percussion.

Four Seasons is also performed in Nelson on May 26.

The Details
What: Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, performed by the NZSO
When: May 20 and 21
Where: Gallagher Concert Chamber, University of Waikato
Tickets: ticketek.co.nz