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Orchestra Wellington / August 2015

With a rich history as New Zealand’s oldest regional orchestra founded over seventy years ago, Orchestra Wellington’s audience numbers have grown rapidly to become one of the most consistently well attended in the country. With progressive programmes, accessible pricing, and a focus on community outreach, Orchestra Wellington is now recognised as one of the most exciting and progressive orchestras in the world.

September 2015 | July 2015
    • *official press release*orchestra wellington’s fourth...
      • *OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE* ORCHESTRA WELLINGTON’S FOURTH SUBSCRIPTION CONCERT   “FATE” Concierto de Aranjuez -  Joaquín Rodrigo Piano Concerto No 2 in F Major - Dmitri Shostakovich Symphony No 4 in F minor - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Orchestra Wellington Marc Taddei, Musical Director Michael Houstoun, Piano Andrey Lebedev, Guitar Rodrigo’s guitar concerto casts a shaft of warm Spanish sunlight over Orchestra Wellington’s largely Russian programming this year. The Orchestra welcomes Russian-born Australian guitarist, Andrey Lebedev, performing it as part of his prize for winning the 2013 Gisborne International Music Competition. Gisborne International Music Competition manager Mark La Roche says he is incredibly proud of the partnership formed with Orchestra Wellington to provide the overall winner of the GIMC with the opportunity to perform in Orchestra Wellington’s subscription series. “I can vividly recall Andrey’s winning performance and know you will thoroughly enjoy hearing him play the Rodrigo Concerto - he is an exceptionally gifted and thoughtful musician.” Continuing its association with Michael Houstoun, Orchestra Wellington also presents Shostakovich’s Second Piano Concerto as part of this year’s Russian Piano theme. Shostakovich was a virtuoso pianist and a composer with a reputation for grim and cryptic works. But in this concerto he paid tribute to his son, for whom it was written, with a piece reflecting the boy’s lively, mischievous nature. He also gifted him a slow movement filled with beautiful melodies and lush harmonies worthy of the great Romantics. With his Fourth Symphony, Tchaikovsky stopped trying to be anything other than himself. It opens with the full brass section hammering out an uncompromising theme inspired by the “Fate” motif in Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. As Musical Director Marc Taddei says, “The Fourth Symphony is Romantic to its core, with clear programmatic expressions of fate, melancholy, grandeur and joy”. Tchaikovsky’s heartfelt expression of his inner life has found resonance with audiences everywhere ever since. Andrey Lebedev on Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez Lebedev says that the concerto had a profound impact on his life when he first heard it as a teenager. “I knew that I had experienced something very rare and special, and it was a key moment in my journey to become a professional musician. “My goal is to create this same magic when I perform - to remind ourselves that there is something greater than just the here and now.” He likes to view the concerto as a triptych framing the second movement. “The second movement is all about expression and meaning. I strive for intense beauty of sound, intimacy, lyricism, and direction - leading the music organically from the first bar all the way to the climax in the cadenza and resolving into the major cadence at the very end. When all of these elements come together I think the impact can be earth-shattering.” “The first movement introduces Rodrigo’s sound world and draws the audience into a relationship with the guitar and orchestra. It is joyous and spirited. The music has a natural vitality that stems from Rodrigo’s fascination with ancient Spanish rhythms and the flamenco tradition. “The final movement is a buoyant and uplifting finale, again using elements from the Spanish baroque in a modern context. I am still young, and every year I feel like I am discovering amazing new things about music. This piece has grown and developed just as I have over the last years. Most notably I now strongly feel that this is both a flamenco concerto and a baroque concerto, and somehow finding the balance of these elements lies at the heart of understanding the music.” Andrey Lebedev Biography Recognised for his powerful and expressive sound and exceptional musicality, classical guitarist Andrey Lebedev has defined himself as an artist pushing the boundaries of the instrument and gaining acknowledgment from new audiences. Born in Moscow and raised in Adelaide, he was brought to international attention as the first-prize winner of three major multi-instrumental competitions. In 2012 he won both the Australian National Fine Music Young Performers Award and the Sydney Eisteddfod NSW Doctors Orchestra Instrumental Scholarship, in both cases the only classical guitarist to receive this award. His artistry was further highlighted in 2013 as winner and recipient of the Bach prize at the 25th Gisborne International Music Competition, and the only Australian winner of the Adelaide International Guitar Competition. Now based in London, Lebedev enjoys a dynamic performance career as soloist with orchestra, solo recitalist and chamber musician. His engagements for the 2014/15 season include solo recitals at the Wigmore Hall, and the Adelaide International Guitar Festival. He has featured with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Canberra Festival Camerata. Lebedev studied with Timothy Kain at the Australian National University School of Music and is a postgraduate student at the Royal Academy of Music with Michael Lewin on an ABRSM international full scholarship and Julian Bream Trust scholarship. ORCHESTRA WELLINGTON  “FATE” Saturday 5 September, 7:30pm Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington Tickets from Ticketek box office (0800 842 538) or online HERE Ticket Prices: Adult Full Price $60 Under 35, (with ID), $25 Concession (Gold Card Holder), $48 Community Services Card $12 Student (with ID) $12 Child (still at school) $10
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