Events

The first four notes of Beethoven’s 5th are arguably the most recognisable of the entire classical repertoire – the “da da da dum” motif, that has been said to depict fate knocking at the door. Moving beyond the famous opening, the listener meets a composer whose rapidly deteriorating hearing has only further motivated him to deepen his compositional language.

Umberto Clerici – Conductor
Stephen De Pledge – Piano

Brahms – Academic Festival Overture
Leonie Holmes – Piano Concerto (World Premiere)
Beethoven – Symphony No 5

Brahms wrote his Academic Festival Overture when he received an honorary doctorate in 1879. Using the largest orchestral forces of any of his works, he cheekily interspersed a number of student melodies into the work, including the ceremonial classic “Gaudeamus igitur”.

Auckland-based musical pairing of composer Leonie Holmes and pianist Stephen De Pledge, premiere Holmes’ new Piano Concerto. De Pledge has been described as having a “laid-back, let-me-entertain-you manner” coupled with an innate ability to communicate with audiences through the keyboard.