The Russian and the Macedonian present Liszt and Mahler

NZSO: Power and Passion
Liszt Piano Concerto No. 2 Mahler Symphony No. 5
Vasily Petrenko, Conductor
Simon Trpčeski, Soloist
Wellington Michael Fowler Centre, July 10, Christchurch Horncastle Arena, July 15, Auckland Town Hall, July 17, Hamilton Founders Theatre, July 18

Next month the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra under superstar Russian conductor Vasily Petrenko will feature Macedonian pianist Simon Trpčeski . Performing together again after a series of exceptional collaborations beginning at the BBC Proms in 2010, this dynamic duo will bring emotion and passion to Liszt’s Piano Concerto No.2.

The composer was regarded as the greatest pianist of his time. Mysterious and melodic, the beauty of this concerto lies in the relationship between piano and orchestra. Lauded for his elegant and assured playing, award-winning pianist Simon Trpčeski delighted audiences with Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor at the Proms.

It was conducted by Vasily Petrenko and the English critic Keith McDonnell wrote that Trpčeski “delivered a monumental performance of this hugely popular work. Tempestuous in the first movement, reflective and pensive in the second and coping brilliantly with the fiendishly difficult writing in the last movement, his was a towering interpretation.”

I wrote of his interpretation of Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in a 2008 performance with the NZSO, “He is a master of stylish playing able to ignite the orchestra with his passion and drive. His playing technique; changing tempos, charging through themes and varying the tonal qualities added to the excitement of the playing and appeared to enliven conductor Yoel Levi, as well as the orchestra. This was brazen and adventurous playing that slowly revealed the technical and emotional depths of the work, moving from the childlike to the theatrical to the grand and funereal.” The pair have recorded a number of commercial discs together - the most recent, featuring Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concertos 1 & 2 recorded in 2014, has been a significant success. Critics have described the recording as “vibrant” and “exhilarating”.

Renowned for his passion and intensity, there is no better conductor than Vasily Petrenko for Mahler’s epic Fifth Symphony. He conducted the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra for the first time in 2004 and the following year he was named the RLPO’s Principal Conductor from 2006. Now chief conductor of the RLPO and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Petrenko has performed with some of the greatest orchestras in the world. He returns to conduct the NZSO for the first time since his critically acclaimed Leningrad tour, which received standing ovations across the country.

Gustav Mahler’s Fifth Symphony is the pinnacle of emotion and power. Composed in the summers of 1901 and 1902 it is one of his most admired works. Among its most distinctive features are the funereal trumpet solo that opens the work and the frequently performed Adagietto. The musical canvas and emotional scope of the work, which lasts over an hour, are huge. After its premiere, Mahler is reported to have said, “Nobody understood it. I wish I could conduct the first performance 50 years after my death.”

So now over 100 years after it was written, we possibly do manage to understand it with its sublime mixture of tragedy, anger, humour and joy. It is a work that could be an autobiographical account of the composer’s physical and spiritual journey.