Join us for our 2022 Series celebrating 20 years of NZTrio
We are celebrating our 20th Anniversary in 2022 with the LEGACY series – an opportunity to look to the past and to the future.
One of NZTrio’s greatest legacies from its first 20 years is the commissioning of over 75 new works and LEGACY heralds three new works fresh off the press from Michael Norris, Tabea Squire and Gao Ping. We’re teaming up these new works from Aotearoa with some of the mightiest masterpieces of the trio repertoire – Beethoven’s “Archduke”, Schubert’s E-flat trio and Tchaikovsky, plus some cheeky genre-busters from Kapustin, Bolcom and Schuller, and a lesser-known work from a familiar name – Schumann.
We’ll be performing our LEGACY series across Aotearoa and live streaming LEGACY 1 from the Auckland Town Hall Concert Chamber. Find more about what’s coming up near you and how to book below.
Season pass available for Auckland Town Hall Concert Chamber
Dates: 29 May, 20 July, 17 November
LEGACY 1
Schumann – Sechs Stücke in kanonischer Form arr. for piano trio by Kirchner, Op. 56, I & II
Michael Norris – Horizon Fields
Kapustin – Trio, Op. 86
Beethoven – Piano Trio in B-flat major, Op. 97 “Archduke”
The story begins with the first two of Schumann’s “Six Pieces in Canon” where he pays homage to the lasting resonance of Bach’s prodigious talents in polyphonic writing. Then we look simultaneously to the past and the future, marking NZTrio’s proud legacy of over 75 commissions by performing the latest creation from Michael Norris, who wrote NZTrio’s first ever commission back in 2003. Genre-busting repertoire is highlighted in Kapustin’s trio, a representation of the Soviet jazz scene – spicy and crisp. There’s a moment to catch your breath before the heavyweight champion appears. Beethoven’s Op.97 Bb Major trio is dedicated to his patron and friend Archduke Rudolph of Austria who would surely be delighted to know his name lives on attached to this majestic and profoundly affecting work.
Christopher’s Classics, Christchurch
21 April, 7:30pm
BOOK NOW
Greytown Music Society
1 May, 4pm
Tickets by phone reservation (evenings)
Ed & Juliet 06 304 9497 or efjacooke@gmail.com
LEGACY 2
Schumann – Sechs Stücke in kanonischer Form, Op. 56 arr. for Piano Trio, III & IV
Squire – Der Tanz
Bolcom – Trio
Schubert – Piano Trio No. 2 in E flat, Op. 100
The story continues with the luscious trio arrangement of Schumann’s melodious miniatures dedicated to his music teacher Friedrich Wieck before we return home to the sounds of Aotearoa in Tabea Squire’s newest work. Bolcom’s trio celebrates the music of our time in a whirlwind journey, turbulent with autumnal and Hispanic-jazzy tones contrasted with other-worldly serenity. Finally, we experience Schubert at the height of his artistry in his marvellous E-flat trio, acclaimed by Schumann as ‘an angry meteor blazing forth and outshining everything in the musical atmosphere of the time’. Brace yourselves for this epic musical panorama – the whole gamut of human emotion is conveyed in just four movements.
LEGACY 3
Schumann – Sechs Stücke in kanonischer Form, Op. 56 arr. for Piano Trio, V & VI
Gao Ping – 寻山 Searching for the Mountain*
Schuller – Piano Trio
Tchaikovsky – Piano Trio in A minor, Op 50
The final saga begins with Schumann weaving his love of Bach’s counterpoint with his own natural fountainhead of fantasy, presented in an arrangement by his friend and colleague Kirchner. The chromatic spectrum is explored further in Schuller’s trio, embodying his jazz roots with colleagues Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis, and acknowledging his place in American composers’ royalty. Gao Ping’s NZ legacy continues long after his return to China in this brand new commission. The journey concludes with the largest, most symphonic piano trio of all – Tchaikovsky’s expansive and magnificent work written in memory of Nikolai Rubinstein – “À la mémoir d’un grand artiste”
* Generously supported by the Nicholas Tarling Charitable Trust
Auckland Town Hall Concert Chamber
17 November, 7pm
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Whittaker’s Musical Museum, Waiheke Island
20 November, 5pm
Ticket enquiries: Sophie Perkins – info@musiclamuseum.org
