NZTrio’s long-held desire to collaborate with celebrated soprano Emma Pearson in a performance of Strauss’ beloved Vier letzte Lieder led us to commission our compatriot Salina Fisher to arrange these mighty pieces for trio and voice. In this concert, Four Last Songs, we present that hero-piece nestled within a fascinating and varied collection, dialoguing works for trio with and without soprano. 

In the first half of the programme, we fall into the ghostly embrace of Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin’s The spirit and the maiden, before Fisher’s Kintsugi contemplates the process of thorough and painstaking repair leading to greater strength and beauty. Two songs, A Mirage & Stella Viatoris, are a treat from American composer Amy Beach, before we bask in the lush melancholy of Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise, preparing us for Salina Fisher’s poignant arrangements of Strauss’ final works.

This collaboration premieres in October 2025.  The Strauss/Fisher arrangements were supported by a generous NZTrio Patron.