One's the Auckland Philharmonia's 2014 season programme, and one's the NZSO's 2014 season programme.
That's a whole lot of concerts and I got a bit inundated with choices. So, what leapt out as interesting/cool? What am I tempted to see? And why am I giving some stuff a miss?
NZSO first because Beethoven's bust (dipped in blue paint) is staring at me intimidatingly from the cover.
Rueben's first comment, on opening the programme, was "I want to go see the bald cat".
...what?
-aaaah Jesus! okay, that bald cat. What? Or rather, Why?
*looks*
-oh, the cat is wearing jewellery and the concert is called Opulence. Well, that sooort of makes sense? Dammit, they're playing the Rosenkavalier suite and I am sort of tempted. But nothing can induce me to go to a concert that's being advertised by cat Nosferatu.
Also scared by the Pay Your Age promotion. Superimposed on a photo of what looks to be a sad Ukrainian bride is the following copy:
ARE YOU AGED BETWEEN 18 and 35?
ARE YOU AGED BETWEEN 18 and 35?
THE CLOCK IS TICKING
...TIME TO GET BREEDING BEFORE YOUR OVARIES ARE SHOT. WE NEED MORE PRODIGIES
The programme helpfully provides the reader with mate selection material (ie. pictures of all the NZSO musicians) to speed up the breeding process. No? Okay maybe I'm the only one who looked for the hot ones.
Some concerts you know to skip just from the title. La Dolce Vita? Yep, that'd be the 'let's play all the Italian things' - PASS.
I was pleasantly delighted to find that Russian Fire did not equate to Stravinsky's Firebird Suite, but instead there's a nice mix of composers: Rach's Caprice Bohemien, pardon my lack of acute accent there, Schumann Piano Concerto in A (yum) and Shosti's 15th Symphony. Yeah. That looks like a good time.
I was pleasantly delighted to find that Russian Fire did not equate to Stravinsky's Firebird Suite, but instead there's a nice mix of composers: Rach's Caprice Bohemien, pardon my lack of acute accent there, Schumann Piano Concerto in A (yum) and Shosti's 15th Symphony. Yeah. That looks like a good time.
Went to see one of the Hear & Far concerts this year and I like the concept - New Zealand, meet other country. Other country, meet New Zealand. 9 May in Welly and 10 May in Auckland, and the other country is Scotland this time but not in a lame way. Ooh and Jonathan Lemalu is singing things.
Won't bother with Messiah but Haydn's Creation is a really cool thing if you, you know, want a giant choir and ooh look Jonathan's in that too! Also Madeleine Pierard who I like. Okay I'm going to see that one for sure. I may be biased given I'm a bit of a Baroque nut.
What else? Lots of Mahler, especially if you live in Welly or Auckland. And all of the Beethoven - no really. I think those are a matter of taste.
Tuscan Summer? - SERIOUSLY? TWO Italian concerts? Pass the Montepulciano. No, just give me the bottle.
National Youth Orchestra summer camp concert includes Hindson's Homage to Metallica - hehe. I think APO's got them licked for relevance to Yoof culture with its Remix the Orchestra project. Still. I LOL'd.
_____
-Right, onto the APO brochure!
Straightaway I am going to say that the programme art is streets ahead. APO has commissioned a bunch of artists AND credited them on the inside front cover, and the art has some kind of relevance to each concert. Yes. Below is the weirdest bit of brochure art I could find, and only disturbs me because can you imagine what a cross between a violin and bagpipes would sound like?
Props to the artist (Simon Shaw! yay for artist credits!) for making it drizzle in the background of this picture. Now that's verisimilitude.
Within a day of getting this programme I was conspiring to get tickets to Tristan und Isolde so, yeah, that's one I'm keen on, personally. It's a nice thing to stage (albeit not in a Gesamtkunstwerky way) a whole Wagner opera in concert in NZ. Yay Wagner Anniversary, for giving us an excuse to see all the Wagner. Or all the Wanger, in the event y'all went to see the Flying Dutchman this year.
So now I'm done being excited by Wagner, what else is here. Exotic Birds - if there are no burlesque dancers there'd better be some Messiaen. Oh, there is! Well, that's okay then.
There are some fun times with soloists: I am kind of tickled to see a Concerto for Bassoon (John Williams, played by Ingrid Hagan) and a party piece for the horn section in the aptly named Concert for Horns. Neither is amazing enough to make me leave my digs in Welly, but if you are north of the Bombays and want to get a better view of all those instruments usually concealed by the string section? Might be worth a squiz.
Shosti 12 in this programme! It's like you're trying to make me broke, guys.
Czechmate - no, don't succumb to the puns guys. Not going to this on principle because that pun is LAME.
St John Passion - I love Bach, but I'll go to the Creation instead.
A James Bond themed thing - didn't I see an internet article recently about someone who gets aroused by the James Bond theme? I guess this concert's for him, then.
No Mate Selection Profile in this brochure, but there is a great shot of the Auckland Town Hall Organ looking imposing and purple (fahaha, organ) and the orchestra below. Apparently, it is more fun being in the second violins than the firsts. I coulda told you that! Second violins are where it's at, man.
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