Variations

In "Dances of Galánta", Kodàly artfully weaves together Hungarian folk songs from his childhood town of Galànta. The Dances put Kodàly’s mastery of orchestration on display, with a rich palette of instrumental colours creating a work that exemplifies how music can both transport and connect us to cultures far from our own.

Celebrated Ōtautahi Christchurch-based pianist Michael Endres joins the CSO to perform Rachmaninov’s "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini", a set of firework-filled variations that pay homage to the last of violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini’s 24 caprices for solo violin.

British composer Edward Elgar’s famous "Enigma Variations" took shape out of a simple melody that Elgar skillfully crafted into a series of 14 variations representing musical caricatures of friends, his wife, and even himself; complete with coded titles. The cypher-loving Elgar always maintained that he also hid a musical mystery in the main theme. Audiences will immediately recognise the spine-tingling Nimrod variation, which has undoubtedly achieved universal tear-jerker status.