Lamb & Hayward Masterworks
White Horses
Gemma Peacocke – White Horses (Co-commission with APO)
Dvořák – Violin Concerto
Brahms – Symphony No 2
This concert shines the spotlight on two talented New Zealanders. Now Brooklyn-based Gemma Peacocke’s White Horses was inspired by the mystery of Viva Waud Farmar, WWI nurse and one of Aotearoa’s first female pilots.
Christchurch-born violinist Benjamin Morrison is the only New Zealander to win a seat in the Vienna Philharmonic, and he returns to dazzle hometown audiences with Dvořák’s virtuosic Violin Concerto.
Brahms’ second symphony is often described as a cheerful ‘pastoral,’ but also features stormy moments, and is best experienced live for the full rush of symphonic waves. Brahms spoke candidly about the challenges of being a young German composer writing symphonies in Beethoven’s shadow, but his four symphonies have become beloved staples of the Romantic orchestral repertoire.