Gift of Dreams

A romantic anti-hero and a skirmish with the supernatural provide a programme of spiritual beauty. Tchaikovsky’s "Manfred" Symphony, a huge virtuoso orchestral showcase, based on Lord Byron’s radical poem, where given the choice of salvation, the anti-hero opts out.

Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara’s works often have a mystical element, a rhapsodic string theme of austere beauty with whirling flute lines, gently dissonant bells and the suggestions of a pastoral horn. His hauntingly beautiful piano concerto is considered to be the greatest written for 100 years. And it is with great pleasure that CSO proudly welcomes John Chen to perform this. Chen is the youngest everwinner of the Sydney International Piano Competition, a gifted New Zealand concert pianist with a formidable profile in Australasia where he has worked with all the major symphony orchestras. At 24, he has already performed with most of New Zealand’s major symphony orchestras and last year made both his Singapore debut and was the featured soloist on the 50th anniversary tour of the NZSO National Youth Orchestra.

When asked to write a fanfare for the new millennium, New Zealandcomposer John Psathas found himself considering the last one thousand years and how, within human history, there has been an increase in travel and settling in foreign lands. Luminous is dedicated to the memory of the composer’s friend Pan, who moved to New Zealand from China and found the pressure to integrate two very different sets of beliefs, ultimately overwhelming.

A one minute extract:
Beethoven symphony No. 6, Op. 68, F Major from the CSO Lamb and Hayward Masterworks concert 2 May 2009.