Programme | Hōtaka
Helen Bowater’s ‘Gigue, a Pataphor’ was commissioned by Stephen De Pledge as part of the ‘New Zealand Partita’ project, pairing movements from Bach’s A minor Partita with new pieces. This piece can be described as a pataphor: that which occurs when a lizard’s tail has grown so long it breaks off and grows a new lizard.
‘From one JSB to Another’ a short piece by Ross Harris, is a homage to Jack Body, a major figure in NZ music. Composer, entrepreneur, ethnomusicologist, teacher, publisher and much more. Ross writes: “I have always been intrigued by his famous initials!”
Lyell Cresswell’s monumental Piano Concerto No. 2 ‘Ach wie flüchtig, ach wie nichtig’ (“Ah how fleeting, ah how futile”) is a set of variations on six chorale tunes used by Bach, a set of variations on six themes.
Helen Bowater: Gigue, a Pataphor
preceded by JS Bach: Gigue from Partita in A minor, BWV 827
Stephen De Pledge (piano)
Ross Harris: From One JSB to Another
Performed by Jian Liu (piano)
Lyell Cresswell: Piano Concerto No 2 ‘Ach wie flüchtig, ach wie nichtig
Performed by Michael Houstoun (piano) with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Johannes Fritzsch
Approximate running time | Te roa: 49 minutes
