Musical Destinations
Clive Paget visits the resilient South Island city that turned two devastating earthquakes into a spectacular cultural opportunity
Clive Paget takes a trip to Christchurch, New Zealand
For many, the name Christchurch is synonymous with the headlinegrabbing earthquakes that struck the city from 2010-12. The devastation was immense, but New Zealand’s third largest metropolis, and the most populous in the country’s South Island, is not just resilient and outgoing, it’s positively bursting with innovation and enthusiasm for the arts.
With its picturesque coastline and lowrise architecture, visitors feel surrounded by nature. But while it’s a thoroughly modern affair, like many Antipodean cities there’s something inescapably British about Christchurch. The broad open spaces of Hagley Park are bounded on one side by the Avon River where Edwardian-clad guides ply their punts. Lined by dozens of Yoshino Cherry trees, the gift of a former Japanese ambassador, the midseptember cherry blossom season ranks among the southern hemisphere’s finest.
The earthquakes presented the city with a once-in-a-generation opportunity to re-imagine its architecture, and Christchurch, phoenix-like, seized it with both hands. What was once a mass of colonial Victoriana now gives off a glassand-steel vibe that’s almost Scandinavian, with the arts firmly at the heart of things.
Now counted among the city’s older buildings, Sir Miles Warren and Maurice Mahoney’s brutalist Town Hall is a vast, glass-fronted concrete structure backing onto the Avon. Officially known as the Christchurch Town Hall of the Performing Arts, it was opened in 1972 and is home to the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and Christchurch City Choir, who perform in the 2,500-seater Douglas Lilburn Auditorium, named after New Zealand’s best-known composer.
The Lilburn also hosts jazz, rock and folk concerts, along with commercially ambitious chamber musicians such as cellist Yo-yo Ma, who made his New Zealand debut in 2019 as part of his Bach Cello Suites global tour. Its outstanding aural ambience, the work of genius acoustician Harold Marshall, sent even Leonard Bernstein into raptures when he visited with the New York Philharmonic. ‘It’s by far the best acoustic in the
Southern Hemisphere,’ says Benjamin Northey, the CSO’S Australian-born chief conductor since 2015. ‘I even prefer it to the Amsterdam Concertgebouw.’
The CSO is a post-quake success story. Faced with the prospect of closing its doors, the orchestra made the decision to continue to give concerts in churches, school halls and outdoor spaces, eventually striking a deal with the Air Force Museum of New Zealand to play in a hangar filled with fullsized military aircraft. ‘I will never forget our Britten War Requiem with massed local choirs singing under the wing of a World War I fighter plane,’ recalls Northey. ‘It was both devastating and profound.’
Dwindling audience numbers were reversed, and soon the CSO had quadrupled its pre-quake audience.
Today, the orchestra is made up of a core of salaried musicians with others paid by the call. ‘It creates a real hunger for the work,’ says Northey. ‘The orchestra plays way above its weight, and it’s playing extremely well at the moment. It fizzes.’
Opened in 2016, The Piano is Christchurch’s state-of-the-art chamber venue, with violinist Viktoria Mullova and pianist Stephen Kovacevich among last year’s visitors. Its copper-clad interior takes its inspiration from the curves of a grand piano, while its Maori name is P p wharauroa: Kui-kui whitiwhiti ora, meaning ‘the shining cuckoo’, a bird admired for its singing voice and considered a sign of renewal.
Christchurch is a compulsory stop on the national touring circuit. Chamber Music New Zealand passes regularly through, as does the Wellington-based New Zealand Symphony and the national opera company. Meanwhile, the next biennial Christchurch Arts Festival is scheduled for July 2021.
Other sites include the wreckage of the Anglican Christ Church Cathedral, deconsecrated in 2011 and partially demolished. Now reprieved and slated for rebuilding, it resembles a scene out of postwar Germany. Its replacement, christened the Cardboard Cathedral, was designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban and built from two-foot diameter cardboard tubes, timber and steel with eight shipping containers forming the walls.
And while the crisp climate tends not to favour outdoor dining – the wind from the south comes straight off Antarctica – there’s still a rampant foodie culture, with outstanding local produce and wines (Cloudy Bay is just four hours away). From Christchurch, you can enjoy outdoor activities like whale watching and deep-sea fishing, or simply take in the stunning scenery. Head inland towards the Southern Alps and you’re in Lord of the Rings territory. ‘It’s an unforgettable part of the world,’ Northey concludes, ‘and unlike anything else you’ll have ever seen.’ Further info: Visit the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra website at cso.co.nz
The earthquakes gave Christchurch a chance to re-imagine its architecture
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