Star conductor and cellist join NZSO

Internationally renowned Scottish conductor Sir Donald Runnicles makes his New Zealand Symphony Orchestra debut in an exciting concert with acclaimed GermanFrench cellist Nicolas Altstaedt.

Sir Donald, one of the world’s top conductors, and Altstaedt, a virtuoso across music genres, feature in Bloch & Shostakovich Enduring Spirit, in association with The Grand by SkyCity, in Auckland on April 29.

The programme includes Ernest Bloch’s legendary work for cello Schelomo, and Dmitri Shostakovich’s magnificent Tenth Symphony.

Sir Donald, who hasn’t conducted in Aotearoa New Zealand before, is General Music Director of the prestigious Deutsche Oper Berlin, Music Director of the Grand Teton Music Festival in the United States and Principal Guest Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

‘‘It’s an incredible blessing when a lot of people are together and experiencing a live orchestra concert. And the moment that last chord has died away, it is gone,’’ Sir Donald has said.

‘‘It is a communion, where people are sitting together, enjoying the great masterworks. And that is what has always inspired me, the process of making music with and for people.’’

Altstaedt is one of the most sought-after cellists in the world. His versatility spans early to contemporary music performed with leading orchestras and ensembles.

The Australian declared that the audience at one performance ‘‘hung on every note as if they were the words of a master storyteller.’’

‘‘The cello – it’s a physical addiction, I’m bound to it,’’ says Altstaedt. ‘‘I’ve always been driven by an urgent need to find the connections – between composers, philosophers, artists, writers.’’

For Bloch & Shostakovich Enduring Spirit, the NZSO also performs Musica Celestis by Aaron Jay Kernis, a Pulitzer Prize and

Grammy Award-winning American composer. Kernis, whose influences range from Bach to hip-hop, took inspiration for the piece from the medieval idea of angels singing perpetually to God in heaven.

Tickets on sale via ticketmaster.co.nz.