Juilliard415

Next generation baroque, this chamber orchestra of young players from one of the world’s most distinguished music schools starts our season with a bang. The New York Times describes Juilliard415 as an ensemble who plays with “consistent poise, and hair-trigger responsiveness” under such prominent artists as William Christie, Jordi Savall and Rachel Podger. For their New Zealand tour, Juilliard415 perform under the leadership of early music legend violinist Robert Mealy in a programme contrasting two baroque styles.

“Our programs are a dialogue between the two main musical languages in the baroque, the French and the Italian styles, focusing on Rome where Corelli was inventing the orchestra in the 1680s and Paris where Lully did the same thing at about the same time. The French pieces explore various dance forms, including everything from brilliant gigues to slow sarabandes, while the Italian works are fiery concertos: a nice contrast of styles!” – Robert Mealy

This programme also features a new commission from Dame Gillian Whitehead providing a striking contrast between old and new.