The New Zealand Herald Premier Series: Nordic Fire

Conductor: Vincent Hardaker
Director: Andrew Beer
Timpani: Steven Logan

Sibelius: Finlandia
Kalevi Aho: Concerto for Timpani and Orchestra
Magnus Lindberg: Gran Duo for Woodwinds and Brass
Grieg: Holberg Suite

New Zealand Assistant Conductor-in-Residence Vincent Hardaker and Concertmaster Andrew Beer take us to Scandinavia. Sibelius’ proud salute to his homeland is twinned with Grieg’s little gem, an absolutely perfect piece of music for strings.

The wind and brass sections get to show off, too. Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg conceived of his broad, spacious piece as, in his words, ‘an orchestra where the strings didn’t arrive on time’. Lindberg’s compatriot Kalevi Aho wrote his exuberant Timpani Concerto in 2016, the same year that Steven Logan joined the APO. It’ll open your eyes and ears to the visual and aural drama of the big drums.