Extravaganza NZSO

Vesa-Matti Leppännen - Director/Violin
Yuka Eguchi - Violin

Bablon Batteries de Timbales
MA Charpentier Te Deum: I. Prelude. Marche en rondeau
MA Charpentier Sonata à 8
MA Charpentier Marche de Triomphe et Second Air de Trompette
Lully Selections from Les Amants Magnifiques, Le Marriage Forcé and Monsieur de Pourceaugnac
Locatelli Two Caprices from L’Arte del Violino
Paganini Two Caprices from 24 Caprices for Solo Violin

Enjoy all the pomp and grandeur of a night out in 17th-century Europe with Extravaganza.

Masterful French Baroque composer Jean-Baptiste Lully was a major composer of comédie-ballet, a genre which fused a traditional comedic play with large chunks of music and dance. Extravaganza features several works from Lully, including his best-known work Monsieur de Pourceaugnac, with text by his good friend and frequent collaborator, Moliére.

Marc-Antoine Charpentier, another French Baroque composer, was better known for his religious music, including Te Deum, while the Italian musician Pietro Locatelli was a virtuoso on the violin. This explains the technical flair shown in Locatelli’s Caprices from his Art of the Violin – a work that deeply influenced 18th-century violin playing, lifting standards and raising the bar for all violin virtuosi to come. Paganini’s Caprice No.24 accepted Locatelli’s challenge.