Crescendo

Actress and producer Teuila Blakely reveals how the music of Beethoven sustained her in the face of prejudice and racism.

Musician Morgan Leary discusses the influence of the famous British composer, Edward Elgar, on her musical development and with NZSO cellist Elizabeth Patchett revisits Jacqueline du Pre's stunning performance of his Cello Concerto in E Minor.

Legendary Split Enz keyboardist Eddie Rayner explains the genesis of ENZSO, a musical collaboration between the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, and a roster of well known singers performing new arrangements of Split Enz songs, including the band’s 1984 hit “Message to My Girl”

Celebrated actor, director and acting coach Miranda Harcourt explores her sense of connection with Symphonie Fantastique by French composer Hector Berlioz, and NZSO bassoonist David Angus gives an insight into the intense experience of playing the piece.

Year 12 music student Emma Dias explains her connection with the Passacaglia For Violin and Viola by Norwegian composer Johan Halvorsen and describes how she was introduced to the piece by her violin teacher, Gregory Squire from the NZSO.

Actor Karen O Leary explains her connection with Peter and the Wolf - a beloved piece of music written originally for children, while NZSO flutist Bridget Douglas explains the challenges that come with getting into character for the piece.

Rock and roll star turned musicologist Graeme Downes gives a masterful breakdown of the enduring brilliance of Schubert's Symphony #9 in C major, and why it’s had a hold on his heart all these years, while NZSO violinist Haihong Liu has her own ideas about what makes Schubert’s “Great” symphony so great.

One of our most celebrated authors, Witi Ihimaera, recalls how his life changed when he first heard The Rite of Spring by Stravinsky, as a young boy listening to a record player in Gisborne. And NZSO double bass player Alexander Gunchenko explains the fiendish difficulty of playing the piece.

One of Aotearoa's legendary performers, opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, describes the complicated feelings of homesickness stirred in her by Elgar's "Nimrod" while NZSO cellist Brigid O'Meeghan explains why the piece has the power to move listeners, more than one hundred years after it was composed.

Dame Patsy Reddy talks about the enduring power of Beethoven’s famous choral symphony, and NZSO conductor Gemma New explains why the symphony packs such an unforgettable emotional punch.