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The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra will perform one of the most radical symphonies ever written when it tours Beethoven’s mighty Eroica around the North Island in May.

The Eroica is an orchestral giant which shocked the concert hall on debut two centuries ago, changing forever the way symphonies were composed.

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra will perform one of the most radical symphonies ever written when it tours Beethoven’s mighty Eroica around the North Island in May.

The Eroica is an orchestral giant which shocked the concert hall on debut two centuries ago, changing forever the way symphonies were composed.

The masterwork marks the triumphant turning point in Beethoven’s career at a time when his encroaching deafness had threatened to overwhelm him.

Six-time Grammy-nominated Polish conductor Antoni Wit will lead the orchestra for the tour of Auckland, Hamilton, Napier, Palmerston North and Wellington. His international career spans more than four decades and he has recorded over 90 albums.

Antoni Wit has conducted many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Berlin and London Philharmonic Orchestras and the Dresden Staatskapelle. He is presently the General and Artistic Director of the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra.

The conductor is a specialist in Polish classical music and will open the concert with a work by twentieth century composer Krzysztof Penderecki, his former teacher.

The Eroica tour also includes exceptional young French cellist Sébastien Hurtaud who joins the orchestra to play Hadyn’s Cello Concerto No 2. Hurtaud returns to New Zealand after winning the prestigious Adam International Cello Competition in 2009.

• NZSO: Eroica

Antoni Wit conductor
Sebastien Hurtaud cello

PENDERECKI Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima
HAYDN Cello Concerto No 2
BEETHOVEN Symphony No 3 Eroica

Palmerston North / Fri 20 May / 6.30pm
Wellington / Sat 21 May / 8pm
Napier / Tue 24 May / 7.30pm
Hamilton / Thu 26 May / 7.30pm
Auckland / Fri 27 May / 7pm

For ticketing and information: www.nzso.co.nz

*Roger Smith of Radio New Zealand Concert will present a pre-concert talk 45 minutes before each performance. Admission is free and seating unallocated.