Auckland Philharmonia | NZ Herald Premier Series: Grieg's Piano Concerto

Conductor Giordano Bellincampi
Piano Christian Ihle Hadland

Nielsen Helios Overture
Grieg Piano Concerto
R. Strauss Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme: Suite

Appearing in Australasia for the first time, Norwegian pianist Christian Ihle Hadland plays the evergreen concerto by his compatriot Grieg.

Strauss’s witty music to Molière’s comedy is one of those pieces which orchestral musicians love. It’s challenging, it’s rarely played, and it’s utterly charming. Audiences, meanwhile, find themselves falling in love with it too and wondering why it isn’t heard more often.

We begin with a hymn to the sun, which Nielsen composed while gazing at the warm Aegean Sea.