Having “conclusively proved his own versatility and panache” (Five Lines) in his 2023 NZSO concerts, André de Ridder returns in 2024 to conduct a cozy winter festival to warm the classical music fan’s heart.

The mostly Mozart programme that launches de Ridder’s festival features Mozart’s 40th Symphony, an absolute classic instantly recognisable from its opening main theme of repeating minor second intervals. We’ll also perform Mozart’s 21st Piano Concerto, fondly nicknamed, Elvira Madigan, thanks to the iconic use of its second movement in the film of the same name. A perfect vehicle for Andrea Lam’s NZSO debut! An Australian who lived for two decades in New York, Lam has returned to Australasia to immediately win praise for “her melting lyricism, filigree touch and spirited eloquence” (The Australian). 

To open the concert: Ligeti’s Concerto Romanesco, which follows in the folk-inspired footsteps of Georges Enescu and Béla Bartók.