Acclaimed English pianist Paul Lewis performs Beethoven’s entire Piano Concerto cycle in three back-to-back concerts with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in Tauranga from this Friday, 12 May.
Lewis, highly regarded around the world for his performances of Beethoven’s piano works, garnered rave reviews when he first played with the NZSO last year. The New Zealand Herald praised Lewis for his “seemingly inexhaustible keyboard wizardry” and “where orchestra and soloist seemed to be battling for the turf, creating breathtaking drama”.
Last year Lewis was also hailed as “one of the greatest interpreters of Beethoven’s music active today” for performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto cycle at the prestigious Tanglewood festival with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
The concerts on 12, 13 and 14 May, are a rare opportunity to enjoy Beethoven’s piano concertos in their entirety in Tauranga over three consecutive days.
Renowned Brazilian conductor Eduardo Strausser will lead the Orchestra for each concert, as part of the NZSO’s Immerse 2023 festival in association with Summerset Retirement Villages.
Lewis knows Beethoven’s Piano Concerto cycle inside out. He was the first pianist to perform all five concertos at the Proms. His later recording of the cycle with the BBC Symphony Orchestra was hailed by Gramophone magazine as “civilized, musically responsible and vital playing”.
“I think there’s definitely some kind of journey from the first to the last piano concerto,” Lewis has said. “I think it tells us very specific and valuable things about Beethoven. Each piece is completely unique.”
For Reverence, the second of the three concerts, Maestro Strausser also leads the Orchestra for Mozart’s uplifting Don Giovanni Overture.
For the third concert, Emperor, along with Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5, the concert features acclaimed New Zealand composer Ross Harris’ Cento, and Schumann’s triumphant Symphony No 2.
The NZSO will also present the three concerts in Christchurch (19-21 May) and Emperor in Wellington on 11 May.
