Northern Lights

Bay of Plenty Symphonia's end of year concert profiles the music of four Northern European composers - Sibelius (Finnish), Shostakovich (Russian), Smetana (Czech) and Wagner (German).

The centrepiece of the concert is the technically demanding Sibelius Violin Concerto, featuring top New Zealand and internationally renowned violinist, Martin Riseley.

Šárka, is a symphonic poem by Smetana, where the music is used to vividly depict the warrior princess after which the piece is named.

Wagner's beautifully evocative Forest Murmurs is part of his opera cycle, Ring Des Nibelungen. Here the string section portrays the swaying leaves and branches of the forest and the woodwind section, the birdsong.

The concert concludes with Shostakovich's Symphony No.9. This symphony is shorter and smaller scale than some of the composer's others. It is also devoid of patriotic pompous grandeur which was popular at the time.