Secrets

Name: Secrets
Start: 2025-09-20T09:30:00+12:00
Location: Michael Fowler Centre

Schedule

Sat, 20 Sep, 2025 at 09:30 am

UTC+12:00

Location

Michael Fowler Centre | Wellington, WG

Orchestra Wellington’s 2025 season, The Dictator’s Shadow,
follows Dmitri Shostakovich’s career, tracing his trajectory as a
brilliant young composer catapulted to early fame and then hurled into danger.
The next chapter in our story is Secrets, featuring an array of bold works and exciting talent! As we continue our exploration of Dmitri Shostakovich's journey 50 years after his death, we present his fourth symphony. The work, was meant to be his boldest statement yet — but the composer withdrew it before its premiere. Why? The whispers were clear: this music would not please the authorities. It stayed hidden for decades, a secret too dangerous to share.
We partner with At The World's Edge Music Festival (AWE) to present the stunning talents of soloists Benjamin Baker (violin) and Yura Lee (viola) in a performance of Mozart’s luminous Sinfonia Concertante. This work offers a moment of balance — a conversation between violin and viola, full of warmth and understanding, reminding us of beauty even in troubled times.
With generous support from the Orchestra Wellington Foundation we also reveal a brand-new secret: the world premiere of "House of the Faun" by WIlliam Philipson, the 2025 SOUNZ Commission for Orchestra and Sistema Youth Orchestra | Te Tono Mahinga a SOUNZ mā te Rāngi Puoro me te Rāngi Puoro Taiohi a Sistema. The work is designed to showcase the young musicians of Arohanui Strings+ by setting their playing against the full orchestra in a rich and immersive musical landscape.