Dunedin-based conductor Kenneth Young is looking forward to a "rewarding musical time" when he takes the podium for Dunedin Symphony Orchestra’s "Rhapsody" concert on Saturday.
The concert will combine drama, nostalgia and magic in a programme comprising Lilburn’s Drysdale Overture, Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, with piano soloist Sara Lee, and Vaughan Williams’ Symphony No.2, A London Symphony.
"The DSO and I are going to have the most rewarding musical time," Young said.
The Drysdale Overture looks back to a happy childhood on the Lilburn family farm and estate near Whanganui, written when 21-year-old Lilburn was studying with Vaughan Williams in London, on the eve of World War 2.
"It has both energy and poignancy, containing as it does one of the most beautiful melodies Douglas ever penned," he said.
Speaking to The Star on Monday, Young was also looking forward to starting work on Rachmaninov’s extraordinary Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the orchestra and soloist Sara Lee during this week’s rehearsals.
"Having studied for eight years at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, her desire to perform the Paganini Variations ... is a real coup for the DSO," Young said.
Packed with drama and lyricism, the Rhapsody is a tour de force, comprising 24 sparkling variations, of which No. 18 has become a popular work in its own right.
"Stylistically and technically, Sara will have learnt much about how to approach the work. The DSO audience, I suspect, is in for a rare treat."
Vaughan Williams’ London Symphony was influenced by folk melodies collected by himself and composer friend George Butterworth, killed at the Somme in 1916, and is filled with impressionist ideas and evocative imagery.
"The symphony is a four movement work for a large orchestra, and is full of wonderful tunes — I’m very fond of it," Young said.
Conducting Saturday’s "Rhapsody" concert comes after a busy period of composition for Young, whose new opera The Strangest of Angels, co-created with singers Anna Leese and Georgia Jamieson Emms, was premiered in Christchurch by NZ Opera in May.
The opera, which reflects on the experiences of author Janet Frame at Seacliff Mental Hospital, will feature in the Dunedin Arts Festival 2022 programme, with performances on October 12 and 13.
"[It] was my main focus while I held the Mozart fellowship, and it has been wonderful to bring this Dunedin story to life," Young said.
Young has recently been composing piano miniatures, before turning his attention to commissioned work.
"I’m enjoying living in Dunedin and being able to do things at the pace I want to do them," he said.
—The DSO’s "Rhapsody" concert will be held this Saturday, September 10, from 7.30pm at Dunedin Town Hall.
A free, 20-minute, pre-concert talk will be given by Professor Anthony Ritchie at 6.40pm, in the town hall complex.
