Location and date:
Sunday, 28th July, 2.30pm.
Old Library Building Arts Centre
7 Rust Avenue, Whangarei
Overview: Pianist, Stephen de Pledge, returns after a hugely successful concert in Whangarei in 2021. Currently Senior Lecturer in Piano at Auckland University, Stephen has won the coveted Gold Medal from the prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. A highly acclaimed career around the world as a soloist, chamber musician and accompanist has followed.
| Programme |
| Bach/Hess – Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring Haydn – Variations in F minor Hob.XVII:6 Schumann – Kinderszenen op.1 |
| INTERVAL Messiaen – Prelude ‘chant d’extase dans un paysage triste’ Debussy – Prelude ‘ce qu’a vu le vent d’Ouest’ Eve de Castro-Robinson (NZ) – Prelude ‘this liquid drift of light’ Chopin – Prelude op.28 no.15 ‘Raindrop’ Rachmaninoff – Prelude op.23 no.2 Improvisation Falla – Ritual Fire Dance |
Stephen de Pledge’s Musical Biography
New Zealand pianist Stephen De Pledge studied with Joan Havill at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he won the Gold Medal in his final year. He subsequently spent two years as a Junior Fellow at the Royal College of Music, and studied in Paris with Yvonne Loriod.
After winning the NFMS Young Concert Artist Award he made his debuts in the Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and St John’s Smith Square in London, and broadcast for BBC Radio 3 and BBC2 television. His concerto performances have included appearances with the Philharmonia, Bournemouth Symphony, New London, BBC Scottish Symphony and all the major New Zealand orchestras. His solo performances in recent seasons have taken him to Cologne, Paris and New York, as well as throughout New Zealand and Australia.
Stephen has given recitals with many musicians, including Dame Felicity Lott, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Viktoria Mullova, Raphael Wallfisch, Alan Hacker and Rivka Golani, and given chamber performances with the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet, Chamber Domaine and the Scottish Ensemble. His extensive discography includes works by Bliss, Barber, Messiaen, Shostakovich, Brahms, Mussorgsky and Prokofiev. He takes a particular interest in contemporary music and has worked with a great number of composers, making world premiere recordings for Arvo Pärt, Henryk Gorecki and Ned Rorem. The 1st piano concerto of Lyell Cresswell was written for him in 2012, and has been performed with four different orchestras and recorded both for Naxos and BBC Radio 3. In addition to his performing schedule Stephen De Pledge is Head of Piano at the School of Music, University of Auckland.