ommissioned by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Ross Harris’s Fourth Symphony is a tribute to and a portrait of poet and songwriter Mahinārangi Tocker. Her movingly evocative words and songs serve as references for each movement, while a solo viola increasingly takes on her character and personality. The Cello Concerto was inspired by the brilliant playing of cellist Li-Wei Qin, its single continuous movement a dramatic dark-to-light journey filled with rich singing lines and extravagant virtuosity.
(Li-Wei Qin, cello; Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra; Garry Walker & Brett Dean, Conductor) (2014)