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Prominent New Zealand composer John Psathas is travelling the country this month with a “supergroup” dedicated to his music.
On tour with Chamber Music New Zealand, The John Psathas Group will perform at Dunedin’s Glenroy Auditorium on Saturday, August 15, at 7.30pm.
In a statement, Psathas described the concert experience as the “listening equivalent of an action movie”.
“The concert feels like one large work. It’s like you’re going in and hearing a massive meta composition of some kind, but the pieces are incredibly varied in nature and energy and levels of virtuosity,” Psathas said.
The John Psathas Group comprises four internationally recognised musicians: London-based pianist Dawn Hardwick, New York-based pianist Stephen Goslin, Zurich-based percussionist Fabian Ziegler, and percussionist Katarzyna Mycka, of Essen, Germany.
Each of the musicians have worked with Psathas for many years, but this is the first time they have performed together.
“They’re all virtuosi and they’re all incredibly exciting, dynamic musicians. I feel very honoured that they’ve agreed to be part of this ensemble,” Psathas said.
The composer will also take to the stage as a keyboardist in the show, which will feature a combination of live acoustic music with cinematic audio and video elements projected on a large screen.
Pianist and artistic director Hardwick said Psathas’ work fused jazz, world music and rock with virtuosic classical techniques and a focus on rhythm and intensity.
“It’s an ever-changing soundscape that constantly surprises and challenges the listener and the performer,” she said.
She was excited to work with leading instrumentalists from all corners of the globe, sound engineers, technicians and Psathas himself.
“What an extraordinary collective.”
Psathas’ music often tackles universal themes, such as the treatment of women, runaway economic models, technology and threats to human civilisation, such as nuclear war.