Based in France, Hainsworth is returning home to New Zealand for a tour of the country through February and March, bringing a programme of high and low-brow music, along with witty and informative presentations.
The main feature of his Dunedin performance, to be held on Friday next week, from 7.30pm, is to mark the 56th "actual" birthday of Italian composer Gioachino Rossini, who was born on February 29, 1792.
Along with works by Rossini, including his William Tell Overture and March in B Flat, audience members will hear music by composer of the year Theodore Duboir, who died 100 years ago.
Also featured will be virtuoso brilliance from Scarlatti, Kreisler and Monti; and beautiful reflective moments from Mendelssohn, Vaughan Williams and Saint-Saens; while the magnum opus will be Bach’s great Prelude and Triple Fugue in E Flat.
The final piece will be a "grand megalomaniacal improvisation" on a theme of Rossini.
In creating the programme, Hainsworth is aiming to provide something for everyone — serious and less serious, entertaining but thought-provoking — while connecting music to the realities of life.
