NEWS FOR 2019
VIOLIN CONCERTO PUBLISHED
Anthony's Violin Concerto has been published by Wai-te-ata Music Press. The concerto was premiered by American superstar Bella Hristova in 2014, a performance that can be viewed on youtube. The new score can be purchased from Wai-te-ata Music Press
NARA: a new CD featuring three of Anthony's recent chamber works
Three of Anthony's recent chamber works feature on a new CD released by the Swedish ensemble Klara Kollectiv, entitled Nara. The first,
Picture Stone for clarinet, violin and piano, was composed in Gotland, Sweden, when Anthony was composer-in-residence at the International
Composers' Centre, and is inspired by Viking artefacts and stories. The second, Violin Sonata No.3, was composed for Kiwi violinist Manu Berkeljon, based in Sweden.
The third is Three Scenes for Solo Clarinet, composed for Kiwi clarinettist, Anna McGregor.
All written in the last 3 years, these pieces sit alongside Lilburn's elegiac Clarinet Sonatina on the album, which is available from Rattle
The album can also be downloaded from SOUNZ.
RECORDING OF PAS DE DEUX (FOR TWO GUITARS) RELEASED
Husband and wife duo Jane Curry and Owen Moriarty have recorded and released a CD titled Music from New Zealand for Two Guitars. It is a beautiful recording of superb guitar playing, and as well as the Ritchie Opus 51a Pas de Deux also includes works by John Psathas and Jack Body.
RECENT PREMIERES
PREMIERE Es ist ein ros entsprungen
Anthony's new re-composition of the medieval carol es ist ein ros entsprungen was premiered in July in Dunedin by Voices NZ under Karen Grylls as part of a mid-Winter Christmas themed national tour.
OWHEO PREMIERE
Owheo was commissioned for and performed at a Gala concert celebrating the 150th anniversary of Otago University. Using words by Sue Wootton, the song traces the ancestry of the Owheo river that runs through the university, and reflects on the past and future. The performance was conducted by the composer with soloists Anna Leese and Rebecca Ryan, along with a special orchestra and choir assembled for the occasion. Dr Jennifer Catermole played taonga puoro.
HIPPOCRATIC HYMN PREMIERE
The NZ Doctors' Orchestra commissioned a new fanfare from Anthony, for brass, organ and percussion, which was premiered in The Dunedin Town Hall on June 23. The Hippocratic Hymn is an easy and appealing work that suits good amateur players. Score and parts can be ordered from the composer.
SPIRALS PREMIERE
Anthony had his string trio Spirals premiered at the Adam Festival in Nelson on Waitangi Day. Members of the NZ String Quartet played the commissioned work, which slotted into a NZ-themed concert. Spirals was inspired by Moku, and uses the shapes as a starting point for harmonic progressions and melodies.
RECENT PERFORMANCES
KIA KAHA TAMARIKI
Anthony was commissioned to write a piece for The Sinfonia of Hope's fundraising concert Cello for Africa in Wellington on November 24, at Te Rauparaha Arena. Kia Kaha Tamariki is a life-affirming piece bringing together aspects of African and Maori soundworlds, together with an ensemble that includes a choir of cellos, a solo violin and percussion.
THE HANGING BULB
The Hanging Bulb for orchestra was performed by The Matthew's Orchestra in Auckland on October 20. This is one of Anthony’s best-known earlier works and was part of an attractive programme that included Tchaicovsky's 5th symphony and the Bruch Violin Concerto.
FROM THE SOUTHERN MARCHES
21 years after its premiere Anthony's oratorio From the Southern Marches was performed again in the Dunedin Town Hall on August 24.
Soloists included Anna Leese, Emma Fraser and 2018 Lexus song-quest winner Joel Amosa. The City of Dunedin Choir was joined by the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Simon Over.
The concert-length piece celebrates 150 years of European settlement in Otago and Southland, and brings together many different texts from our history, set to music.
The brain-child of historian and
journalist George Griffiths, it is about "the nature of the southern region and the people who live it". The work presents us with a roller-coaster ride of moods and emotions.
SOUNZ recorded the performance for streaming. Details later
Search, instrumentation, buy PDF
NEWS ARCHIVE
THE MOON LANDING 50 YEARS ON
a celebration in opera
Anthony Ritchie and Stuart Hoar's 20-minute comic opera The Eagle has Landed was released on youtube on Saturday July 20, exactly 50 years after the moon-landing. The performance comes from the streets of Wellington,
and The CubaDupa Festival in 2018.
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin get a surprise to discover they are not the first to the moon. This colourful production by NZ Opera is directed by Jacqui Coates, with the quintet of singers
being accompanied by a piano quintet.
You can access the film through the SOUNZ (Centre for NZ Music) facebook site.
Enjoy the film!
ALBATROSS IN FLIGHT - NEW RECORDING
Anthony’s short concert opener Albatross in Flight (Opus 72) has had a superb online recording made with the NZ Symphony Orchestra. This 4 minute piece is vibrant and uplifting and not difficult for orchestras to play. Follow this link to SOUNZ (The Centre for NZ Music) for a listen!
NEW CD OF CHORAL WORKS: SURVIVORS
The newly launched CD Survivors reached No.5 on Radio NZ Concert's Classical Chart.
Anthony's recent choral compositions feature on a new CD Survivors released by Atoll Records in September. It features the Belgian choir Aquarius under their musical director Marc Michael de Smet, and includes new works such as Salaam and The Survivor as well as older works such as Widow's Songs. The recordings were made in a beautiful church in rural Belgium by this top a cappella choir.
The CD can be purchased from Marbecks or Relics