Ethereal magic in sacred work

Christchurch

"The opening, fragile and barely audible, was magical, setting the scene for the whole performance, secure and sensively shaped by Pietari Inkenen" says David Sell in The Press.

Verdi Requiem, 26 June 2013, Canterbury CBS Areana, Christchurch. NZSO with Christchurch City Choir and members of City Choir Dunedin, conducted by Pietari Inkinen

Verdi concert welcome ray of sunshine

Auckland

"Pietari Inkenen created a mood of appropriate serenity while the combined voices of Auckland Choral and Dunedin's City Choir moved smoothly, within seconds, from whispered testaments of faith to rousing a capella.

The great hurled cries of the Dies Irae were spectacular, against the orchestra's sonic fire and brimstone."

Reviewed by William Dart for the NZ Herald.

Verdi's Messa da Requiem, with soloists Lisa Harper-Brown, Margaret Medlyn, Rosario La Spina, Judd Arthur, Auckland Choral, 60 members of City Choir Dunedin, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra conducted by Pietari Inkenen, Auckland Town Hall, Saturday 22 June 2013.

Other reviews of the Auckland performance:

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and a star tenor shine in Verdi's Requiem in Auckland by Simon Holden

The day of judgment by Rod Bliss in The Listener of 6-12 July 2013 (click to view larger size):