Christchurch Symphony Orchestra presents “Lamb & Hayward Masterworks: de Castro-Robinson, Mahler, Berlioz”
August 1, 2026 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Lamb & Hayward Masterworks: de Castro-Robinson, Mahler, Berlioz
Saturday 1st August 2026
7.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m.
Douglas Lilburn Auditorium
Christchurch Town Hall
Benjamin Northey – Chief Conductor
Faamanu Fonoti-Fuimaono – Baritone
Eve de Castro-Robinson – Hour of Lead
Mahler – Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Songs of a Wayfarer)
Berlioz – Symphonie fantastique Op. 14
We’re thrilled to perform Aotearoa composer Eve de Castro-Robinson’s compelling Hour of Lead in Te Waipounamu South Island for the first time. It has been described by the composer as “four movements on the notion of pain” and “a sombre reminder of life’s fragility.” A review of its 2024 premiere said, “the composer, called to the platform at the end, seemed like some kind of angelic or otherwise blessed visitant, come to lift the spell by which her work had held us all in thrall.”
In the wake of a tragic heartbreak, a young Mahler casts himself as the protagonist in his poignant Songs of a Wayfarer. A grief-stricken journeyman wanders aimlessly in nature, seeking peace but haunted by lost love. Rising Aotearoa baritone Faamanu Fonoti-Fuimaono guides us powerfully, at times tragically, through every tender moment.
Berlioz takes that same heartbreak, but spins it into a vivid, hallucinatory drama. Symphonie fantastique marked a musical revolution, daring in its originality, scale, imagination, and mastery of the macabre. Critics called it “bizarre” and “monstrous” – and meant it as high praise. The intensely cinematic music still resonates, most famously in the sinister opening of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.
With thanks to CSO Soloist Partner PKF Goldsmith Fox, and CSO Library Supporter Gwyn Rogers (Berlioz).
https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2026/cso-lamb-hayward-masterworks/christchurch