Conductor to follow father

Press, 19 October 1976, Page 10

Conductor to follow father

The son of a famous New Zealander will conduct the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in the 1977 proms season., Nicholas Braithwaite will pay his first visit to New Zealand, to give 20 concerts between January 29 and February 28. Mr Braithwaite is the son of the Dunedin-born conductor Warwick Braithwaite, who was resident conductor of the Nat-

ional Orchestra from 19521954. Like his father, he has a great interest in opera, and has conducted at Covent Garden, where his direction of the Wagner “Ring”‘-cycle received critical and public acclaim; at the Welsh National Opera; at Glyndeboume, where he is musical director of the Glyndebourne touring company. He is also a regular guest conductor at the Hamburg State Opera. In the concert hall, he has appeared in France and Scandinavia as well as with the 8.8. C. Symphony, the London Philharmonic, the New Philharmonia, the Halle Orchestra, the Scottish National Orchestra, and many others. Soloists in the 1977 “proms” will include the well-known Polish pianist, Andre Tchaikowsky, on his fifth New Zealand tour; Peter Schaffer, concertmaster of the N.Z.S.O, and Ronald Weatherburn, saxophonist with the orchestra; and the New Zealand singers Lynne Cantion, Anthony Benfell, and Roger Creagh, Miss Cantion was formerly on contract to the Hamburg State Opera, A highlight of some of the programmes will be Larry Pruden’s "Taranaki Overture” which had its premiere in New Plymouth on September 13. The 1977 N.Z.S.O. "proms” concerts will be in Christchurch from February 1 to 3, Timaru on February 4, and Nelson on February 5.