New Zealand Symphony Orchestra

Since the middle of the twentieth century the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra has held a reputation as the country’s leading full-scale symphonic ensemble. As New Zealand’s officially designated national orchestra it receives state support, freeing it from the box-office pressures that affect independent groups. Roughly ninety musicians make up its roster, and they deliver more than one hundred concerts each year across the country, with the heaviest concentration taking place in Wellington, the ensemble’s home city, and Auckland. In the capital the orchestra appears at both the Wellington Town Hall and the Michael Fowler Centre, while a typical season also includes visits to as many as thirty additional New Zealand centers; occasional international tours further extend its reach. Although the players have produced many recordings across several decades, only in recent years has the orchestra become widely recognized by collectors in Europe and the Americas. Its discography includes releases on BMG, Koch International, Sony Classical, and Naxos.

Established in 1946 as the National Orchestra, the group did not perform its first concert until 6 March of the following year. From its founding until 1989 it operated under the New Zealand Broadcasting Service; after that date it became an independent body governed by a board appointed by the government. For most of its history the orchestra lacked an official music director. That situation changed in 1999 when English conductor James Judd was appointed its first music director. Earlier resident conductors included James Robertson, who served from 1954 to 1977, John Hopkins from 1957 to 1963, Juan Matteucci from 1964 to 1999, and Brian Priestman from 1973 to 1975. Priestman’s term is remembered for the orchestra’s first overseas tour, a series of concerts in Australia. Following his departure the ensemble adopted its present name and, until 1999, relied solely on principal and guest conductors. Judd remained in post until 2007; during his eight-year tenure the NZSO collaborated with such distinguished soloists as Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Lang Lang, and Hilary Hahn. Finnish conductor Pietari Inkinen succeeded him beginning in January 2008.

Among the orchestra’s notable Naxos recordings are the 2002 album containing Symphonies Nos. 1–3 by Douglas Lilburn, the 2005 DVD of Vaughan Williams orchestral works, both conducted by Judd, and the 2011 release The Emperor and the Nightingale by Jenny McLeod, led by Uwe Grodd.