About the event

A true Festival coup, we present internationally renowned New Zealand composer John Psathas’ immersive world premiere featuring six grand pianos and a sweeping digital audio landscape.

Taking inspiration from the poetic documentary Planetary, you’ll be transported around the world with sounds and music from the Amazon jungle, outer space (literally), Japan, Armenia, Africa, the Mahabharata, Aotearoa forests, roaring multitudes, predators from the wild, cataclysmic weather events, Tibetan meditation – and more than a dozen musical genres, all in 45 minutes.

Leading New Zealand pianists Stephen De Pledge, Arts Foundation Laureate Michael Houstoun, Somi Kim, Jian Liu, Sarah Watkins and Liam Wooding form a rare combination of instrumental heft and world-class talent – so rare, in fact, that as an extra treat we also present Six Pianos by groundbreaking and award-winning US composer, Steve Reich.