Double bass player John Mietus Photo: Supplied
In the new year, John Mietus, Associate Principal Double Bass of Auckland Philharmonia, will be flying to China for a unique opportunity.
On New Year’s Day, he'll give the very first performance of Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto for double bass and orchestra.
Composed in 1959 by Zhanhao and Gang Chen and inspired by Chinese folklore, the concerto tells the tale of star-crossed lovers and is one of the most famous Chinese orchestral works.
It’s grown in popularity since the late 1970s when China loosened its restrictions (including the ban on this work) after the Cultural Revolution, and now you can hear it in concert halls the world over - and it even turns up at figure-skating competitions.
RNZ Concert's Clarissa Dunn talks with John Mietus about the seven-movement work, and how he came to transcribe it for the double bass.
The concerto is around half an hour long but, unlike many major works, it doesn't end "loud and proud". In the story, the lovers are reunited in death, transformed into butterflies, never to be separated again.
"I think my favourite moment in this piece... [is that] we end drifting away, floating away, flying away... it's a challenge on the double bass - because if you know the size of a double bass, it's not flying anywhere any time soon!"
"But the ability to transport people to another realm through the music is both a challenge and a privilege, and I guess that feeling is what I love about this last movement the most."
You can listen below to the violin version of the final movement.
