SYMPHONY 6

Anthony's Symphony No. 6 has been reviewed by Nick Barnard of MusicWeb International and Elizabeth Kerr of Five Lines. Begun during the first Covid lockdown in 2020, the work reflects on personal as well as societal challenges. The symphony has a meditative character, with reflections on love, death and spiritual realms.
A feature of the work is a recurring saxophone solo.

A Rattle Records CD of Symphony No. 6 has been recorded by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and is now available for purchase.

 

FAREWELL PERFORMANCE

Anthony’s recent composition Farewell, for bassoon and string quartet, is being premiered at the Martinborough Music Festival on September 24 - the day after the Symphony No 6 premiere! Commissioned by the festival, the piece was composed for Todd Gibson-Cornish, bassoon, and string players Donald Armstrong, Wilma Smith, Amanda Verner and Matthias Balzat. Tickets can be purchased from Martinborough Music Festival

HORN TRIO: RE-BIRTH

Anthony has composed a Horn Trio for the group Armstrong Jacobs Liu (Donald Armstrong, violin, Samuel Jacobs, horn, Jian Liu, piano). It uses the same combination of instruments as the famous Brahms trio, and complements it nicely in a programme.
It received its premiere in Upper Hutt, New Zealand, in March 2023 to an appreciative audience. The trio has toured other North Island centres and will be recorded for Radio New Zealand Concert. The work has a theme of regeneration following illness, as well as reflecting on childhood.
The trio will be performed again in Wellington on Sunday 16th July. This time Alex Hambleton will be playing the horn part. More info . . .
Score and parts are now available from the Works link on this website.

 

DAYDREAM BY THE CLUTHA

Anthony has composed a short piano piece that evokes a summery day in Central Otago by the beautiful Clutha river. It was commissioned by Rae De Lisle for publication in her pedagogical volume of New Zealand piano music entitled Fit 4 Piano Etudes: 12 etudes by New Zealand composers. It is designed for intermediate to advanced pianists.
The piece has just had its premiere, along with the 11 other etudes, all played by pupils of Rae. Daydream by the Clutha was performed by Melody Deng, and will be recorded by Stephen De Pledge to accompany the publication.

STRING QUARTET NO. 3

In May 2023 Anthony completed his third string quartet, 20 years after the second quartet. Anthony's quartet is sub-titled In time. Two dance movements frame the work, contrasting with two slow movements entitled Heartbeat and Funeral March. Sandwiched in the middle is a movement named Perpetual Motion. The work is a meditation on the passing of time, and explores the temporal nature of our existence; at the same time, it celebrates the joy of creating and performing music in time with each other.
The new work was premiered by The Jade Quartet on June 24 at Ferndale House in Mt Albert, Auckland. The Jade features Miranda Adams and Liu-Yi Retallick on violins, Robert Ashworth viola and James Yoo, cello.

NZ Piano Works published in China

Some of Anthony’s piano music has been included in an exciting project involving the first ever publication of New Zealand piano works in China. Pianists Jian Liu and Freya Yang and the NZ Music Trust in association with the Shanghai Music Publishing House has released two volumes of music for younger and more experienced players.
The volumes include Anthony’s Caroline Bay Suite , Olveston Suite and a selection of the 24 Preludes.
As well as the hard copy of the music scores, video of Jian Liu performing the works has been released on the YouTube channel for the New Zealand Music Trust and can be viewed by following the links above.

Search, instrumentation, buy PDF

PREMIERE OF Taioro ki te Ao

The new collaborative work for poet, viola and piano Taioro ki te Ao was premiered at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa on May 30. Poet Sharn Maree of Ngāpuhi, Te Whānau ā Apanui, has written the texts that explore Aotearoa’s past. Taioro ki te Ao is about lightness and darkness and focuses on issues from the colonial past, bringing them into the present. Donald Maurice, viola, and Sherry Grant, piano, perform the music between the verses. The new work was performed again on June 2 at the International Viola Congress, at Columbus State University, Georgia.
Read more. Watch first performance.

It received its first New Zealand performances in the 2023 Wellington Fringe Festival

ANTHONY'S film page at SOUNZ

SOUNZ Centre for NZ Music has created a page containing all the films they have made over the years of Ritchie performances. It is an amazing job they do to support NZ composers! Here is the Ritchie page.

ANTHONY'S FIRST 5 SYMPHONIES ON SOUNZ

Each of Ritchie’s symphonies have proved to be an impressive fusion of public utterance and personal journey. The current group of five will be joined by a sixth, also written due/in response to the COVID pandemic but it is clear from the five already performed that this is developing into a powerful cycle of post-modern symphonies the equal of any. Nick Barnard, MusicWeb International

Read more about Anthony's symphonies at Sounz.

Nota Bene

  • Nota Bene
  • P.O.Box 29-125
  • Christchurch
  • New Zealand

Waiteata Press

  • Waiteata Press
  • School of Music
  • Victoria University
  • P.O.Box 600
  • Wellington
  • New Zealand
  • http://www.vuw.ac.nz/wtapress

Trio Publications

  • Trio Publications
  • contact admin@anthonyritchie.co.nz

Treble Clef Music

  • Treble Clef Music Press
  • 415 Wesley Drive, Chapel Hill
  • NC 27516-1521
  • U.S.A.
  • Ph 919 932 5455
  • Fax 919 932 5418
  • mlycanclef@aol.com
  • http://www.trebleclefpress.com/

Promethean Editions

  • Promethean Editions
  • P.O.Box 10 143
  • Wellington
  • New Zealand
  • Ph 64 4 473 5033
  • Fax 64 4 473 5066
  • info@promethean-editions.com
  • http://www.promethean-editions.com/

Centre for NZ Music (SOUNZ)

  • P.O.Box 27347
  • Wellington
  • New Zealand
  • Ph 64 4 801 8602
  • Fax 64 4 801 8604
  • info@sounz.org.nz
  • http://www.sounz.org.nz/index.php

Pro Arte Publications

  • Pro Arte Publications
  • contact admin@anthonyritchie.co.nz

Bellbird Publications

  • Bellbird Publications
  • contact admin@anthonyritchie.co.nz

Massey University Press

  • Massey University Press
  • Private Bag 11 222
  • Palmerston North
  • New Zealand
  • Ph 64 4 356 9099
  • Fax 64 4 350 5672

Playmarket

  • P.O.Box 9767
  • Wellington
  • New Zealand
  • http://www.playmarket.org.nz/about_home.php
  • Ph 64 4 3828462
  • Fax 64 4 3828461

The Hanging Bulb

Cheryl Cam has written a study guide to Hanging Bulb for Years 11 to 13 (Form 5 to 7) with accompanying CD. It is part of the SOUNZwrite series.

SOUNZwrite is a series of study guides to works by New Zealand composers written especially for use in NZ schools. They are produced by the Centre for New Zealand Music and are written by composer and educator Cheryl Camm.

The guides contain:

  • background material on the composer
  • composition and analysis material
  • imaginative ideas for activities
  • information about related topics
  • a free CD of the works (with most)
  • graded task sheets ... and more
  • Class sets of scores also available containing original and orchestrated version.

Available from Sounz

Melancholia

Ears Wide Open : Taringa Areare

This latest SOUNZwrite Resource supports the music discipline in the new arts curriculum from levels 1 to 4. Researched and trialled by Cheryl Camm, it consists of:

  • Teacher Guide
  • Student Activity Book
  • a book of scores for performance and study
  • an accompanying CD with 23 different tracks of NZ music. $60

Ears Wide Open : Taringa Areare has many activities which link to other arts disciplines - drama, dance and visual arts - and other areas of the curriculum including science, social studies and English. Each activity has suggested learning outcomes and assessment ideas.

Learning experiences include:

  • rhythm and performance with Gareth Farr's Ruaumoko
  • how to play a guitar with Split Enz
  • musical texture with Clouds Over Pirongia by John Rimmer
  • the music of Tokelau through the Te Vaka Jigsaw
  • how music makes you feel with Melancholia by Anthony Ritchie
  • note reading with Other Echoes by Eve de Castro-Robinson
  • how your body responds to music with Judy Bailey's Now I'm Walkin'
  • Taonga Puoru with Tumatakokiri by Hirini Melbourne and Richard Nunns
  • ... and many other musical styles from pop and rock to Pacific, Maori, jazz, brass band, guitar, choir, percussion, orchestra and more...

Available from Sounz