NZTrio Closes Out Dreamscape 2026 with Reverie

NZTrio He Taonga Wairere brings its 2026 Dreamscape season to a close with Reverie, a sweeping final programme moving between dreams and reality, romantic fervour, shimmering stars and the outer reaches of space.

Touring 10 centres across Aotearoa from 31 October – 4 December, Reverie brings together music by Hanna Kulenty, Adam Schoenberg, Leonard Bernstein and Robert Schumann, alongside the premiere of a major new work by New Zealand composer Karlo Margetić.

Reverie begins in a gently shifting world between sleep and wakefulness with Polish composer Hanna Kulenty’s A Cradle Song, an atmospheric work that rocks between dream and reality. From there, the shimmering textures of Adam Schoenberg’s Las Estrellas unfold into a celestial dance, before the first half concludes with Leonard Bernstein’s Piano Trio, written while the composer was still a student. Bursting with youthful brilliance and flashes of the quirky personality that would become unmistakably Bernstein, the work offers an early glimpse of the irrepressible energy later heard in his Broadway compositions.

At the heart of the programme is Icarus on Titan, a new 2026 NZTrio / SOUNZ Tarling Trust Commission written by Karlo Margetić especially for NZTrio, which situates the trio as explorers on an alien world, with a freedom and dynamism of movement not possible on Earth. Then, bringing the night and NZTrio’s 2026 Dreamscape series to its conclusion is the full Romantic intensity of Robert Schumann’s Piano Trio No. 3 in G minor, written as he neared the end of his life – a deeply expressive work filled with lyrical warmth and emotional urgency.

“We’ve had such a fantastic time with Dreamscape this year, and Reverie feels like a really special way to finish it. There’s so much in this programme that we love, and ending the series with a brand-new work by Karlo Margetić makes it even more exciting for us. We can’t wait to share this final Dreamscape programme with audiences around Aotearoa,” says NZTrio.

Featuring Amalia Hall (violin), Somi Kim (piano) and Matthias Balzat (cello), Reverie tours from Wellington to Taupō throughout November and early December.

REVERIE PROGRAMME
Hanna Kulenty – A Cradle Song
Adam Schoenberg – Las Estrellas
Leonard Bernstein – Piano Trio
Karlo Margetić (NZ) – Icarus on Titan (2026 NZTrio / SOUNZ Tarling Trust Commission)
Robert Schumann – Piano Trio No. 3 in G minor

REVERIE
31 Oct – Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui, Wellington – tickets
1 Nov – Sarjeant Gallery, Whanganui – tickets
4 Nov – Dunedin Public Art Gallery – tickets
5 Nov – The Piano, Christchurch – tickets
6 Nov – Nelson Centre of Musical Arts – tickets
8 Nov – Auckland Concert Chamber – tickets
14 Nov – Turner Centre Bar, Kerikeri – tickets
15 Nov – The Old Library, Whangārei – tickets
3 Dec – Rotorua Music Society, Sir Howard Morrison Centre – tickets
4 Dec – Ferner Galleries, Taupō – email for tickets here

OTHER PROGRAMMES
9–26 Sept – Chamber Music New Zealand, NZTrio+ nationwide tour – tickets 
5 Oct – Morning Melodies “Love & Loss”, Bruce Mason Centre – tickets 
28 Nov – Orchestra Wellington “Oceans”, Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington – tickets

Tickets and more information: www.nztrio.com/event-directory

Photo Credit: Jen Raoult