SIX BY ONE by Orchestra Wellington

SIX BY ONE 2015 SEASON

MARC TADDEI, MUSIC DIRECTOR

Orchestra Wellington has long been a fixture of Wellington’s musical life and the 2015 season looks set to again inject fun and flair into the region’s cultural calendar. With Michael Houstoun and all six Tchaikovsky symphonies featuring across the subscription series plus a return of the popular Baby Pops concerts aimed at younger listeners, Orchestra Wellington continues to show a commitment to providing varied and exciting programmes for Wellingtonians of all ages to enjoy. Partnerships are key for any arts organisation and I’m pleased to see Orchestra Wellington continues to have strong and fruitful relationships with organisations such as the Royal New Zealand Ballet and the New Zealand Opera. It’s also great to see a continued engagement with outreach initiatives, in particular the partnership with Arohanui Strings in the Hutt Valley, which encourages young people who might otherwise not have the chance to learn an instrument. I’m sure people throughout the region will appreciate this programme, which promises another outstanding year of music. Hon. Maggie Barry Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage

Orchestra Wellington is one of the Capital’s greatest cultural assets. We have world-class musicians and composers who call this city home, as well as many more who visit from all over the world and are effusive about how much they enjoy performing in Wellington. This year, one of my ambitions as Mayor is to advance the Capital’s reputation as a place where talent wants to be. Orchestra Wellington – as well as partners such as the Orpheus Choir of Wellington and the Royal New Zealand Ballet – is an integral contributor to this reputation, and has been since 1950. The 2015 season line up is exciting. The Subscription Concert series will feature all of Tchaikovsky’s Symphonies, which will excite music lovers from both traditional and modern backgrounds as well as prove an expressive demonstration of Tchaikovsky’s musical development. Orchestra Wellington will delight seasoned orchestral enthusiasts, and they have been working to make music of the genre more accessible: last year hundreds of children in the area benefited from their outreach initiatives, and this year Orchestra Wellington are expanding these to include younger students across the wider region. I am excited about Orchestra Wellington’s plans for 2015. Let’s appreciate as much as we can of Wellington’s artistic culture. Celia Wade-Brown Mayor of Wellington 3

Welcome to Orchestra Wellington’s grandest and most exciting season ever — SIX BY ONE. In 2015 we will perform all of the Tchaikovsky Symphonies. These are among the most beloved and popular of all symphonies and, taken as a whole, form one of the most important and lasting monuments of the Romantic era. They were to prove hugely influential to his compatriots as well as later generations of composers because of his unusual way with form: throughout the amazing progression we see how Tchaikovsky gradually leaves Germanic structural devices behind and replaces them with astonishing new forms that give his melodic genius full expression. These masterpieces are completely “Russian” in character and one can easily hear how Tchaikovsky’s melodies come forth fully formed and are in fact the defining building blocks of the symphonies. We are also pleased to feature Michael Houstoun as our soloist for the entire year! This is a chance to hear a great musician at the height of his powers performing repertoire in which he truly excels. Fittingly, Michael will perform virtuosic and flamboyant concerti by Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Scriabin, Shostakovich and Khachaturian. As a special treat, he will also present the world premiere of a concerto by Orchestra Wellington’s 2014 Composer in Residence, Karlo Margetic. Margetic has already been lauded as one of New Zealand’s most important composers, 6

and this major commission for Orchestra Wellington will undoubtedly be one of 2015’s most significant musical premieres. Wellington musical life is inconceivable without Orchestra Wellington. You can find us accompanying ballet, opera, musicals, choirs and popular artists throughout the year. We also have a significant educational presence through our schools programmes and are particularly proud of our association with the Arohanui String programme. Add in our ever-popular Baby Pops series, a family concert – featuring Maui’s Fishhook and Roald Dahl’s Dirty Beasts – a free children’s concert in the Gardens and a gala New Year’s Eve concert on the waterfront, and you will see – and hear – that we touch the lives of a huge number of Wellingtonians! Marc Taddei Music Director Adán E. Tijerina General Manager

Exclusive Subscription Price Attend all SIX BY ONE concerts and pay only $18 per concert. Offer available until 28 February 2015. Other Subscription packages available on our booking form at the back of this brochure. 7

HOUSTOUN TCHAIKOVSKY

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky When in the 1850s Anton Rubinstein lobbied to create Russia’s first professional Conservatoire of Music, he fell under attack by a cadre of Russian Nationalist composers led by Balakirev. They called Rubinstein’s supporters “the party of German musical reactionaries,” while their leading writer Vladimir Stasov sneered, “Perhaps Mr. Rubinstein does not know of the view, which has taken root in most of Europe, that academies and conservatoires serve only as a breeding ground for the talentless and facilitate the consolidation of pernicious notions and tastes in art”. How ironic then that its first graduating class of 1865 counted Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky among its alumni, for he was unquestionably a genius and no figure is more closely associated with the rise of a Golden Age of Russian music. It is true that Tchaikovsky began his career owing much to the European traditions and forms taught at the Conservatoire. But his symphonies chart his development of a form of music that is more organic, more personal, and more Russian. At first, he wanted to remain in the camp of “pure” abstract music: the tradition of Mozart and of most Beethoven. Tchaikovsky seemed to accept its constraints – within reason. In such symphonies the form is taken for granted, he said. “I keep to it – but only as to the large outline and proper 10

sequence of movements. The details can be manipulated as freely as one chooses.” But these constraints – building symphonies as a logical structure, a musical argument – never came naturally to him. Symphonic form was not the native language of the Romantic mind, and Tchaikovsky’s gifts strained away from the ideals of rationality represented by the sonata form or the fugue. Fugues are created through the most rigorous logic, and traditionally the first movement sonata form is the proving ground of a symphony, requiring that everything be in balance while moving inevitably towards a conclusion where all parts are at rest. Tchaikovsky was a melodist first and foremost. Melody, for him, expressed the inexpressible, and for him it always appeared ready-dressed with the harmony and orchestral colours that supported it. Because his melodies were so complete, it proved hard to transform them and reassemble them in the manner of his compositional heroes. Tchaikovsky’s themes could never be the interchangable blocks that Beethoven used to build his mighty structures. Tchaikovsky was bitterly aware of this. “All my life I have been much troubled by my inability to grasp and manipulate form in music. I fought hard against this defect and can say with pride that I have achieved some progress, but I shall end my days without having ever written anything that is perfect in form.” Instead he would dress each iteration of his themes in ever-richer harmony, or 11

new instrumental colouration, or set them against a new countermelody. At this, he was a master right from the beginning of his career. By the Fourth Symphony Tchaikovsky was well on his way to bending the symphonic form to fit his own strengths, and in so doing, he expanded the horizons of symphonic form to incorporate the spirit of the Romantic age. Romantic music allowed personal expression and admitted pictorial, dramatic, or poetic elements. In his Fourth, Tchaikovsky allowed the programmatic element, signalled by a powerful “Fate motif”, to drive the music. The composer Tanayev objected, calling the Fourth, “a symphonic poem with three more movements slapped on”. It was not a symphony, he said, but “a story told in music”. Tchaikovsky’s response admitted that his symphony followed a programme, but not one that could be expressed in words. “But is this not proper to a symphony, the most purely lyrical of musical forms? Should not a symphony reveal those wordless urges that hide in the heart, asking earnestly for expression?” Tchaikovsky asked. Indeed, he felt that symphony and ballet music tackled the same world of emotion from different directions – in the symphony it could be more personal, whereas the ballets were more “decorative”. He also liked to bring in that decorative element of physical gestures and drama, the beautiful forms of the dance, into the central movements of his 12

symphonies. But the outer movements became increasingly personal statements of his inner life. By his last symphony, he could write music that was a testament to his inner life, brilliantly contained within a logical structure that conformed to his dramatic requirements. At the same time by “expressing the inexpressible” he could speak to the inner lives of his audience. Tchaikovsky was the first fully professional Russian composer. During his highly influential career he sought to unify the Western symphonic tradition with his own Russian voice. His triumph was in his ability to fuse the symphonic form with psychological drama, to blend personal elements with the musical traditions of his country. All this was clothed in such richly evocative harmony and orchestral colours that audiences have always been swept up with an instinctive response to his music. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893)

HOUSTOUN TCHAIKOVSKY

Michael Houstoun Michael Houstoun was born in Timaru, New Zealand, in 1952. He studied with Sister Mary Eulalie and Maurice Till, and by the age of 18 had won every major piano competition in New Zealand. His first international success came in 1973 when he won third prize at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Further study with Rudolf Serkin followed and in 1975 he took fourth prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition. After six years living in the USA and London (where he undertook valuable study with Brigitte Wild), he returned to New Zealand in 1981 where he has remained ever since. One more international competition, the Tchaikovsky in 1982 where he took sixth place, signalled the end of his competitive career. Since then he has amassed aÂ large repertoireÂ of over 50 concertos and a broad array of chamber music, orchestral scores, and song accompaniment, including an increasing number of commissions from New Zealand composers. His connection with Orchestra Wellington dates back to the first subscription concert of what was then the Alex Lindsay String Orchestra, in 1972. Since then he has performed with the orchestra regularly, including an entire season as conductor in 1996. He has performed in the USA, Europe, Australia and Asia, and is renowned for being the only New Zealand pianist to perform the 16

complete cycle of Beethoven sonatas, the first in celebration of his 40th birthday, and the second in nationwide tours for Chamber Music New Zealand in 2013 (released in 2014 on Rattle Records). His awards include the Turnovsky Prize (1982), an honorary doctorate in literature (Massey University, 1999), a New Zealand Arts Foundation laureateship (2007), an honorary doctorate in music (Victoria University of Wellington, 2011), and Life Membership of Chamber Music New Zealand. He is Advocate for Chamber Music New Zealand and Patron of the Nelson School of Music, the Regent on Broadway theatre in Palmerston North, the Kerikeri International Piano Competition, The New Zealand Institute of Registered Music Teachers and the New Zealand Music Examinations Board. His discography to date includes six Tuis (best classical album) at the NZ Music Awards, and in 2012 he was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Diamond Jubilee Queenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Birthday honours.

GIANTS OF RUSSIAN PIANO

From the time that the Promethean figure of Anton Rubinstein burst across the Russian music scene, Russia has been enthralled by a cult of heroic pianist/composers. Rubinstein was a touring virtuoso, who combined, it is said, “the highest ideals of pianism plus a wild, untamed heroic performance style”. Audiences were enthralled by his magnetism, power and deep sentiment. Swept up by inspiration, he was famously inaccurate – and to compensate, demanded fantastic accuracy from his students. A well-regarded composer in his day, as a pianist he was revered by Russian pianists as a saint, a force of nature, an Old Testament prophet. In 1862 Rubinstein opened the doors of the St Petersburg Conservatoire, the first Russian school dedicated to producing a class of professional musicians educated in the most stringent European tradition. He wanted his conservatory to be the legacy by which he would be remembered. Indeed it was an immediate success: Tchaikovsky, whose symphonies the orchestra features this season, was in the first class to graduate in 1865; Prokofiev, whose third concerto we will play, would later become another star graduate. Rubinstein’s influence lasted well into the 20th century, inspiring a long list of mighty pianists including Hofmann, Busoni, Paderewski, Hambourg, Gabrilowitsch and Lhévinne. Public appreciation for their recitals could attain a pitch of frenzy, and neither 20

war, revolution or privation could stop the Russian public from attending their concerts with the highest enthusiasm. Rachmaninov never forgot the impression Rubinstein’s playing made on him, and most of our piano concerto composers this year claim Rubinstein in their pedagogical lineage. Anton Rubinstein’s brother Nikolai was also a superb pianist though more restrained in his style. He followed Anton’s lead in setting up a professional music academy, the Moscow Conservatoire. Our other featured composers this year, Scriabin, Khachaturian and Shostakovich, were products of that school. Our soloist Michael Houstoun observed the legacy of the conservatoire system while in Moscow for the 1982 Tchaikovsky competition, where he prepared his round on the conservatoire pianos, “thrashed” as he put it, by who knows how many legendary performers. “You did get an audience that was incredibly knowledgeable about Russian repertoire. Lots of the audience were trained musicians themselves. They knew all the editions, and the mistakes in the editions too!” Houstoun says. “The basics of the Conservatoire system is that you have to master technique to a certain level. In other places, people do the best they can with what gifts they have. In Russia, if you didn’t play your scales to a certain metronome marking, you would fail! I get the feeling that they separated technique off and worked it to a certain degree, 21

and it’s fairly central to the Russian system,” he says. “I think the Russian musicians have all the Russian repertoire before they learn Beethoven and Mozart. So they know their Tchaikovskys but also their Myaskovskys and Liadovs and a lot of their music is tough so they’re almost forced to become virtuosos.” Houstoun says the Russian composers whose works we are playing all wrote to their abilities as pianists. “Prokofiev was a major virtuoso and wrote accordingly. As was Rachmaninov.” “The Rachmaninov is long, with millions of notes and few pauses, so you’re playing all the time. It’s considered a stamina piece, but that doesn’t do it justice. It’s huge, but also magnificent and beautiful. I think it’s often not given its due, because there is a great deal more there than just pretty tunes. His harmonic language makes him susceptible to melodramatic interpretation, with those lush harmonies. People think of melodrama, of film music, but it’s not, it’s deeply personally Rachmaninovian. “As a pianist, Khachaturian didn’t have such a wide variety of techniques and his writing reflects that. But his music is exotic, and I like that exoticism a lot. It’s Armenian, not just a Moscow Conservatoire product. I think Khachaturian was ruined by Spartacus, by its use in The Onedin Line – after that he got sidelined because people saw him as a film composer. Pianists have stopped playing this piece in recent years, so people will be surprised by how much they enjoy this! 22

Prokofiev gave advice to Khachaturian when he was composing his piano concerto. “If you have any ideas at all, write them down! Don’t wait until you have a place for them. You can look at them later and see how you might use them.” (Indeed, Prokofiev’s Third had a long gestation and included themes he first sketched a decade before.) “We pianists love Prokofiev’s Third. It’s hard but it’s so incredibly effective.” “Shostakovich’s concerto is also a very effective piece. He always uses rhythm to his advantage. In terms of difficulty, it’s somewhere in the middle. Difficult, but not outrageously so. Shostakovich saw it as a piece of entertainment and he got it right – it is very entertaining. But it’s tricky, with lots of single notes, fast and loud. The first movement is almost like he’s poking his tongue out. The third movement mocks pianistic training – there are scales and five-finger exercises. It’s a bit of a dag! But I play it very serious. You’ve got to get into it like a student would. And that beautiful slow movement – I don’t know where he got that from! “Scriabin was a fantastic pianist. He was not as interested in rhythm as the others, and his concerto is not an in-your-face virtuoso concerto. But if you don’t have a feeling for his music, you could never do it: it needs that poetic nature. Something like Rachmaninov, you can get close to having it simply by playing all the notes. But the Scriabin, its qualities are veiled, and it’s almost like a meditation. I think it’s a fabulous work.” 23

KAMARINSKAYA LITTLE RUSSIAN POLISH FATE PROVIDENCE PATHÉTIQUE

SIX BY ONE 2015 SEASON

MARC TADDEI, MUSIC DIRECTOR

KAMARINSKAYA

“Our entire season has a Russian flavour and to bring the year to a flamboyant start we open with Kamarinskaya, a work that Tchaikovsky called “the acorn from which the oak of Russian music grew”. Tchaikovsky’s first symphony, “Winter Daydreams” sees him assuming the mantel of Glinka but also grappling with the heritage of Germanic composers. This work results in an authentic “Russian” symphony with all of his brilliant trademarks. Rachmaninov’s 3rd piano concerto is so well known and loved it almost needs no introduction! It is one of the most challenging works in the repertoire and it demands a virtuoso of the highest calibre. Enter stage right, Michael Houstoun…” Marc Taddei

ARTIST SPONSOR

Glinka Kamarinskaya Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 1 Michael Houstoun Piano Marc Taddei Conductor Saturday 18 April, 7:30pm Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington Sunday 19 April 2015, 4pm Masterton Town Hall

Mikhail Glinka Kamarinskaya Before Glinka, Russian composers had not thought to use the rich vein of Russian folk music as the basis of their inspiration for orchestral music, being content to copy the Central European styles they considered proper to art music. In 1848 Glinka was struck by the inspiration to combine two Russian melodies, the wedding song “From behind the mountains” and the dance tune “Kamarinskaya” into a set of variations for orchestra. In so doing, he became “the father of Russian composers” and started the Nationalist movement in composition. In this seminal piece, the wedding tune appears first, decorated with different accompaniments, and then the dance tune, which Glinka presents in varied and colourful guises. Duration: 7 minutes Mikhail Glinka (1804–1857)

Sergei Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 Rachmaninov wrote this concerto in 1909, in the peaceful surroundings of his family estate in Ivanovka. Later that year he made a concert tour of the United States, where he premiered the concerto, garnering great acclaim both as a performer and a composer. For its second performance, none other than Gustav Mahler conducted the New York Philharmonic. “He devoted himself to the concerto until the accompaniment, which is rather complicated, had been practiced to perfection, although he had already gone through another long rehearsal. According to Mahler, every detail of the score was important – an attitude too rare amongst conductors,” Rachmaninov said. The concerto has a reputation for difficulty, no doubt helped by the fact that its dedicatee, the piano virtuoso Josef Hofmann, considered it beyond him to perform it in public. In the 1930s during Rachaminov’s exile in the United States, he befriended his compatriot and fellow exile, Vladimir Horowitz, who championed the work, playing it often during his long career. “This is the way I always dreamed my concerto should be played, but I never expected to hear it that way on Earth,” Rachmaninov said.

1. Allegro ma non tanto. The piano enters almost immediately on a bed of gently swaying orchestral sound. The opening theme serves as the germ for much later development, linking all three movements thematically. The gentle opening soon builds into more urgent music driven by fast piano passagework; a contrasting slower theme in the orchestra introduces the second theme. After some development, the piano cadenza, briefly interrupted by gentle woodwind solos, leads to the short recapitulation. 2. Intermezzo: Adagio. The orchestra introduces an intense, almost prayerful main melody, which is treated to a series of variations from which one of the themes from the first movement emerges. The lush romanticism is tempered by the quicksilver scherzo variation in the middle. The opening melody returns before the piano announces the next movement. 3. Finale: Alla breve. Again, themes from the first movement reappear in a fresh guise in this movement, heavily ornamented and extended by brilliant passagework on the piano. The ending soars, with the piano an equal partner to the entire orchestra. Duration: 39 minutes Sergei Rachmaninov (1873â&#x20AC;&#x201C;1943)

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 1 in G minor (1866 to final version, 1874) In 1866 Tchaikovsky was 26 and crossing the divide between student and professional life. He had just graduated from the St Petersburg Conservatory in 1865 with his confidence dented by the savage criticism his setting of Schiller’s Ode to Joy received from Cesar Cui. But Tchaikovsky was immediately offered a teaching post at the new Moscow Conservatoire and his new mentor there, Nikolay Rubinstein, encouraged him to write a symphony. Tchaikovsky’s mental health broke down as he juggled his teaching hours and composed late into the night. His former mentors in St Petersburg, Anton Rubinstein and Nikolay Zaremba, disliked the drafts Tchaikovsky showed them and as he struggled with revisions he fell into despair to the point of insomnia, fits and hallucinations. Yet in the end he triumphed, creating a symphony full of Tchaikovsky’s characteristic sense of melody, movement and colour. He named it “Winter Daydreams”, perhaps inspired by the landscapeinfluenced music of Mendelssohn, which he admired. But it is a winter with little gloom.

1. Allegro Tranquillo. A lively dramatic sense keeps up the variety with which Tchaikovsky dresses each of the markedly Russian-sounding themes forming the first movement. 2. Adagio Cantabile. The slow movement begins dreamily in the strings, before a singing oboe line enters, graced with little ornamental touches. Tchaikovsky develops the melody in different orchestral colours, as would become his typical method. 3. Scherzo: Allegro Scherzando. The third movement includes a waltz – typically, Tchaikovsky invokes the energy of the ballet in his middle movements. 4. Finale: Andante lugubre – Allegro maestoso. The gloomy opening is based on a Russian folk tune. The following Allegro transforms the same tune into two dramatic themes before developing them fugally. A brief return of the symphony’s introduction accelerates to the grand conclusion. Duration: 44 minutes Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893)

LITTLE RUSSIAN

“The Little Russian sees Tchaikovsky using the folk music of his native land to stunning effect. His ability to incorporate these tunes into complex structures had a significant influence on later composers, including Stravinsky, who revered him. “Michael Houstoun performs Prokofiev’s most popular concerto. From its lyrical opening clarinet melody to its exciting close in C major, this is a delight from start to finish. “I have known Leila Adu for 15 years and have followed her amazingly varied career ever since. Her musicianship is stunning and the song cycle that she has written as part of her residency with Orchestra Wellington will surely be much admired.” Marc Taddei

Adu Blessings as Rain Fall Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 2 Leila Adu Vocals Michael Houstoun Piano Marc Taddei Conductor Saturday 20 June 2015, 7:30pm Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington

Blessings as Rain Fall This song’s melodies travel and reappear in each stanza embedded in different tonalities: I am creating musical colour fields of beauty that can be enjoyed by everyone. The “intricate dance”, “wonderful harmony,” “marvelous polyphony, mantra, song and melody” in the lyrics of the poemlike prayer are mimicked in the orchestra. I chose the Buddhist text ‘Blessings Fall as Rain,’ for its directness, beauty and because it does not mention deities—for all of these reasons it is open to anyone with any religion or belief system: “May all hindrances that now confuse experience, be quickly cleared away.” I moved the word “Fall,” changing it to “Blessings as Rain Fall” for the song, to bring forth an imperative syntax, as in these times of environmental danger and international greed, the planet is especially in need of blessings. Animating the text through music is in keeping with its history: it was written by the late Tibetan Buddhist lama Kalu Rinpoche, translated by his student and revised by my teacher, lama Chime Shore at Coorain in Australia, who says that we need to understand these prayers as “a continuous work in progress, like endless variations on a song that needs to be sung always.” Leila Adu

2014 Emerging Composer-in-Residence Born in London with a Kiwi mother and a Ghanaian father, Leila Adu came to New Zealand when she was four and grew up in Christchurch. After gaining a degree in composition majoring in electronic music and theatre and film orchestration, her immense musical curiosity took her to study gamelan in Bali, and to play and record with bands in London, Melbourne and Rome. She also received a Princeton Institute of International and Regional Studies grant towards a visit to Accra, Ghana, for her PhD research on electronic music and hip-hop producers. For Adu, writing and singing her own music has been her major passion since the age of 15. Adu is currently a Doctoral Fellow at Princeton University and has written for the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the Brentano String Quartet and So Percussion. Image: Melissa Cowan Photography

Sergei Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26 Prokofiev was a brilliant pianist, and this concerto was a vehicle for his talents that gained immediate popularity when he premiered it in Chicago in 1921. The work is based on themes he had been considering since at least 1910. He felt he needed a lighter piece to contrast with his wild and challenging 1912 second piano concerto. Since then he had been moving towards greater economy and lucidity in works such as his Classical symphony. Begun in Russia just after the 1917 revolution, this concerto was completed in much more congenial surroundings in Brittany.

1. Andante – Allegro. A yearning quiet introduction is quickly brushed aside by a colourful Allegro that maintains a playful forward drive until the opening theme returns with almost cinematic force. Rapid toccata passages from the piano propel a mad dash to the end, detained a few times by passages that linger over Prokofiev’s unique orchestral colours. 2. Theme and Variations. The beautiful melody is quintessential Prokofiev. Five variations and a coda take it through moods and colours ranging from martial or boisterous to dreamily nocturnal. 3. Allegro ma non troppo. The third movement takes the form of a rondo. A bustling theme on the bassoon is rudely interrupted – Prokofiev likes to do that – by the piano evidently saying, “no, let me do it!” A good-natured combat follows, with the orchestra and piano taking turns to show how it really goes. A slow, reflective theme from the orchestra is followed by a quiet, angular piano passage. After building to a great lyrical climax the fast music from the beginning reappears in a dazzling coda. Duration: 27 minutes Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953)

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 2 in C minor (1873, revised 1879) “Little Russian” Tchaikovsky loved Russian folk song and the chants of the Russian Orthodox Church and created many settings and arrangements of them. In 1872, while visiting his sister in the Ukraine, he picked up some of the local folksongs of the area, then known as “Little Russia”, and began work on the Second Symphony. 1. Andante Sostenuto – Allegro vivo. Tchaikovsky takes a local variant of the melody “Down by Mother Volga” and sets it for solo horn as the symphony’s opening. After dressing it in various orchestrations, he takes a fragment of it to create the allegro first subject. The striking tune from the beginning reappears in the development; Tchaikovsky then reserves it to reappear as the triumphant coda. 2. Andante marziale, quasi moderato. The second movement uses the bridal march from his opera Undine (mostly burned by Tchaikovsky after he completed it). It’s not a happy wedding, so it’s a serious little melody. A contrasting melody enters and the movement proceeds by setting these two to different countermelodies and colours. The middle of the movement is a third theme, another lovely Russian folksong. 40

3. Scherzo and Trio: Allegro molto vivace. The third movement is full of rhythmic interest as its heavily accented beats constantly shift; the trio is a little hopping dance in 2/8. 4. Finale: Moderato assai – Allegro vivo. After a grand opening, the movement forms around another very popular Ukrainian tune, “The Crane”, a surprisingly playful little theme that he runs through a variety of scorings before the violins introduce another melody with an offbeat, slightly lurching rhythm, foreshadowing his experiments with 5/4 in later works. Tchaikovsky tries his hand at some more complex modulations, working through a number of different keys before arriving at the ending, marked ‘presto’. He played this work on the piano to the more Nationalist composers of “The Five” assembled at Rimsky-Korsakov’s house. According to a letter to his brother Modeste, “they nearly tore me to pieces with enthusiasm”. Duration: 32 minutes Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893)

POLISH

“Tchaikovsky’s “Polish” symphony is unique among all of his symphonies in that it is in a major key and has five movements. It is very free in inspiration and one hears intimations of the great ballet scores that he was just about to begin writing. “Michael Houstoun performs the exotic Scriabin Piano concerto. Scriabin was known as the “Russian” Chopin and one can readily hear the influence of the great Polish composer in this gorgeous concerto. The opening work is almost impossibly famous, thanks to Walt Disney’s 1940 film, Fantasia. Mussorgsky said of his Night on the Bald Mountain that “the form and character of this work are Russian and original” and this work is one of the monuments of Russian Romantic music.” Marc Taddei

ARTIST SPONSOR

Mussorgsky Night on Bald Mountain Scriabin Piano Concerto Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 3 Michael Houstoun Piano Marc Taddei Conductor Saturday 8 August 2015, 7:30pm Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington

Modeste Mussorgsky Night on Bald Mountain (1867) Mussorgsky had the sort of musical education many sons of wealthy landowners could expect to receive. But music was barely a viable profession in Russia at that time, and Mussorgsky followed a military career in the Preobrazhensky regiment until 1858, when he resigned in order to compose full time. At the time he was under the influence and tutelage of Balakirev; however the two were estranged after a quarrel in 1861. Balakirev said he was abusing his talent in dissolute living, and Mussorgsky said he was tired of being led by the hand like a child. Balakirev was something of a micro-manager towards the composers he led as part of The Five. He insisted that Mussorgsky revise Night on Bald Mountain according to his instructions. Mussorgsky refused, and posterity has shown that his own confidence in the work was justified. The work is inspired by a story of Gogolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s describing witches and evil spirits celebrating a Black Sabbath. Duration: 12 minutes Modeste Mussorgsky (1839â&#x20AC;&#x201C;1881)

Aleksander Scriabin Piano Concerto Op. 20 in F-sharp minor Scriabin and Rachmaninov – two of Russia’s greatest composer-pianists – were classmates. Scriabin’s biographer Sabaneeff described the tiny, fidgety Scriabin as lacking the dominance, the power of an artist-hero, “but he had a burning, blinding, unearthly joy. Moreover Scriabin did not need or understand power. It was foreign to him”. At one time, Scriabin was derided by the Stalinist regime as “a degenerate formalist of the worst sort” but later lauded as a vital force in Russia’s musical history. Later pianists such as Vladimir Ashkenazy and Sviatoslav Richter cite their early exposure to Scriabin’s music as a powerful formative experience. The young Scriabin was a composer of Chopinesque miniatures suited to his brilliant pianistic technique, barely prefiguring the later mystic Scriabin with his grandiose, hugely orchestrated ideas that headed towards the atonal worlds of Schoenberg and Bartok. But although this concerto is far from Scriabin’s quasireligious later works, the listener should be aware that he was always in contact with a sense of mystical joy and this music already hints at moments of rapture. As he said in one of his notebooks: “I will ignite your imagination with the delight of my promise. I will bedeck you in the excellence of my dreams. I will veil the sky of your wishes with the sparkling stars of my creation. I bring not truth, but freedom.” 46

Written in only a few days, Scriabin orchestrated this piano concerto the next year, 1897, when it was premiered. 1. Allegro. This delicate concerto opens with a calm, contemplative phrase on horn and strings, completely unlike a standard concerto. The piano replies almost immediately with fullblooded romanticism. 2. Andante. Theme and variations. The middle movement opens with a blissfuly content theme in the strings. The four variations that follow range from a delicate embroidery of piano decoration to more boisterous passages involving the whole orchestra. 3. Allegro Moderato. The opening statementâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rousing, dotted rhythm alternates with brilliantly florid decorations so that the music appears to lunge forward energetically then relax into a elaborate gestures. The finale seems to promise a big Rachmaninovian climax but instead it finishes abruptly with three tremendous chords while the piano rings on like a bell: signposts to the future Scriabin, obsessed by bells. Duration: 28 minutes Aleksander Scriabin (1872Ââ&#x20AC;&#x201C;1915)

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 3 in in D major (1875) “Polish” Tchaikovsky wrote this symphony in 1875 while on holiday from his Moscow Conservatory job, visiting friends and family in the country. The name “Polish” refers to the polonaise rhythm in the last movement; otherwise the symphony is not allied to any nationalist manifesto. 1. Introduzione e Allegro – Moderato assai. The opening has a ballet-like scene-setting quality. It is followed by an allegro whose rhythmic squareness contrasts with the hesitant music before it. Tchaikovsky works with the first movement sonata form, developing the main themes and creating some fugal passages. This formal element become less important to him in his later symphonies. 2. Alla Tedesca – Allegro moderato e semplice. A waltz in the style that would soon become familiar in the ballet he was soon to write, Swan Lake. 3. Andante elegiaco. This slow movement, which Tchaikovsky develops freely and imaginatively, is the real winner in this symphony. Its evocative orchestration and the personal introspective nature of the melodies are immensely appealing.

4. Scherzo: Allegro Vivo. The fast, delicate runs and gossamer textures recall one of Tchaikovskyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s early idols, Mendelssohn. 5. Finale: Allegro con fuoco (tempo di Polacca). Again Tchaikovsky works in some traditional academic techniques including a fugue, but the overriding impression of this movement is very balletic. There is a sense of drama and physical gesture that make it easy to imagine a corps de ballet performing a triumphant finale. Duration: 46 minutes Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840â&#x20AC;&#x201C;1893)

FATE

Our fourth concert features Tchaikovsky’s breakthrough work. The Fourth Symphony is Romantic to its core, with clear programatic expressions of fate, melancholy, grandeur and joy. The “fate” motif makes its appearance at significant points and was modeled on the “fate” motif of Beethoven’s fifth symphony. “We partner this work with two wonderful concertos. The 2nd Piano Concerto of Shostakovich was written for his son, Maxim, and has one of the most beautiful slow movements in the entire orchestral repertoire. “Our connection with New Zealand’s longest running concerto competition, the Gisborne Intl. Music Competition, continues with 2013’s winner, Australian guitar virtuoso Andrey Lebedev opening our concert with the most famous guitar concerto ever written.” Marc Taddei

CONCERT SPONSOR

Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 2 Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 Andrey Lebedev Guitar Michael Houstoun Piano Marc Taddei Conductor Saturday 5 September 2015, 7:30pm Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington

Joaquín Rodrigo Concierto de Aranjuez Rodrigo was born in Sagunto near Valencia. A bout of diptheria when he was five caused him to become blind, and he was educated at Valencia’s School for the Blind. There his musical gifts were soon realised, and as well as studying piano and violin, he went on to take lessons with the noted composer and organist Francisco Carbonell. In 1927 he went to Paris, where he studied with Paul Dukas. His career was for many years a difficult one, with his native land in turmoil during the Spanish Civil War. It was this concerto, premiered in Barcelona in 1940, that marked the beginning Rodrigo’s reputation and success as a Spanish composer. Rodrigo said he imagined his concerto existing for “an imaginary instrument which might be said to possess the wings of the harp, the heart of the grand piano and the soul of the guitar”. The piece is named for the Aranjuez Palace near Madrid. Each movement celebrates an aspect of Spain. Duration: 21 minutes Joaquín Rodrigo (1901–1999)

Andrey Lebedev Recognized for his powerful and expressive sound and exceptional musicality, classical guitarist Andrey Lebedev has defined himself as an artist pushing the boundaries of the instrument and gaining acknowledgment from new audiences. Born in Moscow and raised in Adelaide, he was brought to international attention as the only classical guitarist to win the Australian National Fine Music Young Performers Award and the Sydney Eisteddfod NSW Doctors Orchestra Instrumental Scholarship. His artistry was further highlighted as Winner of the 25th Gisborne International Music Competition, and as the only Australian winner of the Adelaide International Guitar Competition. Lebedev enjoys a varied career as soloist with orchestra, solo recitalist and chamber musician work. 53

Dmitri Shostakovich Concerto No. 2 in F Major, Op. 102 Shostakovich was himself a great pianist, and once considered this as a career rather than composing. In 1933 he wrote his first piano concerto and toured performing it around the Soviet Union. This second one is a much later work, from 1957; he wrote it for his son Maximâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 19th birthday. What a gift! Maxim played it as his graduation piece for the Moscow Conservatory. Maxim was by all accounts a lively and mischievous young man, so this piece could be a character study for him, or at any rate a work written to suit his temperament. In the mid-fifties, Shostakovich senior was for once free of much of the oppression that dogged his life, and this may be another reason why this piano concerto is such pure fun: for once, there is no need for tortured undercurrents or cryptic utterances.

1. Allegro. A sunny little woodwind march opens, quickly joined by the piano in a simple style. Then the piano rushes off at express tempo, whipped on by the side drum. After the rest of the orchestra has joined in, the piano takes over again in a gentle second subject melody, accompanied by repeated quavers in the strings. An explosive change of mood from the piano sets up the development section, that races brilliantly to a climax built on the second subject; the piano alone riffs on the first subject before the rest of the orchestra joins in for a race to the end. 2. Andante. The second movement dispels any doubt that Shostakovich can write beautiful melodies or lush harmonies: this could be the heir to Rachmaninov in its romanticism. The piano elaborates freely around the warm orchestral lines. 3. Allegro. The third movement is fast and fine-spun, with crisp, crackling lines, the piano sometimes sounding like a Bach toccata gone wild. The second subject hops along in a fast 7/8 time, sometimes skipping a beat. The two themes tussle it out in a variety of witty guises. Duration: 20 minutes Dmitri Shostakovich (1906â&#x20AC;&#x201C;1975)

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 in F minor (1877-78) This symphony was the first to be written under the patronage of his friend Nadezhda von Meck, whose generosity allowed him to compose fulltime. It is also the first symphony Tchaikovsky wrote after his brief, disastrous marriage, and the nervous breakdown that followed. From now on his music would be unashamedly personal, subsuming its formal elements to the expression of a psychological drama Tchaikovsky felt cursed by fate, the fate that had dealt him his own â&#x20AC;&#x153;weakâ&#x20AC;? nature. It has long been assumed that his homosexuality was the weakness he hated. But recently there is more support for the view that Tchaikovsky suffered far more on account of his mental health: to be creatively paralysed by depression and selfhatred was a far worse fate for a composer.

1. Andante Sostenuto Moderato. The symphony opens with the Fate motif. Tchaikovsky explained it to von Meck thus: “The introduction is the germ of the whole work. The main idea, first in the trumpets and then in the horns, is suggestive of the idea of Fate, the inevitable power that hampers our search for happiness. This power hangs forever over our heads, like the sword of Damocles. One has no option but to submit to it. The main theme of the allegro describes feelings of depression and hopelessness. Would it not be better to retire from reality and devote oneself to dreams? The second group of themes, introduced by delicate woodwind runs and a light melody for strings, expresses this dream world. The main them of the allegro is pushed into the background. Gradually the whole soul is surrounded with dreams and all unhappiness is forgotten. But these are only dreams. They scatter at last before the harsh theme of Fate. One’s whole life is just a perpetual traffic between the grimness of reality and one’s fleeting dreams of happiness.” 2. Andantino in Moda di Canzona. The slow movement is quintessential Tchaikovsky nostalgia. He likens it to an evening alone indoors, trying to read but distracted by memories of the past, painful yet sweet to recall. “One remembers happy times, when the blood was young. One remembers moments of sorrow. But that is all so far away now…”

3. Scherzo: Pizzicato Ostinato. The third movement is in the nature of a dream, thoughts passing through the mind, maybe a little drunk, on occasion exuberant, Tchaikovsky said. “[They are] capricious arabesques, intangible figures that float past….the mood is neither sad nor merry.” Fragments of music are heard as if at a distance – a drunken peasant singing a street song, a military band. 4. Finale: Allegro con Fuoco. The fourth movement seeks comfort in the company of strangers at a festival. “If you can find no joy in yourself, look around you and mingle with the people. See how they enjoy themselves and devote themselves entirely to festivity. But just as you’ve forgotten your sorrow, Fate announces its presence again. But other people ignore it. They are too busy enjoying themselves. Rejoice in the happiness of others, and life remains possible.” Duration: 41 minutes Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893)

PROVIDENCE

Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony follows on from the Fourth with the similar use of a reappearing motif. This motif appears in all four of the movements and contributes to the tight thematic cohesion of the work. “Khachaturian’s Piano Concerto was the first work that brought the great SovietArmenian composer fame in the west. It abounds with great tunes. Keep your ears peeled for the appearance of the flexatone in the percussion section! “We open the concert with a great work by the leader of the “Mighty Five” – the hugely influential Russian composers who conjured musical styles steeped in Russian folklore. Balakirev’s Overture on Russian themes takes three actual folk songs and constructs a brilliant orchestral tour de force that serves as a riposte to Germanic musical hegemony in the romantic era.” Marc Taddei

Balakirev Overture on Three Russian Themes Khachaturian Piano Concerto Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 Michael Houstoun Piano Marc Taddei Conductor Saturday 7 November 2015, 7:30pm Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington

Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev Overture on Russian Themes Balakirev led Russia’s famous composing group “the Five,” in the search for an authentically Russian voice. He composed this overture in 1858, basing it on three folk songs. The energetic opening quotes a little of “In the Field stands a Birch Tree”. When it reappears in its full form later, played by the clarinet, it is easily recognised from Tchaikovsky’s use of it in his Fourth Symphony. The soulful andante melody near the beginning played by flute and clarinet is known as “The Silver Birch”. A perky tune known as “The Feast”, introduced by the oboe, is also familiar from Stravinsky’s Petrouchka. This overture may have fallen out of public notice nowadays but it certainly proved influential to Russia’s greatest composers. Duration: 8 minutes Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev (1837–1910)

Aram Khachaturian Piano Concerto in D-flat major, Op. 38 Khachaturian was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, and wrote, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I recall Tbilisi as a town of songs. Everybody sang: the artisan as he worked in his little yard or in the street in front of his house, the street vendors selling Georgian sour milk, fruit and fish. Each vendor had an individual melody of his own, an expressive motif that I shall never forget. As evening fell, the courtyards were filled with songs and dance melodies, now gay and carefree, now tender and languid. And what a world of musical impressions assailed one at the market-place! And the festivals! There was the scorching sun, a playful breeze carrying strains of music from every corner, and we boys playing warriors or running to bathe in the river Kura.â&#x20AC;? Khachaturian did not even have a musical instrument until he was eight, when his family moved into a house that had an old piano. There he taught himself first to play the folk tunes he heard all around, and then to improvise on them. At 19 he entered the Gnesin music school in Moscow, finally getting a formal education. Now in a position to broaden his horizons, he was attracted to the music of Debussy and Ravel. This was partnered with the Gnesin Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s focus on the music of the Five, the most Nationalist of the Russians.

Revolutionary Moscow in the early 20s was an exciting place. There were food shortages, the halls and houses were unheated, yet people flocked to the premieres of music, poetry and theatre, full of new ideas and conflicting trends. By 1929 Khachaturian was ready to enter the Moscow Conservatoire, having already had a number of small works published and performed by concert artists. At the Conservatoire he studied composition with Myaskovsky. Khachaturian wanted to reconcile the improvisatory, oriental folk influences of his upbringing with formal classical style. After graduation in 1936 he wrote his Piano Concerto, and it was an immediate success, being performed in Russia and abroad. It is a three-movement work, notable for its rhythmic impulse, often disturbed by a bold swinging shift.

1. Allegro ma non troppo e maestoso. The freely improvisatory sound of Armenian and Azerbaijan folk music inspires the themes of the first movement. Khachaturian blends classical sonata form with these Oriental influences. Khachaturian said, “Improvisation is not blind wandering without compass or rudder over the keyboard in search of spicy sonorities. Improvisation is only good if you know exactly what you want to find.” 2. Andante con anima. The second movement is gold for lovers of the bass clarinet. It sets the stage for the evocative theme, based on an Oriental street tune, that grows through a series of variations to a powerful climax. A Flexatone is a surprising addition to the orchestration. 3. Allegro Brilliante. The third movement is like an exuberant folk dance or a panorama of street music, full of colour and action. A meditative interlude in the middle is left to the pianist to perform alone, like the solo recital of a bard. Then the first movement’s main theme returns, transformed into a virtuosic ending: a wild fast ride with the piano, with stirring chords from the brass to finish. Duration: 33 minutes Aram Khachaturian (1903–1978)

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 in E minor (1888) Tchaikovsky’s Fifth followed a decade of other endeavours that cemented his reputation. His life was on a more even keel; he could live and work on his sister’s estate, or travel, making European tours that introduced his music abroad, conducting and making contact with the leading musicians of the day including Brahms and Grieg and the conductor Nikisch. His music was well-received, at home and abroad, from 1880 onwards. In the Fifth Symphony, he can speak confidently about his inner life. 1. Andante – Allegro con Anima. A slow woodwind theme “the inscrutable predestination of Providence” leads to a sober march whose determined course is derailed by outbursts and contrasting themes that oppose and pull it back. The movement maintains the tension between what Tchaikovsky called “complete resignation before Fate” and the “murmurs, doubts and reproaches” of the heart. 2. Andante cantabile con alcuna licenza. The famous slow movement is unashamedly a love song, memorably introduced by a solo horn. But it is a love frustrated, as each time the passionate idyll is interrupted by an aggressive version of the first movement “Providence” theme in the brass and timpani. 66

3. Valse: Allegro Moderato. A carefree waltz becomes tangled up in a competing rhythm in two, then overlaid with fast, nervous string figurations. A ghostly reprise of the Providence motive closes the movement. 4. Finale: Andante Maestoso â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Allegro Vivace. The Providence theme returns, this time in a major key. Trumpets transform it into a battle call, and incisive strings launch an Allegro section full of warring themes. The Providence theme returns several times, sometimes urgent, sometimes glorious, until its last appearance as in the coda as a triumphant march. Duration: 50 minutes Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840â&#x20AC;&#x201C;1893)

PATHÉTIQUE

“The final concert is a celebration of the composer. In it we hear the work of a great Romantic figure, a great modernist who revered him and a contemporary composer from NZ who is a likely candidate for international stardom. This programme features Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique Symphony – unquestionably his greatest and the first to close with a slow and sombre movement. Like all of his symphonies, one is acutely aware of the composer’s inner turmoils when listening to this work. “I thought it appropriate to programme a work by Igor Stravinsky to start, as Tchaikovsky had such an influence on him. Scherzo a la Russe is a vibrant early work by this 20th century master.” “Michael Houstoun then finishes his extraordinary cycle of concerti by performing a world premiere by Karlo Margetić, one of NZ’s “great hopes” for art music, already garnered with much acclaim.” Marc Taddei

Stravinsky Scherzo a la Russe Margetić Piano Concerto Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6

Michael Houstoun Piano Marc Taddei Conductor

Saturday 5 December 2015, 7:30pm Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington

Igor Stravinsky Scherzo a la Russe (1944) While Stravinsky was living in Hollywood, having fled from Europe in 1939, he was asked to create music for a film set in wartime Russia. The film project fell through, but when the jazz bandleader Paul Whiteman approached him shortly afterwards wanting an “easy listening” piece that could fit on one side of a 78 record, Stravinsky worked up one of the film sketches to fit the bill. The combination of his trademark motoric rhythms, a certain neo-classical clarity and the jazz influences of his adopted land make for a lively and attractive blend. Duration: 5 minutes Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971)

Karlo Margetić Karlo Margetić (b.1987) holds degrees in composition and clarinet from the New Zealand School of Music. He has received commissions and performances from many top international ensembles and had his music workshopped by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra on two occasions Margetić has been the recipient of numerous prizes in composition, including the 2013 SOUNZ Contemporary Award, the NZSO/Todd Young Composer Award (2006) and the Trusts Young Composer Competition (2005). Margetić is also an active performer and Co-Director of the SMP Ensemble, with which he has appeared as composer, clarinettist, conductor and narrator. Margetić’s commissioned work as part of his 2014 Residency is a piano concerto; more substantial notes will be available for public later in the year. 71

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 in B Minor, Op. 74, “Pathétique” (1893) This symphony was premiered only months before Tchaikovsky’s death. The word “pathétique”, or in Russian, pateticheskoy, is closer in meaning to “suffering”. You could regard this as Tchaikovsky’s testament, his statement of who he was. This symphony, he said, had a programme – but that programme would be an enigma to everyone but himself. “The theme of it is full of subjective feeling, so much so that as I was mentally composing it, I frequently shed tears… there will be numerous innovations from the formal point of view: the finale, for instance, is to be not a noisy allegro, but a long adagio.” 1. Adagio – Allegro non troppo. The longing, mourning first subject of the first movement is dressed in the darkest colours; the allegro section gives it a more energetic form, yet the harmony and decorative figurations continually pull it down in long curves. One of Tchaikovsky’s most memorably romantic melodies follows in the andante section that forms the second subject. The development bursts in, marked feroce. The opening theme is hurled through a dazzling array of changes. Tellingly, Tchaikovsky counters it with a chordal theme taken from Russian Orthodox funeral music. Failing to quell the battle, it is brushed aside by fragments of the opening theme. Religion does not offer the consolation, the solution he seeks, Tchaikovsky seems to say. 72

2. Allegro con grazia. The second movement is a superb translation from the world of ballet, with its easy, graceful rhythm. But the innovation of having it in 5/4 creates a waltz that is broken, limping, yet moves lightly. The stresses keep falling in different parts of the bar, and yet everything remains in balance. You could hear it as the balancing act of a misfit, as Tchaikovsky felt himself to be. Broken, yet capable, fluent, graceful in his misfortune. 3. Allegro molto vivace. The third movement, a march, dances slyly around the main theme, throwing around flashes of colour and hinting at the march tune before fully exposing it. The march tune is stiff, square, boxed in, yet each time it appears seems to break apart before being completed, pulled down by descending scales. 4. Finale: Adagio lamentoso â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Andante. In the last movement, those descending scales return, slowed down and pulling the orchestra ever lower with an enormous weight. This downward pull has been present right from the beginning of the symphony; Tchaikovsky integrates it very naturally, creating tension and meaning in every movement. In the final movement, the music tries again and again to struggle upwards, and is defeated each time. Duration: 48 minutes Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840â&#x20AC;&#x201C;1893) 73

FAMILY

Baby Pops: Abracadabra Summer City Free Event 24 January Wellington Botanic Gardens NZ Fringe Festival Saturday 21 February, 3pm Sacred Heart College, Lower Hutt Sunday 22 February, 3pm Southward Theatre, Paraparaumu Thomas Goss – Presenter Magic and wizardry abound in this summer’s presentation of Baby Pops. Education Composer in Residence Thomas Goss takes young listeners on a Magic Carpet Ride, and has them waving their magic wands to the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and chanting funny spells to “My Friend, The Witch Doctor.” A special narrated version of “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” is sure to cast its spell over the audience with humour, mystery, and enchantment. Tickets: ticketek.co.nz / fringe.co.nz 76

Baby Pops: Mystery and Mayhem Saturday 24 October, 3pm Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington Sunday 25 October, 3pm Wairarapa College, Masterton Thomas Goss – Presenter Marc Taddei – Conductor Who killed the composer? Was it the bassoonist in the library? Or was it the cello player in the conservatory? Join Orchestra Wellington for a musical whodunit filled with mystery, music, and mayhem from Education Composer in Residence Thomas Goss. Featuring classic spy and detective theme music like “Peter Gunn,” “007,” and “Get Smart,” along with eerie classics including Gounod’s Funeral March for a Marionette and Saint-Saëns’ Aquarium from Carnival of the Animals. Tickets: ticketek.co.nz

New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eve Gala Concert Ring in the New Year with Orchestra Wellington! On December 31, 2014, the orchestra will welcome 2015 with a dramatic and exciting concert based on movie themes, and hosted by Tim Beveridge. Join with the Wellington crowds down at the waterfront in a night of celebration!

Family Concert: Roald Dahl’s ‘Dirty Beasts’ and Other Stories Sunday 12 July, 3pm The Opera House, Wellington Orchestra Wellington teams up with a narrator to present well-known stories and poems. Join in with the orchestra to help pull the North Island up from the bottom of the ocean in a performance of Thomas Goss’ “Maui’s Fishhook”. Then the musical storybook turns the page as unsuspecting animals get the Roald Dahl treatment, with music by Benjamin Wallfisch. Image: Quentin Blake

COMMUNITY

Music to Schools A key strategic objective for Orchestra Wellington is to develop its outreach and community development activity in the Region at a grassroots level that sees increased access and exposure for communities typically under-represented in classical music. In 2013, Orchestra Wellington established a school holiday programme in Taita/Pomare, Lower Hutt, in partnership with Arohanui Strings â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Sistema Hutt Valley based on the Sistema programme, the Venezuelan youth orchestra system, aÂ model for learning music, achieving excellence and working for inclusion andÂ social justice for marginalized, vulnerable children. While Arohanui Strings works as a growing charitable trust serving the Taita/Pomare communities with free after school music education, the partnership with Orchestra Wellington serves these communities with increased resource during school holiday periods and also with beginner violin tuition within schools in the area. In addition to the continued work within the communities of Taita/Pomare, the Orchestra works within other schools in the Wellington Region delivering a dynamic small-ensemble programme (Beat it! Blast it!) designed by Education Composer-inResidence Thomas Goss to introduce and inspire an interest in music.

RESIDENTS

David Long 2015 Composer-in-Residence Producer, performer and composer David Long has made many diverse contributions to the New Zealand music scene over the years. He was a founding member of The Mutton Birds, with whom he made three albums. His film scores comprise a large body of work; in 2012 alone he scored for Robert Sarkies’ Two Little Boys, Alyx Duncan’s The Red House and Dan Salmon’s Pictures of Susan. He wrote music for Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong. For the first Hobbit movie he collaborated with Plan 9 Music to write the song for the dwarves, “Misty Mountain” that features as the major theme in the score and was used as the basis for the credits song by Neil Finn. 86

His recent film score for a documentary on Sir Edmund Hillary called Beyond the Edge, has been recorded by Rattle Records. It features orchestra, viola, taonga puoro and harp. As a producer he has worked with Dave Dobbyn, Barry Saunders Lucid 3 and OW Emerging Composer-in-residence Leila Adu’s Cherry Pie. He won Producer of the Year at the 2002 New Zealand Music Awards for Fur Patrol’s Pet. Long’s work with dance companies includes collaborations with Douglas Wright, Shona McCullogh and Raewyn Hill. He has also received commissions from the New Zealand String Quartet and Stroma. Long has written a great deal of music for television ranging from the Wot-Wots to a UK Power TV miniseries, “Ice” starring Sam Neill. He won Achievement in Original Music at the Air New Zealand Film and Television Awards for two years running for his scores for the television series Insiders Guide to Happiness (2005), and for Insiders Guide to Love (2006). David will write a piece to be performed in Orchestra Wellington’s 2016 Season. The Orchestra Wellington Composer-inResidence scheme is run in partnership with the Creative New Zealand/Jack C. Richards Composer-in-Residence at the New Zealand School of Music 87

Claire Cowan 2015 Associate Composer-in-Residence “In music and art I admire simplicity, emotion and originality.” Claire Cowan is a composer and performer based in Auckland. She studied composition at Auckland University and, since graduating with Honours in 2006, has pursued a career in music for concert, film and theatre. In 2008 and 2010, Cowan was the youngest composer to be featured in the NZSO’s annual Made in NZ concerts. Cowan’s music has been performed by soloists and ensembles throughout the USA, New Zealand, Europe, Japan and Australia. Her film music has been heard in the New Zealand International Film Festival and many overseas festivals, while her TV scoring credits include “What Really Happened: Waitangi”, “Billy” and “What Really Happened: The Women’s Vote”. 88

In 2008 Cowan relocated to Brooklyn, NY, where she spent time working in the underground Puppet scene. Her collaborations led to a filmscore for the beautifully crafted ‘Moonfishing’. In 2011 Cowan collaborated on scores for Red Leap Theatre, the Auckland Theatre Company, and for THREAD Theatre’s debut production of The Keepers. The production was awarded Metro’s “Best of 2011” for Absurd Physical Theatre, with the NZ Herald reviewer citing her performance as “among the best theatrical scores I’ve heard.” Cowan’s own performance project, a 25 piece orchestra called The Blackbird Ensemble, has performed to sold out crowds in since its inception in 2010, covering rarely performed classical and popular music by living composers. Claire will write a piece for premiere by Orchestra Wellington in the 2016 Season.

Thomas Goss Education Composer-in-Residence California-born Thomas Goss is a professional composer and orchestrator with an roster of clients: Billy Ocean, Mel C, Sharon Corr and others. His compositions, orchestrations, and arrangements have been performed by such ensembles as Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and San Francisco Symphony Chamber Ensemble Goss is a pioneer in the field of orchestral education and has created programming for every professional orchestra in New Zealand. For the past several years, Orchestra Wellington has presented his ongoing series Baby Pops as staple for young listeners. Goss may be found online at the helm of the internet community Orchestration Online, with a social media following of over ten thousand composers, musicians, and music students. 90

Vincent Hardaker 2015 Assistant Conductor Vincent Hardaker is a young up-and-coming New Zealand conductor. Engagements in 2014 included a return concert with the Wellington Chamber Orchestra, a programme with Kapiti Concert Orchestra and work as assistant conductor for Opus Orchestra. Hardaker is assistant conductor for the Wellington Youth Sinfonietta, Wellingtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premiere youth orchestra for high school aged students, providing young musicians with the opportunity to perform standard orchestral repertoire. Born in Christchurch, Hardaker began his musical life with viola and piano. He studied viola performance at the New Zealand School of Music under Gillian Ansell and also completed his Honours studies in conducting through the tutelage of Kenneth Young. 91

FIRST VIOLIN

Ann White

Matthew Ross Concert Master NZ Community Trust Chair Donor

Sarah Marten

Stephanie Rolfe Principal Landa van den Berg & Rutger Keijser Chair Donor Olya Curtis Sub Principal Emma Brewerton Slava Fainitski Helen Weir Rupa Maitra Sandra Logan Emma Colligan Vivian Stephens Leah Johnston Christine Watson Yid-Ee Goh SECOND VIOLIN Pascale Parenteau Section Principal Glenda West Chair Donor Konstanze Artmann Principal Sarah McCracken Sub Principal Elena Oscar Bullock Linden Barton Vanessa Leighs 92

Salina Fisher Philippa Watson VIOLA Linda Simmons Principal Alick Shaw Chair Donor Chris van der Zee Faith Austin Susan Fullerton-Smith Alison Eldredge Vincent Hardaker Deborah Woodley Alexa Thompson CELLO Brenton Veitch Section Principal Jim and Christine Pearce MNZM Chair Donor Jane Young Principal Paul Mitchell Sub Principal Jane Dalley Kathy Paterson Geoffrey Heath Margaret Guldborg Jane Brown Jocelyn Cranefield Jocelyn Woodley

YOUR ORCHESTRA

DOUBLE BASS

COR ANGLAIS

Paul Altomari Section Principal Board of Wellington Regional Orchestra Foundation Chair Donor

Louise Cox Principal

Toni St Clair Principal

Moira Hurst Section Principal Boyd H. Klap CNZM, QSO Chair Donor

Jessica Reese Sub Principal Louis van der Mespel FLUTE Karen Batten Section Principal Jennifer Vaughan Sub Principal Timothy Jenkin Tjasa Dykes Hannah Darroch PICCOLO Jennifer Vaughan Principal Â OBOE Merran Cooke Section Principal Julian Arnhold Chair Donor Louise Cox Sub Principal Madeline Sakofsky

CLARINET

Tim Workman Sub Principal Mary Scott Mark Cookson David MacGregor BASS CLARINET Tim Workman Principal BASSOON Preman Tilson Section Principal Penny Miles Sub Principal HORN Shadley van Wyk Principal Anna Cottrell & Paul Herrick Chair Donor Erica Challis Sub Principal Ed Allen Dillon Mayhew Dominic Groom

TRUMPET

HARP

Barrett Hocking Section Principal

Ingrid Bauer

Christopher Clark Sub Principal Chris Woolley Sarah Henderson TROMBONE Peter Maunder Section Principal

Madeline Griffiths KEYBOARD Michael Pansters Fiona McCabe Rachel Thomson Â

Jonathan Harker Julian Kirgan BASS TROMBONE Matthew Shelton Principal TUBA Don Banham Principal TIMPANI Brent Stewart PERCUSSION Jeremy Fitzsimons Section Principal Anonymous Chair Donor Brent Stewart Sub Principal Grant Myhill Takumi Motokawa Fraser Bremner 95

Sponsorship Your Orchestra Wellington presents concerts for all ages and fulfils a valuable role accompanying opera, choir, ballet and musical theatre in the region. Last year saw a substantial growth in our Outreach and Community Development activity, and we invite you to join us in 2015 in support of this exciting work that we do. Collective Generosity We are grateful for the on-going support of our Funders, Sponsors, Partners and Donors. Support from generous individuals is increasingly important for us so that we are able to provide high quality orchestral experiences across our region and we would love for you to join our community of Donors. For this purpose, we have redefined our fundraising programme to highlight the significance that each and every contribution makes to support our continued role in the cultural life of Wellington communities. How you can help Every gift makes a difference. Please consider joining our community of Donors. In return, we promise to be prudent with the funds and ensure that they go to good use as we broaden our reach. Every Donor is acknowledged at every opportunity. When you are subscribing to the Season, please consider adding a donation amount in the space provided.

Music Directorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Club: $2,500 per year Join this select community that has the great opportunity to build a personal relationship with our highly acclaimed and inspiring Music Director, Marc Taddei, and get to know what animates and motivates such a creative force. - You are invited to attend events, concert functions and to meet the conductor, soloist and orchestra players. - You are invited to our annual Music Directors Club event. Chair Donor: $1,800 per year Choose an instrument and become the private Donor of a position in a section (subject to availability). - You are invited to attend concert functions and to meet the conductor, soloist and orchestra players. - You are invited to a special dress rehearsal and get the opportunity to meet with the player in the position that you support. Donor You choose what you would like to contribute. - You are invited to attend concert functions and to meet the conductor, soloist and orchestra players.

Leaving a legacy If you wish to give a gift to Orchestra Wellington during your lifetime or as a bequest in your will, please contact Nikau Foundation. They are set up to manage endowment funds on behalf of Donors to Orchestra Wellington. An endowment fund is invested capital where only the income is distributed so funds can be given out every year, forever. If the income is designated for Orchestra Wellington, Donors will know that they are contributing to the Orchestra in perpetuity. For information contact: Adrienne Bushell, (04) 472 2470, Adrienne@nikaufoundation.org.nz

Orchestra Wellington is happy to continue its partnership with One Percent Collective for 2015. We formally support their efforts to inspire a generosity movement in Aotearoa-New Zealand by enabling individuals to easily donate 1% of their income to help small NZ-based charities grow. One Percent Collective brings together artists, businesses and kind citizens to give their 1% to charity, and together, we plan to surprise and delight generous Wellingtonians in special ways throughout the year. www.onepercentcollective.org

ADMINISTRATION

BOARD

Adรกn E. Tijerina General Manager

Francis Cooke QC Chair

Kurt Gibson Operations Manager Kerry-Anne Gilberd MNZM Sponsorship Manager Margaret Myers Event Manager Tjasa Dykes Music Librarian Marek Peszynski Digital Marketing Coordinator Steve Isaac NZ Van Lines Ltd Instrument Transport

Caroline Heath Landa van den Berg Murray Newman Ian McKinnon CNZM, QSO, JP LIFE MEMBERS Brian Budd Graham Hanify Elsa Jenson Roger Lloyd Christine Pearce MNZM Diana Marsh

SUBSCRIPTIONS

2015 Subscriptions Save: Take advantage of our Subscriber price when you book 2 or more Wellington concerts within the subscription series (Concerts 1–6). The more concerts you book, the more you will save! Seats: All Subscribers are given personalised service and access to best available seating, prior to going on sale to the public. Questions: Should your booking require special needs call Orchestra Wellington on 04 801 7810 (10am–4pm, Monday–Friday) Online Bookings: This booking process can also be completed on our website www.orchestrawellington.co.nz Subscription bookings close on 28th February 2015 4pm Subscribers’ Draw All 2015 Subscribers are entered into a draw to win a Double Pass to a performance within the Orchestra Wellington accompanied season of the Royal New Zealand Ballet or New Zealand Opera. Winners will be notified one month prior to each season. For competition details: www.orchestrawellington.co.nz All prices are GST inclusive. Details are correct at the time of printing. Dates, times and repertoire are subject to change at short notice, and Orchestra Wellington will in no event be held liable for any loss arising out of such change(s).

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Select your concert package Subscription(s)

Price Qty#

Total

6 Concerts x $18 ea. $108 5 Concerts x $26 ea. $130 4 Concerts x $30 ea. $120 3 Concerts x $38 ea. $114 2 Concerts x $46 ea. $92 1 Concert x $60 ea. $60 Donation Total

If booking more than one subscription, indicate the number of seats per concert Kamarinskaya 18 Apr Little Russian 20 Jun Polish 8 Aug Fate 5 Sept Providence 7 Nov PathĂŠtique 5 Dec Fill in your personal and payment details overleaf, detach and post complete form to: Mail Freepost 652 (no stamp) Orchestra Wellington, PO Box 11-977 Manners Street, Wellington 6142 Credit Cards Scan your booking and email to margaretm@orchestrawellington.co.nz

Subscriber and Payment Details Title (mr mrs ms) Name(s)

Address

Post code Phone Mobile Email Make payable to Cheque enclosed Orchestra Wellington

Visa

Mastercard

Name on card Card number

Expiry date Signature Email me Orchestra Wellington information

TICKETING

Public Prices On Sale 1st March 2015 All main bill Subscription Series concerts at Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington: Adult

$60

Concession (Gold Card Holder)

$48

Child (still at school)

$10

Student (with ID)

$12

Under 35 (with ID)

$25

Community Service Card

$12

Tickets available from all Ticketek outlets Phone 0800 842 538 or visit www.ticketek.co.nz Ticketing fees will apply Family Concert: Roald Dahl’s ‘Dirty Beasts’ and Other Stories Sunday 12 July, 3pm The Opera House, Wellington Adult $25, Child $15 plus $1.50 Performing Arts Foundation NZ (PAFNZ) venue levy per-ticket Baby Pops: Mystery and Mayhem Saturday 24 October, 3pm Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington Adult $20, Child $10

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Regional Events On Sale 1st March 2015

NZ Fringe Festival Baby Pops: Abracadabra Saturday 21 February, 3pm Sacred Heart College, Lower Hutt Sunday 22 February, 3pm Southward Theatre, Paraparaumu Adult $16, Child $9 (Tickets also available from fringe.co.nz) Kamarinskaya Sunday 19 April 2015, 4pm Masterton Town Hall Adult $35, Concession $30, Child $10, Student $12 Baby Pops: Mystery and Mayhem Sunday 25 October, 3pm Wairarapa College, Masterton Adult $16, Child $9

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Music Directorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Club Francis Cooke, Grant Corleison Chair Sponsors And Donors Julian Arnhold, Landa van den Berg & Rutger Keijser, Boyd H Klap CNZM, QSO, Jim & Christine Pearce MNZM, Alick Shaw, Glenda West, Anonymous, Anna Cottrell & Paul Herrick, Board of Wellington Regional Orchestra Foundation Inc. Donors Graham Atkinson, Paul & Sheryl Baines, Philippa Barker, Tim & Helen Beaglehole, Jay and Judy Berryman, Virginia Breen, Brian & Lynette Burrell, Bruce & Margaret Carson, Margaret J Child, Graham Cook & Heather Rae, Michael & Marie Crooke, Diana Duff Staniland, Geoff Eades & Marion Cowden, Nancy Fithian, Mr Laurie Greig, Christopher Finlayson, Margaret Harris, Gary & Helena Hawke, Alister Hunt, Russell & Carol Hurst, David Jenkinson, Rosemary Jones, Bernice Kelly, David Lewis, Barbara Mabbett, George & Sue McClelland, Hilda McDonnell, Alison McLeod, Clair McDonald, Patricia Morrison QSM, Murray & Carolyn Newman, Alistair & Lorna Nicolson, Phillip and Viola Palmer, Sue & Ian Pearson, Ken & Mary Rae, Dave Reynolds, Doug & Pam Robertson, Ailsa Salt, Kathleen Satory, Bruce Scott, James & Christine Seymour, Judith Simon, Fay Swann, Pauline Swann, Jill Waddington, Glenda West, Paul Williams, Peter Thomas Young, Anonymous x2 Life Members Brian Budd, Graham Hanify, Elsa Jenson, Roger Lloyd, Diana Marsh, Christine Pearce MNZM

Thank you for your support; we look forward to playing for you in 2015! 108

Major Funders

Sponsors and Partners

Benefactors & Special Funding Agencies

FOR ALL THINGS ORCHESTRA ORCHESTRAWELLINGTON.CO.NZ

VISIT US AT: .CO.NZ