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Post by KTJ on Aug 24, 2016 15:42:58 GMT 10
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Post by KTJ on Sept 10, 2016 8:53:54 GMT 10
Off over the ranges to Wellington later this afternoon; going to dinner with friends followed by an evening of Mahler, Berg and Schubert at the Michael Fower Centre concert hall. |
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Post by KTJ on Sept 11, 2016 11:19:08 GMT 10
from The Dominion Post....Concert Review: Orchestra Wellington, To The Memory of An AngelMarc Taddei drew some of their finest playing out of Orchestra Wellington.By JOHN BUTTON | 12:03PM - Sunday, 11 September 2016 Violinist Wilma Smith was superb and uncompromising during Saturday's
Orchestra Wellington concert.• To The Memory of an Angel
• Orchestra Wellington, conducted by Marc Taddei with Wilma Smith (violin).
• Music by Mahler, Berg and Schubert.
• Michael Fowler Centre, September 10th.
• Reviewed by John Button.A FAMOUS VIOLINIST once said, “I will never play the Berg Concerto in concert. I might record it but live I would seem like an under powered incompetent.”
Of course, this important violin concerto is played in concert, but not all that often, and it is true that the violin has little opportunity for display and is frequently drowned beneath the orchestra; it is a subtle work full of quotes and references, with its memory of the death of the young Manon Gropius not exactly worn heart on sleeve.
It was played superbly and uncompromisingly by Wilma Smith (it is worth noting that her teacher Louis Krasner commissioned the work), and in an act of typical Marc Taddei imagination, the Wellington Youth Choir sang the Bach chorale that Berg quotes in the concerto's second section.
Adding point to the concerto, it was preceded by the Adagio from Mahler's uncompleted Tenth Symphony (Manon Gropius was the daughter of his widow Alma and the architect Walter Gropius) . It is a powerful piece that illustrates, in graphic fashion, Mahler's depression at the state of his health and his wife's affair with Gropius. The orchestra might have been a touch underpowered in the strings in this work, and took a little time to warm up, but it was still very well done.
The concert concluded with Schubert's final symphony — the Ninth — composed in 1825, a year after Beethoven's Choral Symphony. Like most of Schubert's works, it was not performed until after his death, and only after Schumann discovered the work. It is a huge piece — with all repeats it can last nearly an hour — and I have heard many a dreary performance, but Taddei gave us a reading of great urgency and vitality. He removed some of the repeats — very sensibly — and drew from Orchestra Wellington some of their finest playing.
All sections were razor sharp, drawing the obvious conclusion that with such imaginative planning and the increasing quality of the playing, these concerts thoroughly deserve the large audiences they are attracting.• Orchestra Wellington (website)
• Orchestra Wellington (Facebook)www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/culture/84135911
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Post by KTJ on Oct 15, 2016 20:54:19 GMT 10
Yet another fabulous concert from Orchestra Wellington tonight. And from the clues provided to the audience, it looks like next year's season is going to be a real blockbuster. One more concert to go in the 2016 subscription season on the first Saturday night of December. |
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Post by KTJ on Oct 16, 2016 18:02:02 GMT 10
from The Dominion Post....Concert Review: Orchestra Wellington, NutcrackerA terrific combination of imaginative programming and excellent playing.By JOHN BUTTON | 8:04PM - Sunday, 16 October 2016 Michael Houstoun was completely inside Bartok's world during Orchestra Wellington's
concert on Saturday night, with a masterly account of the piano part.• Nutcracker
• Orchestra Wellington, conducted by Marc Taddei and Vincent Hardaker with Michael Houstoun (piano) and Arohanui Strings.
• Music by Berlioz, Bartok and Tchaikovsky.
• Michael Fowler Centre, October 15th.CLEVER MARKETING and Taddei's homespun approach to his audience has achieved highly impressive attendance numbers; numbers that are bound to be maintained with both imaginative programming and excellent playing.
This concert continued the trend as, in a continuation of this year's theme, we heard both Bartok's final completed concerto and a large chunk of Tchaikovsky's last ballet — The Nutcracker. And both were exceptionally well played. Bartok's Third Piano Concerto is amongst his most popular works, with its autumnal poetry a surprise to those who had expected a more abrasive creation. And Michael Houstoun was completely inside Bartok's world with a masterly account of the piano part — few pianists judge the deceptively simple slow movement as well as he did — and the orchestra under Taddei gave him highly sensitive support.
The Nutcracker — the Second Act — was superbly alive. The playing was immensely assured, with all sections showing out, but one has to acknowledge that Taddei's experience as a ballet conductor was the telling factor (that makes next year's theme of the world of Diaghilev even more tantalising) and the large audience responded with great enthusiasm.
The concert opened with the annual visit by the youngsters of the Arohanui Strings, that wonderful Sistema-inspired programme run by Alison Eldredge, and together with some of their tutors from Orchestra Wellington they played a small medley to the delight and appreciation of the audience. After this, Vincent Hardaker, the orchestra's assistant conductor, led Orchestra Wellington in a bracing performance of Berlioz' Beatrice and Benedict Overture.• Orchestra Wellington (website)
• Orchestra Wellington (Facebook)www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/culture/85398070
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