Orchestra Wellington and Marc Taddei: a story that ends in triumph

Marc Taddei conducts Orchestra Wellington with vocal soloists and the Orpheus Choir in the final movement of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony

Photo credit: Latitude Creative

Marc Taddei, Music Director of Orchestra Wellington, is one of New Zealand's most talented programmers, and the orchestra's recent concert exemplified his skill. It told a story, stretched its theme to link three works together and introduced the large audience to music we hadn't heard before.

From the podium, Taddei explained, in his usual succinct and engaging way, how he'd constructed ‘The Classical Style’. All three composers - Prokofiev, Tailleferre and Beethoven – were, he told us, looking back to classicism, or borrowing from the past in a “neo-classical” approach.

The second half of the programme offered one of the most well-known examples of music’s Classical period, though it is sometimes argued that Beethoven was on the brink of Romanticism with his 9th Symphony, especially its final movement. Taddei’s contention that Beethoven, revisiting themes from the earlier movements in his finale, was engaging in ‘neo-classicism’ may be a stretch.

Without a doubt, however, the choral movement of Beethoven 9th contains music more beloved than any other in the western musical canon. The so-called "Ode to Joy" has become an anthem for humanity - particularly in Europe, where it was performed, among other occasions, to mark the falling of the Berlin Wall - but also around the world. Chinese students broadcast it in Tiananmen Square during the 1989 protests.

From the 1st movement, Allegro ma non troppo e un poco maestoso, the capable forces of Orchestra Wellington responded to Taddei’s fine concept of the grandeur of Beethoven’s symphonic writing. The Molto vivace 2nd movement was taken, with energy and drive, at a less than breakneck speed, with a sense of the music as more muscular than sprightly. The slow Adagio cantabile of the 3rd allowed us to appreciate anew Beethoven’s individual approach to harmony and his interesting orchestration, the wind sections particularly fine and the upper strings coming alive with a stronger tone than we’d heard all evening.

Conductor Marc Taddei with Orchestra Wellington

“…splendid dynamism”

Photo credit: Latitude Creative

This slow movement is a long one and there was a slight flagging of energy in orchestra and audience before the end. Taddei took us into the Finale, however, with splendid dynamism - drama from brass and timpani, cellos and basses strong and resonant, the concerted woodwinds compelling. The famous “ode to joy” theme began whisper-quiet before tension and texture grew towards the triumphant wind and brass statement.

As the Orpheus Choir rose to their feet and baritone Robert Tucker’s solo entry "Freunde, nicht diese Töne!" rang out into silence, the audience was electrified. The whole movement was truly exultant, all four soloists consistently excellent with soprano Emma Pearson in especially soaring and beautiful voice.  

The choral singers may have attracted the greatest applause. This was, I believe, the best singing I have ever heard from the Orpheus Choir. With excellent leadership from Taddei, their singing was strong, open-toned and focused, with great clarity in the challenging contrapuntal lines.

In his introduction to the programme, Taddei had also mentioned the underlying struggles of the three composers. Beethoven’s was his tragic deafness, Prokofiev’s political, and Germaine Tailleferre’s?  “Being a woman,” Taddei suggested wryly.

New Zealand pianist Somi Kim playing Tailleferre’s 1st Piano Concerto

“…glittering with flowing virtuosity”.

Photo credit: Latitude Creative

I had been particularly attracted to this concert to hear Somi Kim play French composer Tailleferre’s Piano Concerto No.1 in D major. Kim is an outstanding pianist, one who always draws the most from the beauties of piano sound, and Tailleferre, who died just four decades ago, is an undeservedly neglected 20th century composer.

Why do we know little about Tailleferre? After a starry early career– she won numerous prizes at the Conservatoire and was the only female member of Les Six, the group of composers that included Poulenc and Milhaud – she embarked, shortly after composing this Concerto in 1924, on the first of two unhappy and apparently abusive marriages. It seems her difficult personal life detracted from her work.

More significant, perhaps, was a damaging lack of support, shared by many creative women at the time. Tailleferre was isolated, suffered from a lack of both musical self-esteem and the extra-robust spirit needed to battle the prevailing lack of recognition for women composers during their lifetimes (think of her feisty English contemporary, Ethel Smythe). And then, of course, there was the historical erasure many women artists suffered after death.

Tailleferre’s joyous “neo-classical” Piano Concerto looks back, in fact, to J S Bach, with brilliant moto perpetuo lines in the 1st movement and fugal textures in the 3rd. It’s not a flashy concerto, but a light and lovely work. Kim’s colourful and effortless pianism was a good match for the music, singing forth in the melodious solo that opens the 2nd movement and glittering with flowing virtuosity throughout. Responding to enthusiastic applause, she delighted the audience with an equally sparkling classical encore, Mozart’s famous Rondo alla Turca.

The “neo-classical” label was most appropriately conferred on Prokofiev, whose Classical Symphony opened the programme. The work dates from 1917, and the proportions of this short, lyrical symphony, modelled on Haydn, suggest Prokofiev was ignoring the seismic political and social shifts in Russia that revolutionary year.  Taddei, conducting without score or baton, tossed off the work’s understated and sprightly charm with lovely simplicity.

Orchestra Wellington performs Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony

Photo credit: Latitude Creative

At the end of the evening, Orchestra Wellington’s audience left the hall both excited and satisfied. The concert had ended triumphantly with Beethoven’s profoundly stirring and beautiful anthem, and the thoughtfully constructed programme had offered them not only that cathartic experience, but context, novelty, brilliance and variety. Of course, they’ll be back for more.

‘The Classical Style’ Orchestra Wellington Marc Taddei (conductor), Somi Kim (piano) Emma Pearson (soprano), Margaret Medlyn (alto) Emmanuel Fonoti-Fuimaono (tenor), Robert Tucker (bass), Orpheus Choir, Wellington, 6 July 2024