Welcome Message from the Tour Donors Robert Catto www.catto.co.nz All rights reserved Thank you for joining us for this performance by Kiwi soprano Madeleine Pierard and pianist Terence Dennis. They will be joined by Anna Pierard for a trio recital in four North Island centres, and we would love to welcome you to the audience for those concerts as well, either in person or on RadioNZ Concert. Since winning the 2005 Lexus Song Quest we have kept a close eye and ear on Madeleine s career as she emerges onto the world stage. It will be a real treat for us to hear her in recital performing a gorgeous range of songs and arias. We are very grateful for the ongoing partnership with Deane Endowment Trust that dates back to 2007. They take an active interest in supporting our emerging musicians, including singers such as Jonathan Lemalu and Anna Leese. Many of you will recall with pleasure their recital tours for Chamber Music New Zealand, which were also supported by the Deane Endowment Trust. We also thank Vice-Chancellor Pat Walsh for supporting the Wellington concert by Victoria University alumnus Madeleine Pierard. We hope you will enjoy this concert. Euan Murdoch Chief Executive, Chamber Music New Zealand We are pleased to support this national tour by the wonderfully talented soprano Madeleine Pierard performing with her equally talented sister Anna and accompanied by Terence Dennis. Our partnerships with Chamber Music New Zealand have previously supported Latitude37, NZTrio, singers Jonathan Lemalu and Anna Leese with pianists Terence Dennis and Malcolm Martineau, and the innovative multi-media production of Haydn s Seven Last Words. This demonstrates the extraordinary wealth of creative talent that New Zealand has to offer. Deane Endowment Trust Sir Roderick Deane was awarded a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit this year for his contribution to business, policymaking and for supporting the arts and disability sector for more than 30 years. Trustees Gillian and Roderick Deane were honoured in 2008 for the substantial and sustained generosity they have provided to the arts in New Zealand. They received the annual Arts Foundation of New Zealand Award for Patronage, presented by Perpetual Trust.
Programme Canteloube Five songs from Les Chants d Auvergne Page 4 Messiaen Trois Mélodies Page 4 Berg Sieben frühe Lieder Page 5 INTERVAL Ross Harris Songs for Beatrice (première) Page 6 Bellini Tre Ariette Page 9 Rossini Tre canzonette: La regata veneziana Bel raggio lusinghier from Semiramide Page 11 HAMILTON 22 AUGUST WELLINGTON 20 AUGUST NELSON 18 AUGUST CHRISTCHURCH 11 AUGUST DUNEDIN 14 AUGUST INVERCARGILL 16 AUGUST The Wellington concert is being recorded for broadcast by Radio NZ Concert Please respect the music, the musicians, and your fellow audience members, by switching off all cellphones, pagers and watches. Taking photographs, or sound or video recordings during the concert is strictly prohibited unless with the prior approval of Chamber Music New Zealand. Madeleine Pierard and Terence Dennis 1.
Madeleine Pierard soprano Kaleidoscopes 2012 2. Madeleine Pierard grew up in Napier, playing the piano and singing in the New Zealand Youth Choir. While studying music and composition at Victoria University, she sang with the Tudor Consort and Voices New Zealand. In 2005 she won the Lexus Song Quest, and then undertook further studies at the International Opera School of the Royal College of Music in London with Lilian Watson. She has won many other competitions including the Great Elm Award at the Wigmore Hall (2007), Les Azuriales Ozone Opera Competition in France (2008), the Lies Askonas Prize, and the Singer s Award at the Royal Overseas League Competition (2009). Madeleine Pierard received an New Generation Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand in 2008. She is now a Jette Parker Young Artist with The Royal Opera, Covent Garden, and has performed numerous roles with the company. Other engagements include oratorio performances, orchestral concerts, and recitals, including at the Wigmore Hall and Westminster Abbey in London. Madeleine Pierard has appeared in concert with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in New Zealand and China. In 2006 she joined the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra to give the première of Symphony No 2 by Ross Harris, written for her, and she has recorded a CD of works by Lyell Cresswell with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
Terence Dennis piano Terence Dennis was born in Christchurch and graduated from Otago University and the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik, Cologne. He is currently Professor and Head of Performance Studies at the University of Otago Department of Music. He was appointed to the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2004, and is a Fellow of both the NZ Academy of Humanities and of the Royal Society of New Zealand. As one of New Zealand s leading pianists, he regularly partners leading musicians from overseas and in New Zealand both in recital and recording. His collaboration with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa has recently seen him perform at a royal recital in Windsor, UK, and in acclaimed recitals throughout Australia and Hawaii. Since 1991 he has been the pianist for the Lexus (formerly Mobil) Song Quest finals, and has been official pianist for seven international string competitions. He has been a guest adjudicator of the regional finals of the USA Metropolitan Opera Auditions Competition and in 2009-10 was on the staff of the Solti-Te Kanawa Accademia di Bel Canto Summer School in Italy. His CD of piano works by Liszt and Wagner was issued in 2007 by Ode Records. Madeleine Pierard and Terence Dennis 3.
Kaleidoscopes 2012 4. Joseph Canteloube Born Annonay, 21 October 1879 Died Paris, 4 November 1957 Songs from Les Chants d Auvergne Baïlèro Chut, chut La delaïssádo Lo fiolairé Lou boussu Canteloube grew up in southern France, and in 1906 he moved to Paris to study with D Indy, who shared his interest in using folk traditions to develop classical music for the future. Canteloube collected an enormous number of regional songs, mostly from southerncentral France, and is now mainly known through his five series of Chants d Auvergne. These songs from the Auvergne region, near where Canteloube grew up, are written in the Occitan language of the region. The composer arranged them with both orchestra and piano accompaniment, in an impressionistic and picturesque style. Baïlèro is a shepherd s song, in which the singer calls across the river to attract attention. Chut, Chut means hush, hush and tells of a girl whose father has given her the job of looking after the cows, but who spends her time being kissed by her sweetheart. In La delaïssádo, a shepherdess sings of being abandoned by her lover: I was certain he loved me, for I loved him so. The spinner in Lo fiolairé recounts how she generously gave a shepherd two kisses in payment for his help with her sheep. Lou boussu is a hunchback who is treated very rudely by the young woman he professes his love for, making him bitter. Olivier Messiaen Born Avignon, 10 December 1908 Died Paris, 28 April 1992 Trois Mélodies Pourquoi? Le Sourire La Fiancée Perdue Messiaen was one of the most influential composers of the 20th century and a remarkable keyboard player. He was noted for his improvisations at the organ of Sainte Trinité in Paris, where he was the organist from 1931 until his death in 1992. He was also an inspired teacher who encouraged and assisted many well-known composers of the mid to late 20th century. In addition to his performing and teaching work, he developed a unique musical language which used both rhythm and harmonic colour in new ways. His early compositions were influenced by Debussy, Ravel and Messiaen s teacher Dukas. In 1927 his mother, the poet Cécile Sauvage, died and three years later Messiaen completed the Trois Mélodies as a homage to her, using a fragment of her writing as the centrepiece. The outer two songs use texts by the composer. In Pourquoi? the singer wonders why she has lost her enjoyment of nature - of birdsong, the seasons, reflections in the water. Tenderness brings a smile in Le Sourire, which notes how intimate and fragile love is. La Fiancée Perdue contains musical references to the previous two songs, and ends with a prayer for peace for a lost love.
Alban Berg Born Vienna, 9 February 1885 Died Vienna, 24 December 1935 Sieben frühe Lieder Nacht Schilflied Die Nachtigall Traumgekront Im Zimmer Liebesode Sommertage Alban Berg s early life was an easy one. His family were comfortably off, and spent most holidays at their country estate in Carinthia. His sister Smaragda was a good pianist and his brother Charly was a singer, so it is perhaps no surprise that Alban s earliest surviving compositions, written when he was about 15, are songs. When his father died suddenly, the family experienced financial difficulties for some years and Alban was only able to continue at school because an aunt paid for him. In 1904 Arnold Schoenberg recognised Alban s musical talent and agreed to teach him even though the Berg family could not afford to pay for lessons. Anton Webern studied with Schoenberg at the same time, and these three remarkable composers formed what is now called the Second Viennese School. The Seven Early Songs (Sieben frühe Lieder) were written in the period 1905-08, and were collected and published with piano accompaniment in 1928, and in an orchestral version in 1955. It appears that Berg chose them as the best examples of his own early writing, from a time when he was immersed in a late-romantic musical world. Nacht ( Night ; text by Hauptmann) describes elements of nature - the noble world is so dreamily pure - and celebrates them - my soul, drink this solitude. In Schilflied ( Reed song ; text by Lenau) the poet uses a walk along a forest stream to sadly recall a lover - I think I hear the gentle sound of your voice wafting past. Die Nachtigall ( The nightingale ; text by Storm) refers opaquely to the effect of a nightingale s song on a woman - she carries her summer hat in her hand, enduring the heat of the sun, and does not know what to begin. Traumgekrönt ( Crowned through a dream ; text by Rilke) is another reflective poem - you came to me to take my soul. and quietly, as in a fairy tale, the night resounded. Im Zimmer ( In the room ; text by Schlaf) is a happy description of an autumn evening in front of the fire with a lover. In Liebesode ( Love poem ; text by Hartleben), scents from the garden give colour to the dreams of intertwined lovers. Sommertage ( Summer days ; text by Hohenberg) is an ecstatic and ardent song of longing - oh, heart, what can your brightest hiking song say about your deep pleasure. Madeleine Pierard and Terence Dennis 5.
Ross Harris Born Amberley, North Canterbury, 1 August 1945 Kaleidoscopes 2012 6. Songs for Beatrice Making Light of Time New Zealander Ross Harris taught music at Victoria University for over 30 years, and is now a freelance composer. His repertoire spans piano pieces, songs, chamber music, operas, orchestral works, jazz, rock and klezmer music. The première of his opera Waituhi led to Harris being awarded the QSM for Public Service in 1985, and in 2000, 2005, 2006 and 2009 he received the SOUNZ Contemporary Award. In 2005-2006 he was composer-in-residence with the Auckland Philharmonia, and in 2010 his song cycle The Floating Bride was premièred by Jenny Wollerman and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. The Abiding Tides, commissioned for Jenny Wollerman and the New Zealand String Quartet, was toured by Chamber Music New Zealand in 2011. Vincent O Sullivan is a poet, biographer, fiction writer and editor and has twice received the Montana Book Award for poetry. He has held many university residencies and fellowships, and is now Emeritus Professor of English at Victoria University. The composer s task, when presented with such subtle and beautiful words, is to try to create music that captures something of the same spirit. Ross Harris Songs for Beatrice was commissioned by Chamber Music New Zealand for this tour. The composer writes: These songs are to honour the astronomer Beatrice Tinsley, who was among the first to prove the universe is infinitely expanding, and not, as was generally thought, a fixed state. She was born in England, grew up in New Zealand, and was Professor of Astronomy at Yale when she died in 1981, at the age of forty. Vincent O Sullivan adds: The name Beatrice of course has marvellous resonances, while Tinsley s dealing with galaxies as a job, and the tragedy of her early death, spurred us both. It was also a way to celebrate and honour what she was and did. This is my seventh collaboration with Ross Harris, so it s surely clear by now, after opera libretti, several song cycles, an oratorio for brass, and songs as part of a symphony, that we enjoy working together. Vincent O Sullivan
Want to hear more from Madeleine Pierard? Come to her partner programme! Madeleine Pierard and Terence Dennis with Anna Pierard Schumann Three Spanish songs Brahms Two songs from Opus 43 Berg Sieben frühe Lieder Ross Harris Songs for Beatrice (première) Mozart Prenderò quel brunettino from Così fan tutte Ah, perdona al primo affetto from La clemenza di Tito Parto, parto from La clemenza di Tito Non mi dir from Don Giovanni Rossini Non piu mesta from La Cenerentola Bellini Ah non credea mirarti from La Sonnambula Mira, o Norma from Norma Auckland 23 August New Plymouth 9 August Napier 4 August Palmerston North 7 August Or listen out for the broadcast by Radio NZ Concert NEW ZEALAND STRING QUARTET BEETHOVEN! PART THREE: THE LATE QUARTETS Where and when Palmerston North Speirs Centre 22/23 August 6.30pm Hawkes Bay Church Road Winery 25 August 7.30pm 26 August 2.30pm Dunedin First Church 29/30 August at 7.30pm Auckland St Matthew-in-the-city 1 September 6pm (by candlelight) 2 September 2.30pm 25 TH ANNIVERSARY Nelson Nelson School of Music 4 September 7.30pm Wellington St Mary of the Angels Church 7 September 6.30pm (by candlelight) 8 September 6.30pm Bookings through Ticketek or Ticket Direct More information www.nzsq.co.nz or contact the New Zealand String Quartet Trust, 04 499 8883, nzsq@nzsq.co.nz Series sponsor
Vincenzo Bellini Born Catania, Sicily, 3 November 1801 Died Puteaux, near Paris, 23 September 1835 Tre Ariette Il fervido desiderio Dolente immagine di Fille mia Vaga luna, che inargenti Bellini was the son and grandson of organists, and as a child lived with his grandfather, who probably nurtured the youngster s musical interests. A scholarship enabled him to study in Naples, where he was exposed to the latest operas particularly those by Rossini. This probably encouraged Bellini s own writing, in which melody held the primary interest. As a result of his successful graduation opera in 1825, he was given the opportunity to write a serious opera for the San Carlo theatre, and the acclaim he received for that turned him into a professional composer overnight. During the remainder of his short life, Bellini wrote ten major operas, setting new levels for fees as a composer. Despite some contemporary criticism of his heart-onthe-sleeve style, he was enormously popular, and even 40 years later when his remains were taken from Paris back to Sicily, crowds reportedly gathered at every railway station to pay their respects. In addition to operas, Bellini also wrote a variety of solo songs, many of which remain unpublished. After his death, the Italian firm of Ricordi collected three of the ariette [little songs] and printed them in 1838. Il fervido desiderio [The fervent wish] is a song of yearning for being reunited with a lover. Dolente immagine di Fille mia [Sorrowful image of my Phyllis] urges a dead lover, Phyllis, to rest peacefully because her memory will never be extinguished. In Vaga luna, che inargenti [Beautiful moon, that is silvered] the moon is the sole witness to messages of love to a longed-for woman. Madeleine Pierard and Terence Dennis 9.
Encore, CMNZ's Supporter Programme, provides many ways of gifting your support to ensure the continued vitality of chamber music in New Zealand. We thank all contributors for their generous support. For more information about Encore, visit www.chambermusic.co.nz/support-us Victoria University of Wellington is proud to support Madeleine Pierard, a Victoria alumnus, at the Chamber Music New Zealand concert event. www.victoria.ac.nz 0800 VICTORIA
Gioacchino Rossini Born Pesaro, 29 February 1792 Died Passy, 13 November 1868 In his early years, while studying at the Liceo Filarmonico Comunale in Bologna, Rossini earned money playing for the opera, gaining practical experience which was to serve him well in later years, and he received his first commission for a one-act comedy when he graduated. As the composer of 39 operas, he had a phenomenal level of fame and artistic influence throughout Europe, with works such as The Barber of Seville setting a new standard for the theatre. In 1829, though, after writing William Tell for the Paris Opera, Rossini retired as an opera composer, refusing all requests for new productions. He seems to have been both physically and mentally exhausted, but over the following years did write some smaller works, including his Stabat Mater. In 1855 he returned to live out his final years in Paris, where he regained some degree of health and began to participate in the musical life of the city again. His Saturday evening salon attracted leading musicians, and he began to write music in earnest, producing a large number of pieces that he called my sins of old age. The most significant work from this time was the Petite Messe Solenelle, but he also wrote numerous piano pieces and songs. Although they are lighter in style, Rossini s former life is still evident: operatic elements such as recitative and aria are never far away. Tre canzonette: La regata veneziana Anzoleta avanti la regata Anzoleta co passa la regata Anzoleta dopo la regata The three canzonettas La regata veneziana are in the Venetian dialect and depict the feelings of the young woman Anzoleta, whose lover is participating in the Venice regatta. Before the race ( avanti la regata ) she exhorts him to do his utmost, while during the race ( co passa ) she cheers him on: he s beating all the others! Ah, I understand he looked at me!. In the final song she offers him kisses after the race for being the best boatman. Bel raggio lusinghier from Semiramide Rossini s 34 th opera Semiramide is a melodrama based on a Voltaire play, and and was premièred in 1823 with Rossini s wife Isabella Colbran in the title role. It presents a version of the legend of Semiramis, a beautiful but ruthless ruler of Assyria who assumed power after killing her husband. Set in the hanging gardens of Babylon, the brilliant aria Bel raggio lusinghier expresses Queen Semiramide s delight at the return of the young army commander Arsace, who she is in love with not realising that he is actually her son. Madeleine Pierard and Terence Dennis 11.
Board Chair, Peter Diessl, Paul Baines, Michelle van Gaalen, Roger King, Helen Philpott, Gretchen La Roche, Lloyd Williams. Kaleidoscopes 2012 12. Staff Chief Executive, Euan Murdoch Audience Development Manager, Victoria Dadd Marketing & Communications Assistant, Candice de Villiers Ticketing & Database Co-ordinator, Laurel Bruce Design & Print, Chris McDonald Publicist, Sally Woodfield Business Manager, Jenni Hall Operations Co-ordinator, Jessica Lightfoot Business Support Administrator, Jude Lambie Office Administrator/Programme Co-ordinator (Contest), Sue Jane Artist Development Manager, Charlotte Wilson Programme Writer, Jane Dawson Branches Auckland: Chair, Victoria Silwood; Concert Manager, Ros Giffney Hamilton: Chair, Murray Hunt; Concert Manager, Gaye Duffill New Plymouth: Chair, Joan Gaines; Concert Manager, Susan Case Hawkes Bay: Chair, June Clifford; Concert Manager, Liffy Roberts Manawatu: Chair, Graham Parsons; Concert Manager, Karen Carter Wellington: Concert Manager, Jessica Lightfoot; Nelson: Chair, Henrietta Hannah; Concert Manager, Clare Monti Christchurch: Chair, Colin McLachlan; Concert Manager, Jody Keehan Dunedin: Chair, Terence Dennis; Concert Manager, Richard Dingwall Southland: Chair, Shona Thomson; Concert Manager, Jennifer Sinclair Regional Presenters Blenheim, Cromwell, Gisborne, Gore, Hutt Valley, Kaitaia, Morrinsville, Motueka, Rotorua, Taihape, Tauranga, Te Awamutu, Tokoroa, Upper Hutt, Waikanae, Waimakariri, Waipukurau, Wanaka, Wanganui, Warkworth, Wellington, Whakatane and Whangarei. Regional Concerts & Other Events Nikau Trio (flute-oboe-cello) Morrinsville, 15 August Leonari Trio (piano-violin-cello) Warkworth, 18 August Tauranga, 19 August Rotorua, 20 August Gisborne, 23 August Whanganui, 26 August Lower Hutt, 28 August Motueka, 30 August Gore, 1 September Cromwell, 2 September Pepe Becker & Helen Webby (voice-harp) Blenheim, 31 August Wanaka, 2 September Lower Hutt, 5 September Taihape, 6 September Rotorua, 7 September Tauranga, 8 September Putaruru, 9 September Te Awamutu, 10 September Whakatane, 12 September Gisborne, 14 September Level 4, 75 Ghuznee Street PO Box 6238, Wellington Tel (04) 384 6133 Fax (04) 384 3773 info@chambermusic.co.nz www.chambermusic.co.nz /ChamberMusicNZ For all Concerts Managers phone 0800 CONCERT (266 2378)
A Special Thank You to all our Supporters Education: FARINA THOMPSON CHARITABLE TRUST Chamber Music New Zealand acknowledges all donations and support at branch level: Auckland: THE EDGE New Plymouth: TSB Community Trust Hawkes Bay: Eastern & Central Community Trust Manawatu: Eastern & Central Community Trust Wellington: Positively Wellington Venues Dunedin: Dunedin City Council Southland: Community Trust of Southland; Invercargill Licensing Trust Accommodation: Crowne Plaza Auckland, InterContinental Wellington Coffee supplier: Karajoz Coffee Company Chocolatier: de Spa Chocolatier Floral Supplier: Global Living Chamber Music New Zealand 2012 No part of this programme may be reproduced without the prior permission of Chamber Music New Zealand.
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