Marc Taddei conducts Wellington Orchestra Photo: 2018 Mark Tantrum
Orchestra Wellington's concert, "Fundamental Forces," recorded in April 2023 at the Michael Fowler Centre, features four remarkable works that each explore different aspects of the fundamental forces that drive music and emotion.
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's Symphony in E Minor was composed during his time at the court of Frederick the Great in Berlin. This symphony is a prime example of the "Empfindsamer Stil" or "Sensitive Style," which emphasises emotional expression and dynamic contrasts. Its expressive melodies and dramatic contrasts reflect the emotional depth and innovation that CPE Bach brought to the classical music scene.
Natalia Lomeiko Photo: Jane Blundell
Igor Stravinsky composed his Violin Concerto in D in 1931, commissioned by the American violinist Samuel Dushkin. Known for its distinctive "passport chord," this concerto blends modern harmonies with classical forms. Stravinsky's neoclassical style is evident in this work, focusing on the interplay between the soloist and the orchestra.
Natalia Lomeiko may make her home in London, but New Zealand claims her as one of our premiere violinists. She and her parents immigrated from Russia in her youth. They joined the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, and she went on to perform around the world as a solo violinist, winning the Michael Hill International Violin Competition in 2003 and received numerous prizes from competitions around the world from the Tchaikovsky to the Premio Paganini International Violin Competition.
Now, Lomeiko is a Professor of Violin at the Royal College of Music in London as well as at Eton College. She regularly appears in New Zealand as soloist and chamber musician.
Natalia Lomeiko followed her performance with an encore by Bach
Composed in 1765, Haydn's 39th symphony is one of his early minor key symphonies, associated with the Sturm und Drang or ‘Storm and Stress’ movement. The symphony's nickname, "Tempesta di Mare" (Storm at Sea), reflects its turbulent and dynamic character. The first movement's nervous energy and sudden pauses create a sense of suspense, while the finale's frenetic pace brings the symphony to an exhilarating conclusion.
Portrait of Prokofiev 1934 Photo: Petr Petrovic Konchalovsky, Public Domain
Composed in 1915, this piece depicts a mythical Scythian world with vivid and barbaric musical imagery. The Scythians were a nomadic people of Iranian origin who lived from around the 9th century BCE to the 2nd century CE. They migrated from Central Asia to southern Russia and Ukraine, establishing a powerful empire centred in what is now Crimea. Known for their exceptional horsemanship and warrior skills, the Scythians also developed a rich and complex culture, leaving behind elaborate graves filled with gold artefacts and other treasures.
Prokofiev originally composed the Scythian Suite as a ballet score titled “Ala i Lolli,” commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev. The ballet’s plot, set among the Scythians, tells the story of a dramatic conflict between gods and monsters. In the suite, the first movement, ‘Invocation to Veles and Ala’, depicts the Scythians invoking the sun god Veles and his daughter Ala with barbaric and colourful music. In the second movement, ‘The Evil God and the Dance of the Pagan Monsters’, the Scythians make a sacrifice to Ala, and the Evil God performs a violent dance surrounded by seven monsters. The third movement, ‘Night’, shows the Evil God harming Ala, and the Moon Maidens descending to console her with ethereal and mysterious music. Finally, in the fourth movement, ‘The Glorious Departure of Lolli and the Cortège of the Sun’, the hero Lolli comes to save Ala, with the Sun God assisting him in defeating the Evil God. The suite concludes with a musical depiction of the sunrise, celebrating their victory.
For the sunrise, the percussionists of Orchestra Wellington were placed in the choir boxes above the stage, each playing suspended cymbals in an incredible crescendo of shimmering sound.
Recorded in Wellington's Michael Fowler Centre, 15 April, 2023
David Houston, producer & engineer
Sam Smaill, assistant engineer
