Latest news with #TheJourneyofMataatuaWhare
Otago Daily Times
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
History writ large in concert
"BRAHMS & MATAATUA: A JOURNEY IN MUSIC" Dunedin Symphony Orchestra Saturday, June 28 Dunedin Town Hall The audience was taken on a deeply-moving musical journey exploring the trials and tribulations of one of Ōtepoti's much-loved former residents in Saturday's concert. Presenting the world premiere performance of Gillian Karawe Whitehead's The Journey of Mataatua Whare, the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and conductor James Judd were joined on stage by soloists Rebecca Ryan (soprano), Tomairangi Henare (baritone), and Paul Whelan (bass), along with a 16-strong DSO chorus. The work was introduced with a spine-tingling karanga by Lily Fraser, on behalf of mana whenua, setting the scene for an absorbing and emotional journey for all. The Journey of Mataatua Whare is very much an ensemble piece, with important roles for all participants. The orchestra took a range of roles, from the peace of 19th-century Māori life to jubilant marching bands, tackling the many changes in style with aplomb. Whelan was suitably stern as the voice of government and empire, Henare's resonant voice depicted the pain and determination of Ngāti Awa, and Ryan was superb as the meeting house herself — singing many difficult passages beautifully, while bringing the emotion to the fore. The chorus was sterling in support, taking on multiple roles with great energy and shining alongside Ngāti Awa themselves in the final, uplifting waiata Tomo Mai. The concert's second half featured another monumental work, Brahms' epic Piano Concerto No. 2, beautifully performed by the orchestra and piano soloist Jian Liu, under the steady baton of Judd. Very much a conversation between orchestra and soloist, the concerto moved through multiple themes, with Liu bringing its stately passages and delicate beauty to the fore. Principal cello Heleen du Plessis also made the most of her opportunity to shine in glorious solo passages in the third movement. Following thunderous applause, Liu returned with his own tribute to Whitehead as an encore, playing her Lullaby for Matthew. Saturday's concert was a wonderful showcase of the power of music to move, entertain, and teach history.
Otago Daily Times
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Pianist returns as soloist with DSO
Wellington-based pianist and educator Dr Jian Liu is visiting Dunedin for the third time since the start of this year to feature as soloist with the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra. Liu is in rehearsals with the DSO this week for his performance of Brahms' monumental Piano Concerto No 2, one of two major works in Saturday's ''Brahms & Mataatua: A Journey in Music'' concert, from 7.30pm at the Dunedin Town Hall. The other major work, to be led by DSO principal guest conductor James Judd, will be the premiere performance of Dunedin composer Gillian Whitehead's The Journey of Mataatua Whare. The piece, which will feature soloists Rebecca Ryan (soprano), Tomairanga Henare (baritone), and Paul Whelan (bass), celebrates 100 years since the Mataatua Wharenui returned to New Zealand. An international concert pianist, chamber musician, and awardwinning recording artist, Liu is head of piano studies and deputy head of school at the New Zealand School of Music. During his recent visits to Dunedin, he was a member of the adjudicating panel for the Dunedin Concerto Competition, won by 16 year-old pianist Ozan Biner-McGrath. ''The concerto competition was a very special event. It was wonderful to be part of it and to hear so many talented young people perform.'' Now he is back to showcase his own prodigious piano performance skills, taking on one of the most epic concertos in the classical canon — Brahms' Piano Concerto No.2. ''I'm very excited to be returning to the Dunedin Town Hall, with its fantastic acoustic, to play this intriguing work,'' Liu said. Preparing for Saturday's Brahms performance has involved careful management, as it comes just two weeks after Liu performed Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No 3 with Orchestra Wellington. ''Getting ready for two concerts close together involved preparing the two works side by side earlier in the year, and then focusing on each one exclusively in the weeks leading up to the performance,'' Liu said. ''It's a carefully planned out process and the timing has worked out perfectly. ''And most importantly, what a joy it is to play two such wonderful works.'' Brahms' Piano Concerto No 2 is an unusual work in the Romantic repertoire, with the pianist and orchestra working together in conversation. ''I describe it as like a symphony with a piano accompaniment, and it is symphony length as well,'' Liu said. ''Somehow it is both intimate and very grand, and it has a wonderful warmth. ''The orchestra and soloist must work together very closely in collaboration, so it is very special for me that my first concert with James Judd involves this work.'' Along with his Dunedin visits, Liu performed in Vietnam in April, and will head to Germany and China for more concerts. There are also New Zealand concert and chamber music commitments. Free pre-concert talk There will be a free pre-concert talk by Dr Andrew Perkins in conversation with composer Gillian Whitehead and DSO concertmaster Tessa Petersen, from 6.40pm-7pm on Saturday in the Dunedin Town Hall complex.
Otago Daily Times
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
The whare that travelled the globe
The little-known story of the Mataatua Whare will be brought to life by the music of Dame Gillian Whitehead, the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra and soloists Tomairangi Henare, Paul Whelan and Rebecca Ryan this weekend. Rebecca Fox talks to Dame Gillian Whitehead and baritone Tomairangi Henare about the premiere of The Journey of Mataatua Whare. One hundred years ago the Mataatua Whare returned to New Zealand. The traditional carved meeting house was sent to Dunedin for the 1925 Great Exhibition from London where it had languished for 40 years in the basement of what became the Albert and Victoria Museum. It had originally been built in Whakatāne by several North Island Māori tribes as a symbol of unity and was richly decorated with woven wall panels and carvings of ancestors and named Mataatua Wharenui (The House of Mataatua) after the name of their ancestral waka. However, five years after its opening the government dismantled it and sent it to Sydney via steamship for the 1879 International Exhibition. It then travelled to Melbourne for its exhibition before being sent to London and put on display for a few years. It was re-erected in 1924-25 for the Wembley Exhibition and then put back into storage. After the Great Exhibition in Dunedin it was given to Otago Museum, on permanent loan from the government, which re-erected it, in truncated form. It stayed there for 70 years until it was returned to the descendants of the original tribes in 1996 and later restored. The story was brought to composer Dame Gillian Whitehead's attention by Dunedin Symphony Orchestra's concertmaster Tessa Petersen, who discovered it while looking into the Great Exhibition. Dame Gillian found it fascinating so the pair visited Ngāti Awa to consult with it about using the story in a piece for the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra to celebrate Matariki. Petersen researched the music of the time and found marches played at the various exhibitions, which Dame Gillian has incorporated into her score. Dame Gillian (Ngāi Te Rangi and Tuhoe) also did a lot of research into the story that helped inform the composition, including the situation New Zealand found itself in after World War 1, with illness and the confiscation of lands. "We've told the story in chronological order because it's an important story as part of our country's history, and it's a story that a lot of people just know a part of." They start with the building of the whare and the "incredible journeys" it made follow on. "It was supposed to be away for six months and yet it didn't come back until 70-odd years later." To tell the story, Dame Gillian has included three vocalists, those roles to be performed in the premiere by Tomairangi Henare, Paul Whelan and Rebecca Ryan. "One is a baritone, who represents Māori. One is a bass, who represents Pākehā. And there's a soprano, who is the voice and the presence of the house. So she sings from the perspective of the house, as it goes through its various manifestations, situations. "The bass also plays a couple of specific roles, as the government representative, who wants to take the house to Sydney. And the judge of the Waitangi Tribunal." The baritone role performed by Henare (Ngāti Kahungunu), as the voice of Māori, is often a lament for what is happening, as Ngāti Awa wanted the whare back but did not have the resources to do that. For Henare, who will be singing in Dunedin for the first time, the piece resonates — especially as he had not heard the story before and found it fascinating and "mind-boggling". "As a tangata whenua myself, I think it's important to protect our culture and to preserve it and present it as Māori people intend it to be presented, and show that respect that is needed, for it to still resonate with people, for the tipuna to resonate with us." To prepare for the piece, Henare, who is Hamilton-based, has been doing a lot of "note bashing" but also a lot of speaking and rhythm. "That's a big thing for me, because singers already are pretty notoriously bad at rhythm. So I think that extra work and that extra attention to detail is really important for me." Performing a work for the first time, it is important to respect it, he says. It is always exciting to perform a new composition that has not been marred by tradition or touched by other performers. Normally he would listen to other recordings of a performance as part of his preparation. "Hopefully, I can make it my own while also paying respect to the composer, to Gillian. So, maybe somewhere down the line, if anyone else is performing this, then I'll be a reference, which is something that's actually really nerve-racking to think about." It is another step in his career, which began in the small North Island town of Nuhaka where he found his love of performing through kapa haka and church choirs. It was not until he became involved in Project Prima Volta, a youth initiative in Hawke's Bay, that he discovered opera. He was 15 when he performed in his first opera having never seen one before. "I just fell in love with opera. It was an amazing community. I found a lot of my closest friends there, found my partner there and we've been together since." Henare, who plays guitar and video games in his spare time, loves the larger-than-life aspects of an opera production and the challenges of embodying a character through singing, acting and moving. He went on to study singing and composition at Victoria University and is now studying for his masters in advanced opera in Hamilton. While Henare loves the drama of opera, for Dame Gillian her new work is her first dramatic piece with orchestra and multiple soloists. Coincidentally, however, Wellington Opera is next month also premiering her chamber opera, Mate Ururoa , which tells the story of Māori Gallipoli soldier Captain Roger Dansey, one of first contingent of Māori allowed to go overseas to fight. He was sent home for disobeying orders. He went on to recruit the pioneer battalion, which was to become the Māori Battalion in World War 2. It is to be performed in Māori and English. Originally planned to premiere in 2021 at New York's Carnegie Hall, it was cancelled due to the pandemic. It also turns out that when the Mataatua Whare was rediscovered in London, Dansey was one of the people sent to attest to its quality before it was sent home. "It's funny how the two things are happening at a similar time," Dame Gillian says. "He's not in the other piece but there is a picture of him. He's in a photo, which I thought was quite interesting. " Alongside the performance a multi-media presentation will screen showing the whare over its history, which will first be presented to Ngāti Awa in Whakatāne before the premiere. Brahms & Mataatua: A Journey in Music, Dunedin Symphony Orchestra, June 28, 7.30pm Dunedin Town Hall.
Otago Daily Times
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
DSO - Brahms and Mataatua: A Journey in Music
Brahms's monumental Piano Concerto No. 2 was written when his compositional powers were at their peak. From a deceptively benign opening with a lone horn melody, the movements in turn evoke grace and turmoil, leading to an exhilarating climax. Acclaimed Wellington pianist Jian Liu returns to deliver the dazzling technique and musical depth this great work calls for. We celebrate Matariki with The Journey of Mataatua Whare, a newly commissioned work by Dame Gillian Whitehead which commemorates 100 years since the Mataatua Wharenui returned to NZ. The work tells the Wharenui's story: from the carved meeting house's creation in Whakatāne, the loss of Ngāti Awa control over it, its travels and mistreatment, its return to NZ for Dunedin/Ōtepoti's 1925 Great Exhibition and then Tūhura Otago Museum, and its final return to Ngāti Awa in Whakatāne. Three distinguished NZ singers and a selected chorus will join DSO's Principal Guest Conductor James Judd on stage for this very special event. For more information please visit | Brahms and Mataatua a Journey in Music
