Gemma New talks to Trenton Times about program’s NZ ties

The Times of Trenton interviews guest conductor Gemma New—the NJSO’s former Associate Conductor—about returning to New Jersey stages this week for a program that opens with a nationalist work from her native New Zealand:

Geographically, New Zealand and Finland may be half a world apart, but, as Gemma New points out, musically and culturally, there are uncanny similarities between the two countries.

"We have a very strong Finnish connection in New Zealand," she says.  We have a lot of Finnish musicians coming over, so the Sibelius symphonies are kind of a staple of our repertoire.  Obviously, we are on the other side of the world, but I think there are two similarities, in particular, that pop out.  First, it's our relationship with nature and the fact that most of our country is just natural forests, lakes, and mountains.  Also, the people – I think we're a little bit reserved, but we're very strong.  We have equality between all ranks of people in society, if you will.  So we have a similar culture and a similar landscape."

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Stewart Goodyear will be the soloist in Grieg's Piano Concerto.  In addition, New will conduct Sibelius' Symphony No. 2 and Lilburn's "Aotearoa Overture."  The series will mark the first time she has had an opportunity to conduct music by a New Zealand composer beyond the borders of her homeland.

"It just worked out so well with the other pieces that the orchestra and I wanted to do," she says.  "They're all kind of nationalist composers, if you will.  Sibelius never really wanted to be a nationalist composer, but he really did bring the Finnish people together with his music.  I thought Lilburn would be a fantastic addition to the program, not only for these composers taking the landscape and the nature of their countries and putting it into their music, but also because Lilburn was such a great admirer of Sibelius.  The style of music written by Lilburn has got a lot of similarity to the Symphony No. 2."

Aotearoa was originally the Maori name for New Zealand's North Island.  It has since been associated with the entire country.

"It's a piece that we study at school as a music student, when you're 15 years-old," she says.  "Every youth orchestra performs it.  Every professional orchestra plays it regularly.  It really is like our 'Finlandia.'  Lilburn wanted to create a classical style of New Zealand music, specifically, so that the New Zealand people could listen to it and relate to it and play it.  It's a national piece, describing our country."

» Read the full interview at www.nj.com.

 

The Asbury Park Press also previews this week’s concerts:

Along with the Grieg, the orchestra will perform Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 and New Zealand composer Douglas Lilburn (1915-2001).

Both Sibelius and Lilburn had periods of nationalist-inspired works during the 20th century. Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 is often associated with Finland’s struggle for independence.

Lilburn is considered the father of New Zealand classical music. His piece on this program, titled “Aotearoa” Overture, was written in 1940 and inspired by the country’s coastline. It takes its title from the Maori word for New Zealand.

The NJSO conductor of the “Aotearoa” is another New Zealander. New was formerly the NJSO associate conductor but has accepted a position as the St. Louis Symphony’s resident conductor. She is returning in a guest role to lead the NJSO for this program.

Composed in 1868, the Grieg Piano Concerto shows the influence of the folk music of his native Norway, an aspect that associates the concerto closely with that country. Its opening flourish is one of the most famous moments in the concerto repertoire. Soloist Stewart Goodyear described the music as athletic and beautiful and has said the work “inspired me to become a concert pianist … I hear a very rustic quality in the Grieg concerto. It is filled with pride, a true celebration of where the composer came from.”

» Read the full preview at www.app.com.

 

On Tuesday, WWFM host David Osenberg aired a live call-in interview with pianist Stewart Goodyear about Grieg’s Piano Concerto. In an NJSO interview, Goodyear spoke about his lifelong affinity for the concerto:

I just fell in love with the Grieg concerto when I first heard it as a child. It had such a different personality than everything I’d heard before. I was captivated—I loved the melodies and how unique and direct it was. Every time I would go to my grandparents’ house, they would play an LP of the Grieg on their huge gramophone, and the speakers would boom with the rumbling timpani. So every time I hear the concerto, I feel like I am at my grandparents’ cottage as a youngster.

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I first performed it in public when I was 13. By the next time I played it, with the Philadelphia Orchestra, I wanted to know more about Grieg and about Norway. I took a trip to Norway to be in that environment amongst the fjords. That was an incredible piano lesson—being there and soaking up the atmosphere. I felt that only then did I really learn to play the Grieg, that it was finally a part of me.

[When I think of the Grieg, I think of] Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music. Before he sings “Edelweiss,” he says to the audience: “I want to sing with you a love song. I know you share this love, I pray you never let it die.”

» Read more thoughts from Goodyear.

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