What: Yellow River Cantata with the Manukau Symphony Orchestra
Where and when: TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre, 770 Great South Rd, Manukau City, tonight at 7.30, tomorrow at 2.30pm
What: Messiah with Auckland Choral
Where and when: Auckland Town Hall, December 14 and 15 at 7.30pm
Even on a slow week, Uwe Grodd is one of the busiest musicians in town. As well as teaching and conducting duties as associate professor in the University of Auckland's Music Department, he is at the helm of both the Manukau Symphony Orchestra and Auckland Choral.
Yet he still finds time for research, most of which seems to lead to Naxos recordings, the most recent being a third instalment of Ferdinand Ries Piano Concertos with pianist Christopher Hinterhuber and a flute recital with pianist Matteo Napoli.
Despite two MSO events this weekend, and Auckland Choral's annual Messiah not too far away, Grodd is remarkably unflustered. The orchestral concerts take their name from Xinghai Xian's Yellow River Cantata, which is being given its New Zealand premiere.
"The Manukau Symphony Orchestra has always been very inclusive, embracing all cultures," says Grodd. "And so it's great to reach out to the Chinese community which is so strongly represented in our country."
Tackling this work has meant supplementing a Chinese choir from the Music Association of Auckland, intensively coached by Elizabeth Lau, with a 20-voice chorus and three solo performers from the Tianjin Dance, Drama and Opera Company in China.
"And," Grodd adds, "for the first time, we'll be using surtitles just like they do in opera productions."
The 1938 Cantata is best known through its 1969 transformation into the popular Yellow River Piano Concerto during the Cultural Revolution. Yet Grodd admits to be moved by the "stirring choruses and very strong folk element" in the original Cantata, a work inspired by the Chinese struggle against Japanese invaders in the second Sino-Japanese War.
"It might use conservative harmonies if you're looking at it from an avant-garde point of view," Grodd concedes.
"However, attitudes have shifted a little bit over the last few years and it's not without interest. Xian studied in Paris with D'Indy and Dukas and you can hear it in the orchestration."
Mention of the Chinese composer's time in France all those years ago connects with the current situation in New Zealand, where Asian students are a major presence in most university music departments. Auckland is no exception, as Grodd points out: "Their enthusiasm and dedication is extraordinary as the extreme discipline demanded by classical music appeals to Asian values."
One of Auckland's most successful Chinese graduates is Chenyin Li. Now based in Britain, two years ago Li came up with what was easily the most satisfying recital in Auckland's 2007 International Piano Festival; this weekend, she is the featured soloist in Tchaikovsky's First Concerto.
"Chenyin is not one of those pianists who are just all fireworks," says Grodd. "She's very expressive, with just the right combination of power and lyricism for this work."
A week after the Manukau concerts, it is Messiah time once again, Grodd's second performance of the Handel oratorio since he took over the responsibility for Auckland Choral last year. He is clearly thrilled with a quartet of soloists that sees the return of tenor David Hamilton, who is "fabulous every time we hear him in anything from the 18th century". The orchestra will be led by expat violinist Miranda Hutton "who plays in Holland with a Baroque instrumental ensemble and will have an interesting different take on what the strings do".
Add to this the use of more than one continuo instrument (chamber organ and two harpsichords are lined up and a lute is also being considered) and two major choruses being reinstated to the score ("Last year I was tearing my hair out when we made cuts," Grodd confides), it has all the signs of being a Messiah to remember.
