Orchestral manoeuvres for APO

Mark-Anthony Turnage is one of the world's top composers; now he's written music for the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra has a track record of commissioning new works.

The orchestra's composer-in-residence programme and associations with the likes of Ross Harris have seen it give numerous premieres by New Zealand composers. Never, though, has the APO commissioned a work from an international musician, let alone one as famous as Englishman Mark-Anthony Turnage.

Turnage is a big deal. He's written scores for opera — notably Neil Gaiman's children's fable Coraline (now on in London). He's been composer-in-residence with the Chicago Symphony, BBC Symphony and London Philharmonic orchestras; Simon Rattle conducted Turnage's Remembering with the Berlin Philharmonic and his violin concerto was written for the star fiddlers Vadim Repin and Daniel Hope.

Now Turnage's Symphonic Movements, co-commissioned by the APO, the Oregon Symphony and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, gets its Southern Hemisphere premiere on Thursday.

International commissions are standard fare in the orchestral world. They raise an orchestra's profile and prestige, which is important when it comes to fundraising and attracting top musicians, both guest artists and permanent players.

"Funds are tight," says Ronan Tighe, APO's director of artistic planning, "and we like to support New Zealand composers but it had been on my mind that this is something we should be doing. A friend, who's a director at [music publisher] Boosey & Hawkes, said she had a few things we could be interested in and the Turnage stood out."

Back in Auckland, the APO's fundraising team formed an artistic excellence project, talking to donors who might be interested in the orchestra working with a composer of Turnage's calibre. Even so, a full commission of this sort is beyond the APO's price point (a query about the cost brings only an enigmatic smile from Tighe), so it joined forces with Oregon and Liverpool.

Such co-commissions are increasingly common. In this case, the Oregon Symphony was lead commissioner, meaning it got to brief Turnage about the score and also won the honour of the world premiere, which was in October.

The APO is essentially purchasing shares in what everyone hopes will turn out to be a masterpiece. There's some risk in that, even with an artist as feted as Turnage, as the composer freely admits.

"When you commission, it is difficult because you may like a composer very much and you might like his past work very much, but he may produce something that isn't up to the works you liked, so it's very tricky," Turnage told broadcaster Robert McBride ahead of the world premiere in Oregon.

An obsessive perfectionist, he has withdrawn from publication early works he's unhappy with. Christian Kluxen, the conductor who will lead the APO on the night, is more forgiving.

"There is no such thing as [new music] I do not like, there is what I do not understand. If I don't understand it, I read it one more time."

Andrew Beer, the APO's concertmaster, says his musicians appreciate that attention to detail from a conductor.

"Orchestras need a conductor more in contemporary music than other styles. One, because it's unknown music, and two, because contemporary music, including the Turnage, tends to be more complex rhythmically so you'll have the time signature switching very often, there are different patterns of rhythms and often patterns crossing each other across different sections of the orchestra. This is really where we need the conductor's baton to make things clear."

To be in the orchestra pit for a new work is exhilarating, says Beer. "It's the only time you don't have the ability to listen to the music beforehand. It's not on YouTube, there are no recordings, you don't have an idea of the colours or timbres you're going to get. Nothing is known in advance so it's completely fresh with more reacting going on in the moment, and that's exciting for everyone."

Lowdown
What: Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra — New Zealand Herald Premier Series: A Night of Firsts
Where and when: Auckland Town Hall, Thursday, April 12