“There is no denying that Marc Taddei is a communicator, and he certainly has a real feel for programming.
Because he happens to be a highly skilled musician as well, he backs his ideas with performances of real quality, and, under his baton the Vector Wellington Orchestra has developed into an orchestra of considerable polish. So it was no surprise to find a full hall for this enterprising concert, and no-one present would have been disappointed.
The concert ended triumphantly … marshalled with great understanding and skill by Taddei.”
“…a concert that … showed conductor Marc Taddei’s great success in programming, performance vitality and audience communication…”
“Marc Taddei, conductor and music director of the Vector Wellington Orchestra, has again hit the high spots with his programming. His concert of Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms and a semi-staged Bartok opera, Bluebeard’s Castle, drew uniform superlatives last year.
“I watched Taddei … selling Ives’ audaciously esoteric Putnam’s Camp from Three Places in New England to an audience of light listeners in Christchurch by telling them how Ives portrayed two different bands street-marching in different directions, metres, tempi and tunes. He had them eating out of his hand.
“This immediately empowered Taddei to transmogrify the CSO’s repertoire, suffering initially from bedsores induced by perpetual conservatism, to a large audience lapping up Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and Taddei’s swan song concert of Strauss’ Four Last Songs with the noisy bravos and stamping of a rock audience. I imagine his communication skill with his audiences is one strong reason that Vector recently extended his contract..
“[Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2] gives every element of the orchestra a chance to shine, and Taddei handled it like the professional he is. He knew when to give and when to take.
Taddei conducted this nearly hour-long piece from memory and never faltered…
Take a bow, maestro.”
“Taddei held together all the elements with flair and ease. These were not easy pieces, and with him being in town for but a few rehearsals it could have been a difficult concert. It was, in fact, truly a difficult concert. But not if you were listening or watching. It was fiery.”