Ehnes wows crowd as soloist, conductor
27 May 2010
Winnipeg Free Press; by Holly Harris
Manitoba
Chamber Orchestra; James Ehnes, conductor and violin soloist
Westminster
United Church; Tue May 25
Attendance: 900 (sold out)
Five out of five stars
Any time Brandon-born violinist James Ehnes comes to town is cause for celebration.
Manitoba's own golden boy lit up the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra stage for its season finale Tuesday night, wowing the crowd with his dazzling virtuosity and an easy charm that his adoring fans just can't seem to get enough of. He served double duty both as soloist and, even more intriguingly, guest conductor throughout the evening.
The 34-year old dynamo has garnered multiple Grammy and Juno awards and rightfully earned a worldwide reputation for his exceptional artistry. He last appeared with the MCO in September 2007 when he performed all five Mozart violin concerti over two evenings. It's notable that the MCO sold out this week's concert a record-breaking five months ago with many patrons sitting onstage behind the orchestra as overflow seating.
The program opened with Beethoven's Romance No. 1, in G major, Op. 40 bathed in languorous romanticism. As one of two composed, it's usually its counterpart, Romance No. 2 in F major, Op. 50 that is performed more often. The first is equally gracious with Ehnes handling its more difficult double stops with aplomb while setting a leisurely tempo. His honey-sweet tone made this piece sing with his impossibly long bowing always firmly in control.
Vivaldi's The Four Seasons gave the crowd a taste of Ehnes's renowned bravura. Comprised of four evocative violin concerti that depict the moods of the turning seasons, the first concerto Spring was filled with rhythmic vitality underscored by harpsichordist William Bonness on continuo. Ehnes easily navigated the virtuosic runs while shrugging cues to the players during his solo passages. Summer filled with its imitative cuckoo and turtledove cries gave way to tempestuous storms that showcased the violinist's flashy temperament. The absolute stillness near the end of the Autumn's allegro contrasted with its robust finale, while Winter came in like a lion with enthralling presto runs and dynamic interplay between string sections.
We know Ehnes can play like a demon, but what became even more fascinating was seeing him trade in his violin bow completely for baton during Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings in C Major, Op. 48. Already on record for wishing to nurture a burgeoning conducting career — with seeds planted during his last MCO appearance when he led the players during the Mozart concerti — this concert marked the first time we have seen him lead the orchestra without fiddle in hand. His conducting style (as a work in progress) is relatively easy going, but what became fascinating was seeing him now use the orchestra as an extension of his own musicality. It's a testament to his skill and clarity of vision that the MCO players were responsive as his fabled $4.5 million Stradivarius (1715) violin. The four movements were crafted with flexible tempi with its third movement, Élégie: Larghetto elegiaco, a soulful highlight after the shimmering opening Pezzo in forma di Sonatina with its stirring close harmonies. This piece is so closely associated with the iconic late American ballet choreographer George Balanchine and it's curious that Ehnes, as the son of a ballet dancer, chose it for his program.
It's fashionable these days for conductors to say a few words about their program, and hearing Ehnes speak (other than his brief joking before the encore) would have added icing to the cake. As a gifted communicator whose rapport with his audience and musicians is palpable, it would have made an already strong program that much better. Still, the enthralled crowd leapt to their feet in a rousing standing ovation, leading to an eagerly received encore of the largo movement from Vivaldi's Winter.
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MCO performance
features the recorder
19 May 2010
The Manitoban, by John Herbert Cunningham
Manitoba Chamber Orchestra; Anne Manson, conductor; Michala Petri, recorder
Westminster United Church, Tue
May 4
This past Tuesday evening I witnessed a rarity — the recorder (that instrument you probably played in elementary school music class) used in a contemporary chamber setting.
Michala Petri is a recorder virtuoso. It was quite the sight watching her approach the stage with an armload of recorders and proceeded to demonstrate her appreciation for them, as she treated each one with the same amount of respect and decorum as befits such a noble insturment.
The concert began with Elgar’s Serenade for Strings in E minor. This was an excellent opener as it changed the usual format of classical music. The cellos and basses dominated the string section forcing the violins to play a supporting role.
The next two pieces featured Petri.
The first, The Ancient Chinese Beauty, by Chen Yi, was an absolutely riveting piece. Totally twenty-first century, it required the violins to use their highest voices while the bassists used gut-bucket style thumping. Riding on top of this dissonant wave was the recorder — and what a recorder. Did you know that you can perform multiphonics (where a single instrument produces several notes at once) on a recorder? In the hands and mouth of a talent as incredible as Petri’s the trill emerges as a complete vocabulary along with its own musical dictionary.
The second piece, by Canadian composer Gary Kulesha, Concerto for Recorder and Small Orchestra, stayed firmly planted in the twenty-first century.
The full house audience was completely taken by surprise when the harpsichord bench was taken not by Eric Lussier, usually the harpsichordist of choice, but by the individual who has become known as one of Winnipeg’s (and Canada’s) finest jazz pianists, Will Bonness. In a later conversation with Bonness he revealed that Lussier has been his piano teacher for about ten years — and apparently his harpsichord teacher as well.
Given the quality of talent that the audience was treated to, a standing ovation was deservedly given. In response, Petri returned to the stage and provided an encore. This consisted of a series of Danish folk tunes with her own variations. Her command and control of her instrument was amply demonstrated through an assortment of trills, one so fast that it was impossible to believe a tongue could vibrate so quickly. Absolutely breathtaking!
Not to be outdone, the MCO returned to the stage following intermission to perform Haydn’s Symphony No. 45 in F Sharp Minor. The four movements were beautifully handled. Manson demonstrated that she was relaxing into her role as conductor as she performed the magic of having her orchestra slowly dissolve, plunging itself into darkness as first one group of musicians and then another turned off the lights on their music stands, picked up their instruments and left the stage. This left only concertmaster and principle violinist Karl Stobbe and one other violinist (by that time even Manson had left) to conclude the piece. The audience ate this up, finding the proceedings, as was intended, extremely comical.
This was a truly delightful concert with the guest artist and the members of the MCO at their musical best. Your last chance to catch the MCO this season is at the end of this month when, on May 25, James Ehnes, always a crowd pleaser, will be the featured artist in a program of Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Vivaldi.
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Lowly recorder flies high
6 May 2010
Winnipeg Free Press; by Gwenda Nemerofsky
Manitoba Chamber Orchestra; Anne Manson, conductor; Michala Petri, recorder
Westminster United Church; Tue May 4
Attendance: 720
Four out of five stars
Oh, the lowly recorder! Made of plastic or wood, it has squeaked its way through many an elementary school classroom.
But in the hands of Danish recorder virtuoso Michala Petri, it is transformed. Lithe, athletic, prim, eerie — all describe Petri's playing and astonishing command of the instrument.
Petri performed a series of recorders — sopranino, an extended soprano, alto and tenor in a program of contemporary music.
Chen Yi's Ancient Chinese Beauty, commissioned by Petri, was not the most satisfying choice, with its purposely shrill notes in soloist and orchestra. The Clay Figurines, however, were accurately represented with Petri's authentic ocarina sound as she worked her way through trills and runs, flutter tonguing and overblowing. Technically impressive but nothing that could be termed pretty.
Insect-like strings buzzed around the soloist who remained unmoved in The Ancient Totems, solid in her introspective melodic line.
The recorder's unusual broken semi-chromatic patterns interwove in The Dancing Ink, showing Petri's technical prowess. The movement culminated in a captivating duel between determined soloist and insistent orchestra.
Another commission, Gary Kulesha's Concerto for Recorder and Small Orchestra followed, proving to be more engaging. Petri let her breath die away at each phrase ending of passacaglia, giving it a surreal effect. Her long final note, with pristinely thin pipe-like tone and balanced vibrato, was a testament to her incredible breath control.
Dense harmonies and interesting timbres, with the addition of harpsichord and viola ostinato below Petri's sustained notes (on alto) made the movement called Slow quite lovely. The rhythmically dodgy allegro explored the entire range of the sopranino. No challenge for Petri who maneuvered around with delicate ease. Her cadenza resembled a brash bird jumping from branch to branch.
But it was Petri's encore -- a perky Danish folk tune and variations that brought the house down. This charming solo evoked children in traditional dress frolicking in the countryside. It broke into variations showcasing Petri's versatility and technical wizardry. Singing harmony as she played, bending notes, lightning quick passages and twittering bird calls delighted the audience that was hungry for the time-honoured recorder music they had come to hear. This encore received thunderous applause and a standing ovation.
Conductor Anne Manson ably adapts to all genres of music. As well as directing the unpredictable preceding works, she guided the MCO through a moving reading of Elgar's Serenade for Strings full of the requisite swells and lyricism and an entertaining re-enactment of the premiere of Haydn's Symphony No. 45 (Farewell).
As the story goes, impatient, overworked musicians were anxious to finish their tour of duty and a sympathetic Haydn cleverly scored the final movement to end by eliminating parts. In groups and individually, MCO musicians clicked off their music stand lamps and left the stage until only concertmaster Karl Stobbe and principal second Simon MacDonald remained to play the final notes. This was delightful fun.
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Chamber night
An evening with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra
20 April 2010
The Manitoban, by John Herbert Cunningham
Manitoba Chamber Orchestra; Chamber Night
Westminster United Church, Wed
Apr 7
How often is it that you get to see classical music being performed without the presence of a conductor or violins? If you’re answer is never, you’re almost right; that “almost” is thanks to the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra’s (MCO) Chamber Night.
Chamber Night is becoming a tradition with the MCO. It is the evening where those instruments subordinate to the violin (which is every other instrument in the orchestra) stage a minor insurrection, asserting their own musicality.
This was never more true than in the opening piece of the evening, Charles-François Gounod’s Petite Symphony. Other than a single cello and bass, strings were banished completely from the stage — as was the brass. One of the horn players came to stand before a microphone set to the side of the stage to discuss the uneasy alliance between the horns and the other instruments of the orchestra. Not brash enough to be brass, the horns were still too domineering for the woodwinds. However, in Gounod’s piece, the two horns blended extremely well with two bassoons, two oboes, two clarinets and a flute — the cello and bass provided subtle undertones. What was particularly interesting to hear was the interplay between the oboe and the clarinet as they traded off melodic motifs. The flute player was exceptional.
This was followed by Bach’s Brandenburg concerto no. 6 in B flat major. The program notes stated that “each concerto has a different set of featured instruments. The musical scoring of the sixth concerto has made it one of the least performed of the set. The line-up of soloists is made up exclusively of lower-pitched string instruments, and the larger, accompanying string body omits violins.” One of those soloists in this concerto grosso was Rennie Regehr, whose return to Winnipeg’s musical community was a welcome sight as he had been a mainstay of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (WSO) and the MCO for some time before relocating east. The piece is characterized by two violists trading licks and playing off each other in a very enjoyable, entertaining fashion. Eric Lussier provided harpsichord accompaniment.
Following intermission, the musicians returned for Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Concert no. 6 from Pièces de clavecin en concerts. Although Rameau’s intent was to “expand the inherent colours of his previously existing harpsichord solos by adding extra instruments,” there was no harpsichord in this piece. Instead, the violins were permitted to make an appearance, the piece being scored for three violins, a viola and two cellos. We return to the program notes for a description of the series of pieces making up this suite: “First comes his most famous work, a lively portrait of a clucking hen. It’s followed by a pair of gracious minuets; a fascinating, enigmatic piece called L’Enharmonique (alluding to a compositional technique that it demonstrates); and finally the vivacious and exotic L’Eqiptienne (The Egyptian Woman).” The clucking hen piece was not as crazy as it sounds. In fact, it permits of some interesting pyrotechnics from the violinists. The compositional technique referred to was explained to the audience as a manner of playing a series of eight notes in unequal value so that a lilting, almost jazzy, staccato sound ensued.
Concluding the concert was Antonin Dvorák’s Serenade in D Minor. Yuri Hooker, the MCO’s and WSO’s cello virtuoso, announced the piece and performed throughout in an exceptionally brilliant manner, which is what Winnipeg audience’s have come to expect from him. It was so refreshing to hear something by Dvorák other than the New World Symphony. He could actually compose other great music — although you’d generally not be aware of that given the almost exclusive offering of that piece.
One final mention is the outstanding performance given prior to the concert by the group of U of M music students, comprising the Melismatic Saxophone Quartet.
A fine concert enjoyed by a full house — what more could one have hoped for?
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MCO wind instruments blow away audience
8 April 2010
Winnipeg Free Press, by Gwenda Nemerofsky
Manitoba Chamber Orchestra; Chamber Night
Westminster
United Church, Wed Apr 7
Attendance: 715
4 out of five stars
Pulling a switch Wednesday night, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra decided to showcase wind instruments — and the audience was blown away by the result.
All selections were musicians' choices. They turned out to be hits with the crowd as well. We have many opportunities throughout the season to see and hear strings, but the winds are often relegated to the back of the stage — if they're there at all.
Opening with Charles Gounod's Petite Symphonie, scored for flute and pairs of clarinets, oboes, French horns and bassoons, they sprang into life in the allegretto, a light and bouncy dance. First oboist Caitlin Broms-Jacobs' phrases flowed from one to another seamlessly, her ornaments agile and musical, while flutist Martha Durkin's tone was clear and lovely. Rich clarinets rounded out the sound.
The flute and oboe lead line pushed the tempo a little in early going, but this worked itself out. All musicians swayed with involvement and enjoyment, easily passing this along to listeners.
Durkin's delivery was a little staid in the andante, needing more nuance and shape to the line. One didn't get the feeling she was putting her heart into it. The entire ensemble sounded somewhat metronomic here — as if needing to be set free.
But they regained momentum in the bright and lively scherzo, every section taking its turn, perfectly synchronized, flowing smoothly from part to part.
Playful motifs throughout the finale fit together snugly, like a good jigsaw puzzle and a little bluster of horn added a special touch. This distinctly French work was charming and alive.
Dvorak's Serenade showcased the plentiful talents of all the players. Adding an additional horn, cello and double bass to the above instrumentation, this was superb from beginning to end. A regal march, a pastoral melody and a country dance were all presented with wonderful energy and drive to spare.
Broms-Jacobs' heavy, rich quality and supple phrasing, full and satiny resonance from the clarinets and nimble flourishes from cello and bass were just a few highlights of this intelligently played work.
The oft-maligned violas took centre stage for Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 with visiting artist, former MCO principal violist Rennie Regehr. A vision with his snowy white hair and full beard, he and Laszlo Baroczi were duo soloists, backed by two violas, cello, bass and harpsichord.
This was a softer, gentler concerto, more subdued with violas rather than violins as major players. Baroczi bowed with patience, a full, developed tone and good period vibrato. Regehr had more of an edge to his sound, and chose some rather détaché phrasing in the adagio — more stilted that Baroczi. This entire movement was laboured and heavy.
But there was plenty of oomph in the allegro, well accented and strongly supported by the bass lines.
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A breathtaking musical journey
18 February 2010
Winnipeg Free Press, by Gwenda Nemerofsky
Manitoba Chamber Orchestra;Scott Yoo, conductor;
Maria Luz Alvarez,
soprano;
Rodrigo Muñoz, guitar; Kerry DuWors & Karl Stobbe, violins
Westminster United Church, Tue Feb 16
Attendance: 560
4 out
of five stars
When a concert takes your breath away, you know it's something special. This was Tuesday night's Manitoba Chamber Orchestra concert.
In a program that took audience members from the depths of despair to tongue-in-cheek humour, popular guest conductor Scott Yoo and the MCO treated us to a tumultuous musical ride.
In the Concerto Grosso No. 1 by Alfred Schnittke, we were thrown into the polystylistic world of the postmodernist 20th century Russian composer. Six movements were packed from beginning to end with a mish-mash of borrowed styles, artfully combined to produce something uniquely "Schnittkean."
Duo violinists Karl Stobbe and Kerry DuWors were brilliantly matched and played with fearless competence. No easy feat, as the demands were tremendous.
A bit of Baroque, strains of Mozart and Tchaikovsky flashed by momentarily, as the two violins dug in passionately, hairs flying off their bows. Stobbe and DuWors smoked right through the tango sections, Donna Laube accompanying on harpsichord.
Yoo was in total control, leading orchestra and soloists through the endless changes, including the dirge-like Recitativo that heightened gradually into a frightening scream that made your hair stand on end.
The sheer physicality and energy of this performance was astounding.
Tuesday's audience also heard the world premiere of Winnipeg composer David R. Scott's The Widening Gyre, inspired by his Arctic travels aboard the icebreaker Amundsen with scientists studying climate change.
Written for soprano and orchestra, its text is three poignant poems written by Scott himself. Layers opened with a cello solo, setting the mood of trepidation, and the place — desolate, sparse.
Soprano Maria Luz Alvarez sang with precise purity, handling challenging intervals with ease, her facial expressions enhancing the overall effect.
Taut, eerie violin harmonics in A Tangle of Stars blazed like a blinding and endless northern sun. Alvarez sang with forceful commitment, longing for darkness.
Geological Consent offered a sense of relief and optimism, strings vigorous and Alvarez finishing with dramatic finesse.
This was a very intimate and touching insight into Scott's northern experience.
Alvarez also sang Jim Hiscott's The Song of the Stars, with Rodrigo Muñoz on guitar and the MCO. With text based on a First Nations poem, this was an enigmatic work, with a rather minimalist orchestral part. A lesser singer than Alvarez couldn't have pulled this off as her notes were seemingly pulled out of thin air. Her clean tone, coupled with Muñoz's even playing smoothed over emptier spots.
A nice fuller section came toward the end — a melody gliding through the string sections, ending with a magical star-swept effect.
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Soprano enchants with larger-than-life performance
7 January 2010
Winnipeg Free Press, by Gwenda
Nemerofsky
Manitoba Chamber Orchestra; Anne Manson, conductor;
Measha Brueggergosman, soprano
Westminster United Church, Wed Jan 6
Attendance: 900 (SOLD
OUT)
4 1/2 out of five stars
Talk about a survivor! Just seven months after emergency open-heart surgery, Canadian soprano Measha Brueggergosman enthralled a sold-out audience Wednesday night with her larger-than-life personality and dazzling voice. It was her fifth appearance with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra.
Her musical selections? Works by two other survivors: Arnold Schoenberg and Kurt Weill, Jewish composers who fled Germany during the Nazi era.
You could feel the love from the moment Brueggergosman stepped onstage. The adoring crowd gave her a rousing welcome before she had sung a note. Then we watched as she transformed herself before our eyes, standing stock-still and getting right into character.
Schoenberg's 1901 Brettl-Lieder Cabaret Songs represent a departure from the twelve-tone idiom so often associated with his music. Brueggergosman selected four songs from the set of eight, each with its own charm.
She sang Gigerlette with such sheer joy, the audience smiled along with her. Bubbling over with expression, her tone as pure as spring water, Brueggergosman and her rendition were delightful.
In Einfältiges Lied, she was drowned out a few times by the orchestra, but there was still that special feeling that she was singing right to you -- such is her ability to project and tell a story. And Brueggergosman doesn't give up the act until the last note is played.
Finely honed vibrato enhanced the coquettish nature of Mahnung, while Langsamer Walzer's "boom, boom" heartbeats quickened comically. It all ended in a squeal that delighted the audience who squealed right back.
At press time Brueggergosman was partway through Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins, his first work after leaving Germany. Originally written as a sung ballet, its libretto is by Bertholt Brecht. Brueggergosman plays Anna 1, practical and directive, and sister Anna 2, impulsive and taciturn.
Despite referring to a score, she seemed eminently comfortable in the roles, performing them with a natural quality both endearing and convincing.
Brueggergosman displayed a lovely lilt to her voice in Pride, then upped the intensity when singing of the fickleness of people. She even mustered a sentimental coyness when singing, "Think of our little house in Louisiana."
The lady is more than a singer -- she's an accomplished actress too.
A beefed-up MCO, with added brass, woodwinds, percussion, harp and guitar, was solidly into the spirit of the work, thanks to conductor Anne Manson's precise direction.
Tenors P.J. Buchan and Scott Reimer, baritone Kris Kornelsen, and bass Derek Morphy were strong in their the roles as "the family."
Instrumental works by Pavel Haas and Gideon Klein rounded out the program.
Measha Brueggergosman exudes true star quality -- let's hope there's a sixth performance with the MCO in the near future.
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Dahl divine on Christmas program
3 December 2009
Winnipeg
Free Press, by Holly Harris
Manitoba Chamber Orchestra; Roy Goodman, guest
conductor; Tracy Dahl, soprano
Westminster United Church, Tue Dec 1
Attendance:
850 (sold out)
4-1/2 out of 5 stars
Manitoba Chamber Orchestra went for baroque Tuesday night, with a festive evening of gracious chamber music and a cornucopia of mirth.
The third concert of its season featured Winnipeg's very own world-class soprano Tracy Dahl making her first appearance with the ensemble in three years. The evening also welcomed back MCO's former music director Roy Goodman, who helmed the chamber orchestra from 1999 to 2005. The popular British-born maestro personally chose the program for the evening that also marked his first collaboration with Dahl.
Dahl hardly needs an introduction. She has graced the world's greatest opera houses over the past three decades, from Milan's La Scala to New York's Met, while also honing a distinguished career as a solo concert artist. Her stage roles include madwomen, saucy coquettes and seemingly everything in between. The relatively rare opportunity to hear her exquisite artistry up close and personal in the intimate setting of Westminster United Church is a gift of its own.
British composer Gerald Finzi's stirring cantata Dies Natalis (Day of Birth), Op. 8 depicts the awakening sense of wonder as told through the eyes of a newborn child based on 17th-century poet Thomas Traherne's Centuries of Meditation. Following the string orchestra's Intrada, Dahl performed its subsequent four movements -- Rhapsody, The Rapture, Wonder and The Salutation -- with deeply felt compassion and an innate understanding of its imagistic texts. The work's climactic "O how divine am I!" was filled with radiant joy.
The program also included Alessandro Scarlatti's Oh Di Betleme altera povertà, which is structured essentially as three pairs of recitatives and arias that tell the Christmas nativity story. Dahl's communicative gifts immediately connected her rapt audience to the narrative, with her soaring voice and sparkling ornamentation embellishing the vocal lines with serene confidence.
A double header of baroque composers Giuseppe Torelli and Arcangelo Corelli's respective Christmas Concertos opened the program. Both sprightly works were performed in succession -- both in the key of G minor as well as composed at roughly the same time. This could easily have been too much of a good thing, but Goodman's brisk direction kept it moving, with his own doubling of the bass lines on a small portative organ knitting together the ensemble like a rich aural tapestry.
A lively finale of Frank Bridge's Sir Roger de Coverley (A Christmas Dance) included Dahl and Goodman good-naturedly warbling its quote of Auld Lang Syne.
Many holiday concerts come and go. But MCO's Christmas program offered not just high-spirited joviality — which is fine, too — but an opportunity for deeper reflection on the season beautifully expressed by music of the ages.
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Fresh, evocative voice expresses Cotton's vision
29 October 2009
Winnipeg Free Press, by Holly
Harris
Manitoba Chamber Orchestra; Scott Yoo, guest conductor
Westminster United
Church, Tue Oct 27
Attendance: 500
3 1/2 out of 5 stars
EVERY composer dreams of expressing a particular vision with a voice that is both fresh and evocative. American composer Jeffery Cotton has done just that, in his hauntingly beautiful string orchestral work, Suite from Pyramis & Thisbe (2002), the second show of the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra's season.
Tuesday night's concert welcomed back popular guest maestro Scott Yoo, who last appeared with the orchestra in February. The Boston-based conductor/violinist also founded that city's Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra, which performed the world premiere of Cotton's work in 2002. The 52-year-old composer (in attendance) served as the contemporary music ensemble's composer-in-residence from 1999 through 2003.
Originally conceived as an opera based on Ovid's tale of the young Babylonian lovers Pyramis and Thisbe (and prototypes for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet), Cotton shelved the piece for 10 years then resurrected it as a ballet suite inspired by the fall of the Berlin Wall when he was living in Germany during the early 1990s.
The dissonant, texturally rich work begins with angular, widely leaping lines accented by forceful jeté and snap pizzicatos in the lower strings. It drives forward with agitated intensity through muted, rhythmic ostinatos creating an otherworldly feel. Principal cellist Yuri Hooker's evocative solo spoke like a soliloquy while concertmaster Karl Stobbe easily navigated his extreme upper range over a pulsing accompaniment. The moody suite resolves triumphantly with a final major chord, as if heralding tumbled walls and new worlds begun.
Toronto-based composer Jeffrey Ryan's geometry-inspired Vesica Piscis refers to the almond-shaped intersection created by two overlapping, identical circles, and explores ideas of balance, symmetry, and ultimately, seeing eye-to-eye with another individual.
The episodic string work is characterized by repetitive sweeping gestures that evoke curvilinear shapes, and Ryan (also in attendance) does well to take a concept and translate it into music. However, the work still lacked a sense of cohesion and overall momentum. That may have been the whole point — as a circle ends upon itself, but musically, the piece did not satisfy.
An unexpected treat was seeing Winnipeg's favourite oboist, Douglas Bairstow onstage as soloist for Mozart's Divertimento in D major (K 251). Recently retired from his longtime post as the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra's principal oboist, the well-loved musician has graciously agreed to perform with both orchestras until his successor can be found.
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Unique percussionist,
brilliant performance
22 September 2009
The Brandon Sun, by Joanne F. Villeneuve
Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Dame Evelyn Glennie
Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium, Mon, Sep 21
Looking much like a gilt-haired fairy, Dame Evelyn Glennie, percussionist extraordinaire, enthralled the small but appreciative audience at the Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium last night.
Performing with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, the barefooted international star deftly tackled Vivaldi's Piccolo Concerto, arranged for vibraphone.
Her range of dynamics was breathtaking, while her playing of fast passages was seemingly effortless and the slow, middle movement was sublime.
This version injects a breath of fresh air in this beautiful, but almost 300-year-old work.
Glennie played two other, very different, works — Snowblind by Duddell and Mirage?, a commission for her by Hatzis — that were just as memorable.
One moment, her playing is delicate, ethereal, the next, the mallets in her hand are outspoken, flying, a blur.
There is something quite magical about her and it is hard to believe that Glennie is deaf.
This is unnoticeable — so precise is her technique, so coloured her interpretation, so attuned to the orchestra her injections.
The Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, under the baton of new artistic director Anne Manson was the perfect foil for Glennie as the 22 musicians performed with assurance, passion and precision.
Their interpretation of Evangelista's Airs d'Espagne and Shostakovich's String quartet no. 10, arranged for string orchestra, was full of nuance, energy and expression.
To thanks the audience, the ensemble performed an encore — Piazzolla's La muerte del angel.
The only disappointment of the evening was the audience or lack thereof — this was the last date of Glennie's western Canadian tour — so it is hoped that the ensemble won't forget about Brandon in the future.
The auditorium was only filled to about one-third of its capacity, so kudos to the more than 50 children who stayed up late to witness this amazing music-making.
It is a shame there was so little interest in a performer who is so thrilling to behold and an ensemble that is so accomplished.
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Manitoba Chamber Orchestra
& Dame Evelyn Glennie
24 September 2009
Review Vancouver, by John Jane
Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Dame Evelyn Glennie
The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, Sat, Sep 19
Seeing this Scottish, virtuoso percussionist Evelyn Glennie performing on the concert hall stage is almost as inspiring as listening to her music. Hearing impaired since the age of twelve, she “listens” to her accompaniment by feeling the vibrations through her bare feet on the stage floor. Dame Evelyn’s hearing is something that intrigues her audience far more than it affects her.
It’s her precise execution and acute sensitivity that make up her distinct musicality. Extended percussion streams can get quite monotonous, but her remarkable dexterity, articulation and deep understanding of the music never allows her audience to become bored.
The Aberdonian musician’s technique was particularly evident on Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto for Piccolo Recorder in C major transcribed for the vibraphone by Dame Evelyn herself. It was a total success. Her vibrant performing style brought appreciative applause.
With Dudell’s Snowblind, Dame Evelyn demonstrated that a good percussionist can be simultaneously leader and follower. The work is full of dramatic gestures and is scored for paramount colour and percussive effect. Her solo marimba playing in the first two lyrical movements was perfect, and so was the accompaniment of the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Maestra Anne Manson.
Mirage? (the question mark is deliberate) is a new work commissioned by the CBC for Dame Evelyn Glennie and the Manitoba Strings Orchestra. It’s a moody, jazz inflected piece, more evocative of the depression era United States mid-west than the sunny Mediterranean landscapes of composer Christos Hatzis’ homeland. The percussionist was, as ever, at the top of her game, integrating the organic sounds of the vibraphone with the cerebral strings of the orchestra.
It’s the symphonic extremes that are a feature of Dimitri Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony, Opus 118a. Originally intended for a string quartet and later adapted for orchestra by Rudolf Barshai, this final selection of the evening was played by the twenty-member chamber orchestra without the collaboration of the featured percussionist. Relentless in its technical demands, the sombre first movement Andante was followed by the aptly named Allegretto furious with its volatile rhythms. The final movement, the two-part Allegretto Andante drew extensively on russian folk melodies.
Maestra Manson also inspired a committed and compelling reading of Jose Evangelista’s nine tone poems that form Airs d’Espagne in the first half of the concert.
Good musicians love to play the Chan Centre with its perfect acoustic architecture. The problem is encouraging people to drive out there. With concert audiences dwindling in these financially troubled times, I found it surprising that UBC now adds to the misery by charging concert patrons seven bucks for event parking. Get real folks!
© John Jane
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Vibrant KSO kickoff
21 September 2009
Kamloops This Week, byDale Bass
Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Dame Evelyn Glennie
Sagebrush Theatre, Wed Sep 16
It’s unusual for an orchestra to give up its season opener, but the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra (KSO) clearly knew it had a winner in the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra.
Not only is the ensemble an incredible, disciplined group of musicians, it is travelling this season with one of the most gifted percussionists in the world, Dame Evelyn Glennie.
The only person in the world to sustain a full-time career as a percussionist, a musician of Glennie’s stature only comes around once in a while.
The works performed highlighted her talent — and that of the orchestra, in particular cellist Yuri Hooker.
Opening with Vivaldi’s Concerto in C major, a work originally created for the piccolo and rearranged for vibraphone by Glennie, the two played off each other throughout the three movements.
From there, the orchestra moved into Airs d’Espagne by Jose Evangelista, Snowblind by Joe Duddell (with Glennie on percussion) and the highlight of the night, Mirage? by Christos Hatzis, a work commissioned for Glennie.
The Toronto composer has created a work that is haunting in its emotional intensity — and in the fingerwork on the strings, as the musicians stroke their bows while sliding their fingers up each string.
It was eery — and then Glennie came into the work and it resonated between sadness and optimism.
Frankly, it’s a hard work to describe and give justice to it. This may be a cop-out but, with this Hatzis work, you truly do have to hear it.
The evening ended again with the focus on the orchestra and its conductor, Anne Manson, as they did what is one of their hallmark performances of Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony, op. 118a, which, strangely enough, the audience interrupted by applauding as if it was the end of the concert after the third of four movements.
This strong opening bodes well for the KSO season, which continues on Oct. 3 with clarinetist Jerome Summers.
Born in Kamloops, Summers has based his career out of my hometown of London, Ont., and I’ve heard him often.
He’s a musician also open to a variety of styles and, for the Kamloops performance, will be doing:
• Solaris by John Estacio, a three-piece work that draws its inspiration from the energy of the sun;
• Concertino for Clarinet by Carl Maria Von Weber, a lush and, at times, sprightly work;
• Pissarro Landscapes for Clarinet, Piano and Strings, a complicated work by Oliver Whitehead (also from London, Ont.) that covers a range of emotions;
• Enigma Variations, by Elgar, a true, heavily textured classic.
Summer’s concert is called Sun-Drenched. Tickets are available at the Kamloops Live! Box Office, 250-374-5483 or online at tickets.kamloopslive.com.
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Chamber Orchestra Delight
Review of MCO concert in Kelowna by Marvin Dickau, an
organist,
pianist and conductor who
has an A.Mus from the University of Alberta.
He has given solo piano and
organ recitals and accompanied many
singers and instrumentalists in Kelowna
and Calgary.
The Kelowna Community Concert Association opened the new season with a blockbuster program Friday, September 11, in the Community Theatre.
The concert presented the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra with special guest artist, Dame Evelyn Glennie. They brought impeccable technique and musicianship to their playing.
The evening was a fascinating blend of old and new. The orchestra chose to open and close with Baroque, bookending the contemporary repertoire. It was a bold programming move that really worked.
The program opened with a small ensemble performing one of my favorites — J.S. Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto #3. It was a stellar performance, from the sweeping opening of the first movement to the joyous conclusion in the final movement. The players brought a dramatic sense to the music along with wonderfully shaped phrases and clear articulation of the notes. Indeed, this was the case for the entire performance. The second movement featured the Concertmaster as soloist. He brought grace and elegance to the phrasing.
The orchestra also offered six short pieces by José Evangelista. The conductor, Anne Manson proved to be a consummate artist, leading the group flawlessly through the melodic Spanish style songs. The players were equally at ease in the contemporary genre.
Dame Evelyn Glennie, percussionist joined the orchestra for the balance of the program. To call her a virtuoso would be an understatement. She demonstrated her command of the instruments (marimba, vibraphone and bells) with a relaxed control. In the contemporary works, Snowblind by Joe Duddell and Mirage? by Christos Hatzis. Dame Evelyn lived the music and became as one with the orchestra, who gave her incredible support. The result was pure beauty of sound, even in the sometimes discordant writing. Together, they wove an emotional tapestry that I, for one found totally captivating.
The concert closed with a Vivaldi piccolo concerto which Dame Evelyn arranged for vibraphone. It was here that she really shone, demonstrating once again her flawless technique and precision. The orchestra merged perfectly, creating a wonderful ensemble. The joyous first movement gave way to slow, flowing melody in which Glennie gave us a moving legato line. The final movement was a rollicking theme with rapid notes throughout. The mallets were no more than a blur throughout, leaving me breathless.
The entire evening was one of complete satisfaction and I, for one, am looking forward to the next.
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MCO opens season on a fiery, percussive note
11 September 2009
Winnipeg Free Press, by Gwenda Nemerofsky
Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Dame Evelyn Glennie
Westminster United Church, Wed, Sep 9, 2009
Attendance: 800
4 out of 5 stars
The Manitoba Chamber Orchestra kicked off the Winnipeg classical music season Wednesday night with none other than the grande dame of percussion, Scottish-born Evelyn Glennie.
A packed and very warm Westminster United Church rang out with the sounds of strings, marimba, vibraphone, temple blocks and more in an exciting and varied program.
Audience members sat mesmerized as Glennie opened with her vibraphone arrangement of Vivaldi's Piccolo Concerto in C major at breakneck pace. Notes fairly shimmered with a resonance richer than any piccolo player's vibrato could ever muster.
The largo was a true piece de resistance — and, by contrast, extremely slow. But the deliberate tempo lent a suspended quality to the flow and Glennie deliciously prolonged cadences awaiting resolution. This was a true piece of art. You could have heard a pin drop in the hall.
Principal cellist Yuri Hooker's steady and artfully balanced continuo enhanced without overpowering, while Glennie finished off burbly and playful, with a flourish of sticks. Conductor Anne Manson led the orchestra in a tight and tidy performance.
Canadian composer Christos Hatzis was in attendance for the debut of his work Mirage? -- a special commission by CBC for Glennie and the MCO. Completed earlier this year, it is a fascinating and enigmatic work giving soloist and orchestra equal billing.
Opening with eerie slides up the strings' fingerboards, it soon swung into a stylish undulating rhythm, reminiscent of the 1920s. Repeated notes in the vibraphone, like the tolling of a clock, seemed to mark the passing of time.
Contradictory motifs, alternately ominous and conciliatory went back and forth among the instruments, complementing one another. Even the drone of a plane overhead during a quiet moment seemed to fit in with the doomsday atmosphere. This was a very moving piece — well executed and well received.
The orchestra sank their teeth firmly into Shostakovich's Chamber Symphony, transcribed from his String Quartet No. 10. Rife with emotion, it gave the musicians a chance to show their stuff. The exceedingly gloomy first movement featured first-rate ensemble work, keeping the urgency alive, with sections well in tune, playing together as one.
The fearless attack of the Allegretto furioso saw bows flying, belied by Manson's minimalist movements. Clearly here, less was more. Fiery and fierce, the movement was frightening in its darkness. The MCO meant business.
A tentative dance-like line introduced by singing violas travelled through to the low strings (whose version was a virtual danse macabre), eventually landing up in the first violins. By then it had changed key and had a lighter quality — as if a dark cloud had lifted. Concertmaster Karl Stobbe's finishing solo was like a little ray of hope.
Looks like it's going to be a great season.
Anne Manson / Music Director and Conductor
MCO's 2010/11 season is
sponsored by The
Great-West Life Assurance Company.
Support has been received from Media sponsors The
Winnipeg Free Press, CBC
Radio One 990,
CBC
Radio 2 98.3, Espace musique 89,9 and Golden
West Radio. Heartstrings
gala sponsor:
Mann
Financial Assurance Limited. Sponsor of open dress rehearsals:
Canadian Bridge Federation.
Arts Accessibility Program: Sun
Life Financial.
© 2010 Manitoba Chamber Orchestra