To the Memory of an Angel

It is courageous for violinist Karen Gomyo and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra to have programmed Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto at last night’s concert. A true masterpiece as well as one of the composer’s most moving works, it can hardly be called a crowd pleaser. I did notice a misprint on the cover of the programme, advertising, “Karen Gomyo plays Bruch”! If the audience had been expecting Bruch’s (albeit beautiful) concerto, they must have had quite a shock with the soft opening notes of Berg’s work. For me, it really was the performance of the Berg – one of my favourite works - that drew me to the Orpheum Theatre last night.

The concert also featured the debut of conductor Karina Canellakis, who came with impressive credentials, and did not disappoint. The concert opened with Mozart’s Overture to The Magic Flute, K. 620. After a somewhat sluggish opening Adagio, the orchestra played with great energy and vigor at the outset of the Allegro. I especially appreciated how she balanced and coloured the wind and brass instruments at the return of the three “magic chords”.

Karen Gomyo played Berg’s Violin Concerto (“To the Memory of an Angel”) with great and deep feeling for the music, and was absolutely on top of the fearsome technical demands of the score. Her playing of the music written for the high registers of the violin had an ethereal quality that the music calls for. Canellakis proved to be a highly sensitive partner in the performer, brining out the drama and beauty of the orchestra writing, but never overpowering the solo violin, not an easy undertaking considering the rather large orchestral body. She also managed to evoke an almost chamber music-like quality in the orchestral sound. I found Gomyo’s playing of Berg’s quote of the Bach chorale (Es ist genug) tremendously moving.

After the interval, the young conductor led the orchestra through an impassioned reading of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s ultra romantic Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27. In the many passages of lush string writing, he drew from the VSO strings a richness and a “bloom” in the sound that one all too rarely hears. I really appreciated her pacing and building of the music in the very extended first movement. The orchestra tore into the opening of the second movement (Allegro molto) with tremendous energy, and they kept up with it until the end of the movement. I had some reservations with the Meno Mosso section (11 measures before rehearsal number 33), when I thought should have played with more lightness. Somehow the music in this almost fughetta section failed to take off.

Kudos and bravo to principal clarinetist Jeanette Jonquil for her meltingly beautiful playing of the theme of the Adagio movement. Judging from the silence of the audience, I believed that Canellakis managed to keep our interest and attention throughout this long movement, no small accomplishment at all. Again, her pacing of this extended movement was impeccable. The playing of the final movement was tremendously exhilarating. She obviously inspired the orchestral members to play their hearts out.

Canellakis is obviously an extremely talented young conductor, with great baton technique that addresses every detail and a clear beat, which I am sure the orchestra appreciated. I think if, over time, her beat can be a little bit more fluid, the results would be even more outstanding.

This was certainly a very successful debut by a young conductor. With age and experience, I believe that she will perhaps not push the music quite so much, and will perhaps explore and exploit the softer orchestral sounds; it is certainly understandable how a young musician with talent and an obvious love for music can and want to squeeze every detail out of the score.

But it sure was an exciting ride!

Neoclassical Evening

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s parade of guest conductors continued last weekend with another distinguished visitor to the podium. Conductor Jun Märkl led the orchestra in a lovely programme of Prokofiev, Mendelssohn and Strauss. Like Alexander Shelley, Märkl had chosen a programme that called for musicianship rather than virtuosity, and the result was yet another felicitous evening of music-making.

Instead of performing at the orchestra’s home at the Orpheum Theatre, last Friday and Saturday’s concerts were given at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, for me Vancouver’s only acoustically satisfying concert space. I was astonished at how much more alive the orchestra’s sound was in a different concert hall.

The concert began with Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25, more famously known as the Classical symphony. Märkl brought out all the zest and humour in this - the composer’s most congenial work. I appreciated how the conductor brought out the inner voices and not often heard details, especially in the wind writing in the first movement. The tempo chosen for the second movement, marked Larghetto, was a little faster than that of many conductors. For me, this gives the music a nice sense of movement, and of flow. The third movement Gavotta was played with great style, and with wonderful lilt. In the final movement, the conductor certainly more than paid lip service to Prokofiev’s indication of molto vivace, and led the musicians in a daring ride through this tricky and difficult music. It was wonderful to watch the smiles on so many of the musicians’ faces. Obviously, they enjoyed playing this music and responded with great spark, and energy. It appears that Märkl had established a good rapport with the musicians of the orchestra.

For me, Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64, is one of the composer’s most divinely inspired works. Ever since Jasha Heifetz elevated the standards of violin playing in the 20^th century, it is amazing how many distinguished violinists we have in our midst today. I was very moved by Karen Gomyo’s playing of this beautiful and impassioned work. The young violinist has a very emotive sound, but one tempered by discipline and restraint. I had previously admired Jun Märkl’s reading of Chopin’s two piano concerti with Ingrid Fliter in a recent recording. Last Friday’s concert confirmed in my mind what a sensitive collaborator this conductor is. To my ears, some of the climatic moments were slightly too bright, but that could have been because of the proximity of our seats to the stage. I was particularly taken with how Märkl voiced the chord at mm. 127 to 130, when the orchestra falls into a hush after the statement of the opening theme. Collaboration between soloist and conductor was impeccable.

Richard Strauss’ Le Bourgeois gentilhomme Suite, Op. 60, is not a work that we hear often. I was amazed at Strauss’ mastery in orchestration, making a relatively small ensemble (37 players according to the notes) sound like a full symphonic body. Originally written as incidental music to a play by Molière, the play itself did not succeed with the audience, but Strauss extracted parts of the score into the present suite. According to Norman del Mar, author of the three-volume biography of the composer, this nine-movement suite “ranks as one of his finest works.” Märkl clearly saw the greatness in this score, and guided the orchestra in a reading that is alert, elegant, and always beautiful. The many dance movements, including the second movement menuett, the Dance of the Tailors (Movement 4), The Menuett of Lully (Movement 5), and the sixth movement courante, were particularly beguiling. The sparkling final movement (The Dinner), where Strauss liberally “stole” from his own works as well as that of Wagner, the orchestra responded to Märkl’s directions, and played brilliantly. Concertmaster Dale Barltrop and Principal Cellist Ariel Barnes shone in their many solos throughout the score, and the always excellent winds of the orchestra stood out with their wonderful playing.

It was interesting to watch two guest conductors within a week between the two concerts. Both Alexander Shelley and Jun Märkl brought their unique personality and talents to the podium.

Compared to Shelley, Märkl is a more dramatic conductor, in both his gestures as well as the colours he brought out of the orchestra. In different ways, I was very happy with the music making of the orchestra under both conductors. With such outstanding candidates coming for their “auditions” with the orchestra, the future of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra should be in good hands.

Let us hope for a conductor that will take this orchestra into a new level of excellence and prominence.