|
Back
A gala finale for 21C Toronto
Koerner Hall
05/29/2016 - & April 28 (Ottawa), May 9 (Vancouver), 10 (Kelowna), 13 (Calgary), 15 (Regina), 16 (Brandon), 18 (Winnipeg), 19 (Yellowknife), 24 (Iqaluit), 26 (London, ON), 28 (Halifax), 30 (Niagara-on-the-Lake), 2016
Georg Friedric Handel: Violin Sonata in D Major, Op. 1, No. 13, HWV 371
Carmen Braden: Magnetic North
Aaron Jay Kernis: Two Movements (With Bells)
James Newton Howard: 133...At Least
Ludwig van Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 "Spring"
Bramwell Tovey: Stream of Limelight
James Ehnes (violin), Andrew Armstrong (piano) 
J. Ehnes (© Benjamin Ealovega)
James Ehnes has been celebrating his 40th birthday with a Canada-wide tour that will take him to all 10 provinces plus the three territories. His recital at Koerner Hall was also wide-ranging - at least chronologically, reaching back to 1750 with the opening work, Handel’s Violin Sonata in D Major. The opening Affetuoso is stately in a lyrical way (no pomposity here), a bit reminiscent of the famous Largo from Serse. The succeeding Allegro has echoes of the entry of the Queen of Sheba in Solomon.
The galant opener was followed by a recent work by Canadian composer Carmen Braden. She hails from the far north and her piece, Magnetic North is inspired by the constant shifts of the magnetic north pole. The ten-minute work encompasses a gamut of expression from scintillating to introspective. Unfortunately the work was sabotaged by a stentorian cougher seated in the gallery behind the platform, an excellent place from which to broadcast one’s vocal powers. Both players subtly steeled themselves against the onslaught. The disruptor noisily left but returned later to cough some more. There are times when asking someone to leave is justified.
Aaron Jay Kernis’s Two Movements (with Bells) (from 2007) is a tribute to the composer’s late father who was an aficionado of jazz and pop music of the 40s and 50s. It begins plaintively but livens up and includes Gershwinesque lines and cadences. There were no bells per se, but bell-like sounds from the piano. The 20-minute work seems actually to be in three movements.
The second half of the concert opened with US composer James Newton Howard’s 133...At Least. The number refers to the metronome speed, which is fast indeed. (Frenetic is a better word.) It is one of many encore pieces commissioned by Hilary Hahn and recorded on her recent album 27 Pieces: the Hilary Hahn Encores.
Another vintage work turned out to be the joyous centrepiece of the concert: Beethoven’s ”Spring” Sonata. This could just be a jolly romp, but was also full of tender nuance. The shared wavelength between the two performers was on full display, as it was with the rest of the program.
The program concluded with Bramwell Tovey’s Stream of Limelight, another new work that, like the Braden and Kernis pieces, calls for a broad range of expressive technique. Tovey and James Ehnes first encountered one another 26 years ago when the aspiring violinist was in his teens and Tovey was conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. The work is dedicated to Ehnes.
There were two encores: Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee and Pablo de Sarasate’s Introduction and Tarantella, Op. 43. They don’t have much connection with the theme of the 21C Festival, but these 19th-century barnburners are a lot of fun.
The day’s program was arguably an odd fit for C21, but it demonstrated that performers mainly focused on the established classics of the repertoire have the imaginative reach to encompass new works as well.
This was the final concert of the third annual 21C Festival, which presented seven events in a hectic five-day span. Public response to the festivals has been terrific, and the Royal Conservatory’s Mervon Mehta has a vast array of composers and performers eager to participate in future festivals. Toronto is blessed with a wide array of new music presenters and events, and 21C has quickly established itself.
Michael Johnson
|
