TSO and Photo Choreography

I made the notes on this concert ages ago and realized I never actually posted them.  So without further ado, on April 17th the TSO and guest artist Gil Shaham were featured in a program called My Homeland.  

I've loved "The Moldau" (a movement of "Ma Vlast" or "My Fatherland") since having to study Smetana and program music in high school.  Funny how dissecting music doesn't ruin my enjoyment of it in the same way as dissecting literature.  When the TSO put "Ma Vlast" on the program I jumped at the chance to hear "The Moldau" as it should be played and the rest of the work in its entirety.

Gil Shaham
(credit: Christian Steiner)

The concert opened with Mozart's "Turkish Violin Concerto No. 5".  Gil Shaham had entertaining facial expressions and sometimes seemed to be playing directly to conductor Peter Oundjian. When Mr. Shaham was not playing he looked like he could have been dancing to the music in his head.  The smiling, friendly personally he displayed was very fitting for the quick light dance style piece.  It was a shame that after the first movement we had to wait so long for the late comers to find their seats.  Oundjian even commented "there's some lovely seats up here" and pointed to a few in the front row.  I recognized more of the music than I thought I would and it's probably my favourite of the violin concertos I've heard.

Prague (www.gooverseas.com)

Recognizing more than I expected happened with "Ma Vlast" as well.  There was what some people would call a gimmick to the performance.  Two gentleman, James Westwater and Nicholas Bardonnay spent June and October in the Czech Republic taking photos and then fit them to the music.  The end result was pretty astounding and they coined the term "photo choreography" to describe it.  While the orchestra played, the images were projected on three screens above them.  The images weren't meant to tell the same story that Smetana's program music was, but just match/create moods and feelings.

I loved and recognized the opening movement titled "The High Castle".  This was paired with images of what I imagine was Prague, as well as castles and forts on green hills against a gorgeous blue sky.

"The Moldau" was my favourite and fittingly the photos were mostly of water.  At one climax just

The Moldau (www.hberlioz.com)

before the section in the music where the river starts to flow through the city and the melody changes, the somewhat suspensful music was paired with photos of a group of people in various canoes and kayaks going down some rough water beside a water fall.  Some people made it, some capsized but it fit the music absolutely perfectly!

The movement "Sarka" or "A Princess" was paired with images of churches and cathedrals, all very regal looking.  Prior to the performance when Oundjian described the piece, he gave the most details about this section which he admitted to liking very much.  It's the story of a girl who hates all men (at which point he quipped "nothing really changes does it").  She poisons them all and they start falling asleep, "starting with the second bassoon".  Sure enough in the music there were a final series of calls that started with the bassoon so perhaps that's what he was talking about.

The images for an "Encampment" took on a darker tone moving to World War Two and opening with a picture of a swastika.  There were historical pictures from a concentration camp with the more graphic being held in slight shadow, never coming into perfect focus but getting the point across without needing to be.  The music switches abruptly between dark and light and to counter the darkness were images of peace.  One was even of a wall with John Lennon's picture and hearts.

This isn't the first piece that has been paired with images by Westwater and Bardonnay.  I didn't think that it detracted from the music, and it wasn't hard to focus on the orchestra and not watch the pictures.  However, that isn't the same opinion held by others.  "Ma Vlast" with photo choreography was a co-commission and had its debut in Scotland with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.  This is a review of that performance where the photo aspect is lambasted in the comments, 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/mar/24/rsno-oundjian-review

All I can say is experience it yourself before making a judgement.  I'm glad I found the review after I'd already seen the performance.

Off to See the Wizard

Back in November 2012, the Canadian public voted on who they wanted for the lead in a new Andrew Lloyd Webber production of The Wizard of Oz.  Over a series of weeks people tuned in to Over the Rainbow on CBC to watch the very talented cast of Canadian young ladies compete for the job.  In the end Danielle Wade came out victorious.  A few weeks ago I went to see the show.

I didn't have super high expectations having gotten a ho hum review from a friend, but I was quite impressed and really enjoyed it.  To begin, Danielle was a fantastic Dorothy, her voice is lovely and she brings the right mix of young girl trying to find her place in the world combined with the courage to handle her time in Oz.  At times I was even reminded of Judy Garland.  Sure Danielle probably has lots more to learn when it comes to acting, but what she knows works well in the role.  Her attempt to walk across the stage during the tornado was very well done, you'd really think she was facing a wall of wind.

Danielle as Dorothy in Kanses
(www.facebook.com/CBCOverTheRainbow)

I have high praise for the music aspect as well.  Webber didn't take anything major out that would be expected by fans of the movie (well ok "If I Were King of the Forest" could be considered major by some, but it was never my favourite song so I really didn't miss it), and the additional music and songs fit the style as well.  The biggest new song would be the finale in Oz "Already Home", however I particularly liked what they did with Dorothy's meeting of Professor Marvel.

Cedric Smith as Prof. Marvel
(toronto.broadwayworld.com)

His song, "Wonders of the World" was witty and who knew Cedric Smith (known to me from his years as Alec King on Road to Avonlea) could sing?  The small orchestra in the pit couldn't duplicate the lushness of the original MGM orchestrations but they held their own giving a larger sound than expected for only 12 players.  Their names were listed in the program and it was cool to see the French Horn player was Erin Cooper-Gay, who often can be seen as an extra musician in the horn row of the Toronto Symphony.

The opening scenes in Kansas could have been slow and dull, but the under current of "Nobody Understands Me" where Dorothy laments her life and Toto's fate if Miss Gulch gets him, the farm hands try to get a generator (that looks like Maurice's invention from Beauty and the Beast), started, and Uncle Henry and Aunt Em worry about the chicks, kept things moving along at a good pace.  The use of technology for the tornado was impressive.  When the projected image of the funnel cloud filled the stage and items were shown swirling along for the ride then "hitting" the stage, they bounced back up!  Someone thought to incorporate some physics!  It added a certain degree of realism rather than having the items just disappear above or below the projector sight lines.

The farm hands Hunk, Hickory, and Zeke who would become the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion in
Oz had hints in their Kansas lines of what was to come.  They were vague enough to not give anything away for people who weren't familiar with the movie, but were a smooth way of slipping in that little something extra for people who knew.

With the Wizard
(www.thespec.com)

As for the vocal talents of Mike Jackson (Tin Man), Jamie McKnight (Scarecrow), and Lee MacDougall (Lion), they were impressive in their "If I Only Had a Brain/Heart/Nerve" solos, and had decent mannerisms for their characters, although I doubt anyone can reproduce the rubber-ness of Ray Bolger.  I particularly liked that they gave the Tin Man tap shoes.

Ensemble in Emerald City
(www.hipurbangirl.com)

Another area where thought was evident was the costuming.  By dressing the ensemble of Munchkins in high waisted, puffy dresses or pants with flat shoes it shortened their appearance, especially once Dorothy was in heels and beside the statuesque Robin Evan Willis as Glinda the good witch.  Switching tactics for Emerald City, the same people appeared to grow instantly by giving the ladies heels and lower waisted dresses and jackets.

There was the required flying by the monkeys and witches with mostly hidden cables.  Dorothy got in on the action with her capture by said monkeys, and the harnessing was smooth and hidden with enough other action on the stage that attention was not focused on her awaiting the take-off.

The set for the Wicked Witch of the West's castle wasn't my favourite.  The door to Oz was more

Wicked Witch
(toronto.broadwayworld.com)

imposing than the scaffolding like tower Dorothy was locked in.  Lisa Horner did a fine job with her  additional solo song "Red Shoe Blues".

There will forever be comparisons between the MGM movie and any recreations of The Wizard of Oz story, but I think this one works well with the combination of old and new brought to life by a great Canadian cast!

The Music of James Bond

Bond through the years
(www.torontovka.com)

Conductor John Morris Russell, another of my favourites, returned to the Toronto Symphony this past week bringing with him the original scores from some of the best music in the 23 James Bond movies.  Composed by various people such as John Barry, Monty Norman, David Arnold, and even John McCartney, the person who really gave Bond his sound was someone not nearly as well known, arranger Nic Raine.  It was those arrangements the TSO brilliantly performed, and appeared to have an enjoyable time doing it.  

The night opened with the "James Bond Main Theme" before

Capathia Jenkins
(broadwayworld.com)

moving on to some of the hits from the Sean Connery era.  Guest vocalist Ron Bohmer made his TSO debut singing "Thunderball" to great effect.  Capathia Jenkins followed with "For Your Eyes Only", also her debut performance.  She has a gorgeous sultry voice that totally suited the James Bond style.  I think that was my favourite vocal song of the evening, although Bohmer's "From Russia With Love" was a close second.  Both singers, but especially Jenkins, seemed so pleased with the audience reaction and generously indicated their thanks to the audience and orchestra.

As usual the orchestra was not left out.  They played a short suite from Dr. No, complete with a recorded voice over of the most famous line in movie history (according to Conductor Russell), "martini, shaken not stirred".  

Mrs. Peel

Opening the second half was a series of orchestral selections featuring guest saxophonist John Johnson and brassy solos by trumpeter James Gardiner.  It started with the "Soul Bossa Nova" better known as the theme from Austin Powers, then moved to the piece that started the spy-fi genre, the "Peter Gunn Theme".  Russell broke in to continue the history and stories he was providing between pieces to discuss the appeal a character named Mrs. Peel, who "wore leather and kicked butt", had for a young boy growing up in Ohio.  The orchestra followed with the theme from the TV series The Avengers.  

Ron Bohmer
(www.imdb.com)

Also included were Mission Impossible with it's identifying 5/4 time, the Pink Panther, and the theme from Shaft where Bohmer reappeared in his own leathers.

Moving on to more recent Bond movies, Jenkins sounded just like Adele singing "Skyfall" then switched to Gladys Knight for "Licence to Kill".  "The Look of Love" from the original Casino Royale had Russell get in on the non conducting action to join Jenkins for a classy slow dance.  Bohmer returned a final time to sing "You Know My Name" from the Daniel Craig as Bond version of Casino Royale.

Of course one couldn't leave until perhaps the most popular Bond song, made famous with the Shirley Bassey vocals but left as an orchestral encore piece, was played.  The evening was brought to a final close with "Goldfinger"!

Check out a photo of the TSO in rehearsal

TSO rehearsal with Maestro Russell (www.680news.com)

and a pre-show interview Maestro Russell gave with 680 news here: http://www.680news.com/2013/04/02/interview-john-morris-russell-guest-conductor-for-the-toronto-symphony-orchestra/

Those MGM Musicals Really Are Glorious

The Symphonic Pops Consortium created concert Those Glorious MGM Musicals will always hold a very special place in my heart.  Ten seasons ago it was performed in Ottawa by the National Arts Centre Orchestra, conducted by guest maestro Jack Everly.  Having an affinity for musicals, and being a student always looking for a cheap night out, I convinced three of my friends it would be fun and we headed downtown.  For the first time I was attending a symphony concert and while the write up sounded entertaining I wasn't sure what to expect. 

Needless to say my worries were completely unfounded and I loved it.  It was the start of my affection for Pops concerts, the sound of a symphony orchestra, the live music experience, and the knowledge imparted in such a charismatic way by the Maestro who, several years later, would accept the post of Principal Pops Conductor.  I left that evening with the goal of seeing all the musicals that had been featured in the show.  It took about five years before I had the time to start tracking them down, and I almost accomplished the goal.  The early operettas I haven't found in their entirety, although youtube has helped with relevant clips.  The movie search took me places I hadn't expected, mostly into the world of autobiographies and behind the scenes books.  Several books covered one of my favourite musicals, Singin' in the Rain, and the performers in it, but my interest has branched out into a greater appreciation for all classical and symphonic music.  Really what better result from a first concert experience could there be?

Anyhow, when I found out that I was going to be in the area when the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra was performing the same show, I couldn't resist.  Not exactly a bookend to how I got hooked on this genre, but a wonderful reminder of everything that I love about it. 

Nick Fitzer
(www.irtlive.com)

The concert itself was great, there were things I didn't remember from the version I'd previously seen and variations from the printed program.  Perhaps Nick Fitzer wasn't feeling well since his solo pieces were unfortunately replaced or cut.

Nick Adams is an incredible talent.  His dancing in "Steppin' Out With My Baby" was high energy and his voice just as strong after a series of

Nick Adams
(www.nickadams.biz)

steps as when he first walked out.  A highlight of the whole show was his "Singin' in the Rain" number to close the evening.  The dance choreography mirrored that of Gene Kelly (minus the shrinking suit coat sleeves.  Aside: the suit he wore in the film was wool and the water caused it to shrink so noticably that you can see the sleeve length change) and Nick did a great job.  It would have been the icing on the cake to include a police man at the end coming up and tapping him on the shoulder adding yet another element of the movie.

Scott Hogsed
(calendar.gsu.edu)

Other highlights were "The Atchinson, Topika, and the Santa Fe" from The Harvey Girls which started with Scott Hogsed and Nick Fitzer, then continued with Kathy Voytko in the Judy Garland role.  The vocal arrangement was done by Kay Thompson and won an Oscar for Best Original Song.  I believe Thompson was also the basis for the character of Phoebe Dinsmore, Lena Lamont's vocal coach, in Singin' in the Rain.  Dan'yelle Williamson's version of "Get Happy" dressed in the suit jacket style made famous by Judy Garland, and "Stormy Weather", a Lena Horne signature piece, were also very enjoyable.

Dan'yelle Williamson
(www.abouttheartists.com)

Kathy Voytko
(www.playbillvault.com)

The ladies teamed up for a lovely and very special arrangement of "Can't Help Lovin' That Man" from Showboat.  The history of the musical by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II is really quite interesting.  After starting on Broadway, the first movie version was a silent film made in 1929 (technically based off the novel not the musical, so I suppose that partially justifies a silent film, although the musical had opened 2 years earlier).  Some of the original broadway cast ended up in the movie when several talking sequences were added.  More cast from the stage appeared in the second version from 1936, then in 1951 MGM got their hands on it for the lavish treatment with which they produced musicals.  Lena Horne wanted the role of Julie (and I think would have been a perfect fit), but it went to her friend Ava Gardner instead.  Obviously a disappointment, but the two ladies still remained friends.  The duet arrangement let the audience imagine what it might have been like had casting turned out differently.

Many more musicals were featured from The Wizard of Oz and Meet Me in St. Louis (two more Judy Garland classics) to The Band Wagon.  Speaking of Oz in his introduction to the piece conductor Everly read from a newspaper synopsis that described what we think of as a children's movie as "girl transported to psychedelic world, kills first woman seen, then teams up with three others to kill again".  When you put it like that, maybe not for children after all.  It likely would have had quite a different feel had studio head Louis B. Mayer gotten his choice of cast with Shirley Temple as Dorothy.

After the encore of "That's Entertainment" I got to thinking about all the people I've inflicted my love

of this stuff on since that first evening.  There have been a lot and I now have a few standing agreements about which concerts friends want to go to.  I'm glad that my excitment has rubbed off and I hope I've helped in some small way to keep the performance of this music alive.

In 1969 a portion of MGM was sold with props, costumes, and the backlot divvied up and also sold off.   The music library however was tragically sent to a landfill.  Many thanks to Jack Everly and the others who worked for two years to recreate the symphonic scores that were so carelessly tossed out, so that a concert of this music could exist.  I don't like to imagine what I'd have missed out on if I hadn't shown up to Southem Hall 10 years ago.

Love Will Keep Us Together

The Toronto Symphony's new Pops Conductor, Steven Reineke, introduced something new this season, a love themed concert, titled Love Will Keep Us Together that occurred a week after Valentine's Day.  I'm not sure how I feel about Valentine's concerts, there's no lack of good "love" music, but being single it can feel like a slap in the face from the world sometimes.  But I went with a friend and we just enjoyed the evening.  It will be interesting to see if this trend continues since the house was not full on the Wednesday evening I attended.

The opening piece "Love's Theme" by Barry White could have been a bit stronger, there was some muddling in the horns and it just didn't have the hook that gets you on the edge of your seat for the remainder of the evening.

Principal trumpet Andrew McCandless nailed a few wonderful solos throughout the evening.  The first was glorious and soaring in the "Cinema Paradiso Suite", then in "Almost Paradise" from Footloose he showed versatility with a much more jazzy sound.

Reineke, Eldred, Wolfe, and the TSO
(www.theatromania.ca)

Guest vocalists were Mike Eldred and Betsy Wolfe (making her TSO debut).  Mr. Eldred was okay, I enjoyed him best in "Sarah".  It's a piece from the musical The Civil War, and he just let the story and lyricism unfolded naturally.

Wolfe in one of many lovely evening gowns
(www.tumblr.com)

Ms. Wolfe has a lovely voice that was well suited to the heartfelt and belt portions of "The Music That Makes Me Dance" from Funny Girl.  I don't recall hearing the piece before, but then can't say I know much from Funny Girl, but I quite liked it.

They joined forces for a humerous version of "Anything You Can Do" from Annie Get Your Gun.  When they got to "anything you can buy, I can buy cheaper" and started throwing out numbers of "50 cents", "40 cents", "30 cents" etc.  Betsy side barred to the audience "the song's a bit outdated".  A true fact but it hasn't lost any of Irving Berlin's magic, even if the value of money has changed.

There were a few orchestra only pieces as well.  "Unchained Melody" made the list, and while melodically there isn't a lot of variation, they threw it around between the violins, winds, and celli which helped keep it interesting.  "Copacabana" was a good choice to open the second half with some energy.

The evening concluded with a lively encore of "Love Will Keep Us Together", complete with dancing vocalists and conductor while the orchestra played along left mostly to their own devices.  The audience didn't jump to their feet to join in, but there was a healthy applauce and light steps as people left the hall.

Beethoven Symphony 9

Conductor Matthew Halls
(www.bach-cantatas.com)

I'm unsure where I heard it, but regarding conductors it was said that "the score needs to be in their head, not their head in the score".  Never was that more clearly demonstrated then at the Toronto Symphony concert Wed. Feb. 13 Beethoven Symphony 9.  Guest conductor Matthew Halls, conducted the entire evening from memory.  What a memory to contain not only Beethoven's longest symphony but his "Coriolan Overture" and "Serenade in E Minor for String Orchestra" by Elgar as well.

I really enjoyed the "Coriolan Overture".  It opened with a decisive series of chords and ended, in a way I don't expect from Beethoven, by literally fading away.  The orchestra did a fantastic disappearing act at the end, bringing the sound level ever so gradually to nothing.

Elgar's "Serenade" was just beautiful with lovely playing from the string section.

The meat of the evening and the reason everyone was there had to be Beethoven's Ninth Symphony!  It was my first time hearing it live and just the way the stage was set up indicated something was going to be different.  Rather than relegating the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir to the seats in the choir loft, the orchestra was pushed to the front of the stage and the choir seated on risers behind them.

http://www.musicaltoronto.org/

(Photo by John Terauds)

Obviously the part everyone knows is the "Ode to Joy" from the fourth movement, but I discovered there's so much more to the piece than that.  For example in the second movement there was a great melody that would start to develop and each time it reached a peak it would drop away into something else.  Not sure where he was going with that because I was anxious to hear it continue and to my ears it never did.  Even in the fourth movement the "Ode to Joy" theme is of course there, but it's expanded on and left then returned to.  All things I wasn't expecting.  It was truly an uplifting evening, and I hope to catch Beethoven 9 again sometime.  To top it all off, it was Mr. Halls first time conducting the Ninth Symphony.  No one ever would have guessed and I wonder how his approach may change as he conducts it in the future after such a successful first experience.  For a more detailed review check out the Toronto Star article.

TSO Allows the Audience to Pick

For many months the Toronto Symphony posted polls listing pieces of music and inviting potential  audience members to pick their favourites.  After several rounds and finals the six top pieces were combined into an Audience Choice concert.  Not a lot of the music I voted for made the final list, but I was getting excited just listening to the orchestra warm up and hearing snippets from Star Wars!

The "Main Title Theme from Star Wars" opened the evening with a soaring brass section that let loose to great effect.  There's nothing quite like John Williams.  I was left wondering if it's the first time anyone in attendance had heard that piece live given that there isn't always a lot of crossover between people who favour classical concerts and ones who prefer the Pops series.  Maybe programs like this will help in the promotion of each.

Next up was the "long, short, short, long" movement from Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 (ok, technically movement 2).  The theme was introduced so beautifully by the strings and then got even quieter.   Wow, just lovely.

Ms. Rizikov
(ttp://glenngouldvariations.tumblr.com)

Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini" is probably my favourite piano piece, and I'll admit to being cliche and name Variation 18 as my favourite within it.  That variation proved to be another winner and made the program.  We also helped to fulfill a dream of sorts for the young pianist.  Thirteen year old Anastasia Rizikov had told the conductor who announced to the audience that it was her dream to perform with the TSO.  She took to the stage looking every bit a polished young lady.  Raising off the piano bench at times to get the sound from the piano to counter the orchestra, she got the job done, and musically at that.  I expect this won't be her last time on the Roy Thomson Hall stage.

Next was Movement 4 from Dvorak's "Symphony No. 9: From the New World".  It was a good book end to the first half with the Jaws sounding opening and brass fanfare that could slip right into a John Williams movie score.

Resident Conductor
Shalom Bard (tso.ca)

The audience voting continued even during the concert as after intermission we were tasked with making a selection between "The Great Gate of Kiev" from Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, or "Intermezzo" from the opera Cavalleria Rusticana by Mascangni.  The method of voting by was shouting the favourite phrase of the conductor for the evening, the TSO's new resident conductor, Shalom Bard.  No idea what it means but to me it sounded like "oy mon choi".  The brassy sounds of Kiev won.

Then a drastic change of pace for "Adagio for Strings", which was poignant as always.  I had forgotten this was in the movie Lorenzo's Oil, and while listening my mind wandered back to when I saw that movie in high school.

The evening concluded with the full "1812 Overture"!  Another smashingly exciting piece.  Particularly the finale that accompanies fireworks shows, yet I like hearing the whole thing in a concert setting, even if the real cannon fire is replaced with recorded shots.

But wait!  That ended up not being the end of the evening.  Letting those who lost the vote still be winners, "Intermezzo" was played as an encore.  It was my vote and I'm glad they played it.  The theme is likely to be known by many but it's not a piece I've ever heard in it's entirety and really had no idea where the melody that's so popular was from.  It was a wonderful conclusion.

I think the audience choice idea went over well and perhaps there will be more in the future.