It all started with James Campbell, Artistic Director of the Festival, having one of his infamous little ideas that sound so innocuous: why not celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Festival by playing 40 works of music in one day?
According to Jim, his wife's response was: "Whose idea was that?"
She knew.
Many of the works were heard only as single movements from larger works. Otherwise, as Jim also pointed out, we'd have had to stay for an extra week. No matter. This madcap idea turned into the most entertaining, unusual, and invigorating day of music I've ever experienced.
It was a tiring day. No question. But the consensus among people I spoke to who, like me, did the entire thing, was that it was worth every minute.
It was a tiring day. No question. But the consensus among people I spoke to who, like me, did the entire thing, was that it was worth every minute.
Get ready for a review like no other you've ever read, as I bop around five different venues and six separate events while listening to 35 different artists in quest of the elusive magic 40.
Note: Violinist Jeremy Bell was unable to join his colleagues of the Penderecki String Quartet for this one-day musical binge. So, any reference to the Penderecki Quartet actually refers to 3 of the 4 members. For convenience in this lengthy post, I'll be referring to the Penderecki Quartet as the PSQ, the New Zealand String Quartet as the NZSQ, while the Canadian Guitar Quartet becomes the CGQ. I hope all of that is now clear as mud.
Numbers will be marked for each piece throughout this post and its successor to keep track of our progress towards our goal. And off we go!
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Celebration Day No. 1: The Morning Cruise
I guess it would have been too cliché to open with a morning cruise featuring Handel's Water Music. When we boarded the Island Queen at the dock for a departure at 10:30 am, we were greeted with a programme focusing strongly on the later Classical and Romantic eras.
[1,2] The day launched with the piano duo of Glen Montgomery and Magdalena von Eccher playing the wistful Slavonic Dance No. 10 by Dvorak and the more impassioned Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Brahms. Both were played with impressive balance and tone quality, especially considering the need to use an electronic piano (even if it is a good one).
[3] Next, we heard a four-movement Divertimento for Winds by Mozart. Originally this was a Divertimento for Three Basset Hounds -- oops, I meant Three Basset Horns, of course. Dave Bourque, who provided the sole basset horn on this occasion, always, and I do mean always, has to make that joke about basset hounds. For those not familiar, the basset horn is a member of the clarinet family, pitched lower than a regular soprano clarinet and with additional lower keys that extend its range lower than an alto clarinet. Mozart made extensive use of basset horns in his later works. We have no statistical information on his use of basset hounds.
This divertimento, like so many of the genre, was a lightweight, pleasant piece -- probably originally written as after-dinner music to go with the port and cigars. The finale of this piece shall henceforth be known as Music to Go Through a Hole in the Wall By, because it was played by the trio as the Island Queen navigated the narrow, rockbound channel called "The Hole in the Wall" which separates Wall Island from the larger Huckleberry Island. Jim Campbell (clarinet) and Jim Mason (oboe) joined Bourque in a pleasing, perky performance.
[4] Daniel Tselyakov took the keyboard for a Nocturne, Op. 9 No. 3 by Chopin. Tselyakov has an easy, natural way with rubato in Chopin, the ebb and flow of the tempo seeming entirely organic and not feeling like a stuck-on interpretive device.
[5] Next, Magdalena von Eccher returned with the opening adagio sostenuto of the Sonata quasi una fantasia in C Sharp Minor, Op. 27 No. 2, by Beethoven -- better known, but not by the composer's choice, as the "Moonlight Sonata." At a sunny 11-something o'clock in the morning, the popular sobriquet seems merely silly. von Eccher phrased this familiar music much more thoughtfully than many performers.
[6] We then heard the Singer-Fischer Duo of Sebastien Singer on guitar and Andre Fischer on cello in an Astor Piazzola piece entitled Café: 1930, originally written for guitar and flute. In the mix of mood-evocative elements with popular song styles of the time, it was classic Piazzola.
[7-8] The final set of this concert was provided by violinist Moshe Hammer and pianist Glen Montgomery. They began with Fritz Kreisler's Schöne Rosmarin, a waltz with a definite (to my ears) Viennese concert-in-the-park air. The next piece was the virtuoso warhorse, Zigeunerweisen, by Pablo Sarasate. Hammer tossed off all the technical tricks (there are many in this piece) with the ease of long experience.
[9] These two were then joined by Jim Campbell for Srul Irving Glick's The Klezmer's Wedding, a work originally premiered at the Festival a decade or so ago. It's a marvellous evocation of traditional Jewish klezmer music, and these artists played it with ample dash, style, and energy. A very rewarding finale to Part One.
Jim Campbell finished off this event with a generous shout-out to the owners and crew of the Island Queen, which has been an integral part of the Festival experience for over 3 decades. The routine of weekly musical cruises was already well established when I first came here 27 years ago, and continues to enliven the summer Monday evenings for hundreds of people every week of the Festival -- as well as on the annual Canada Day cruise.
[1,2] The day launched with the piano duo of Glen Montgomery and Magdalena von Eccher playing the wistful Slavonic Dance No. 10 by Dvorak and the more impassioned Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Brahms. Both were played with impressive balance and tone quality, especially considering the need to use an electronic piano (even if it is a good one).
[3] Next, we heard a four-movement Divertimento for Winds by Mozart. Originally this was a Divertimento for Three Basset Hounds -- oops, I meant Three Basset Horns, of course. Dave Bourque, who provided the sole basset horn on this occasion, always, and I do mean always, has to make that joke about basset hounds. For those not familiar, the basset horn is a member of the clarinet family, pitched lower than a regular soprano clarinet and with additional lower keys that extend its range lower than an alto clarinet. Mozart made extensive use of basset horns in his later works. We have no statistical information on his use of basset hounds.
This divertimento, like so many of the genre, was a lightweight, pleasant piece -- probably originally written as after-dinner music to go with the port and cigars. The finale of this piece shall henceforth be known as Music to Go Through a Hole in the Wall By, because it was played by the trio as the Island Queen navigated the narrow, rockbound channel called "The Hole in the Wall" which separates Wall Island from the larger Huckleberry Island. Jim Campbell (clarinet) and Jim Mason (oboe) joined Bourque in a pleasing, perky performance.
[4] Daniel Tselyakov took the keyboard for a Nocturne, Op. 9 No. 3 by Chopin. Tselyakov has an easy, natural way with rubato in Chopin, the ebb and flow of the tempo seeming entirely organic and not feeling like a stuck-on interpretive device.
[5] Next, Magdalena von Eccher returned with the opening adagio sostenuto of the Sonata quasi una fantasia in C Sharp Minor, Op. 27 No. 2, by Beethoven -- better known, but not by the composer's choice, as the "Moonlight Sonata." At a sunny 11-something o'clock in the morning, the popular sobriquet seems merely silly. von Eccher phrased this familiar music much more thoughtfully than many performers.
[6] We then heard the Singer-Fischer Duo of Sebastien Singer on guitar and Andre Fischer on cello in an Astor Piazzola piece entitled Café: 1930, originally written for guitar and flute. In the mix of mood-evocative elements with popular song styles of the time, it was classic Piazzola.
[7-8] The final set of this concert was provided by violinist Moshe Hammer and pianist Glen Montgomery. They began with Fritz Kreisler's Schöne Rosmarin, a waltz with a definite (to my ears) Viennese concert-in-the-park air. The next piece was the virtuoso warhorse, Zigeunerweisen, by Pablo Sarasate. Hammer tossed off all the technical tricks (there are many in this piece) with the ease of long experience.
[9] These two were then joined by Jim Campbell for Srul Irving Glick's The Klezmer's Wedding, a work originally premiered at the Festival a decade or so ago. It's a marvellous evocation of traditional Jewish klezmer music, and these artists played it with ample dash, style, and energy. A very rewarding finale to Part One.
Jim Campbell finished off this event with a generous shout-out to the owners and crew of the Island Queen, which has been an integral part of the Festival experience for over 3 decades. The routine of weekly musical cruises was already well established when I first came here 27 years ago, and continues to enliven the summer Monday evenings for hundreds of people every week of the Festival -- as well as on the annual Canada Day cruise.
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Celebration Day No. 2: Magic of Mozart
With a half-hour break after the boat docked, and time to scarf down a quick snack lunch, we were seated in the Stockey Centre concert hall for an afternoon with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
[10] We began with the adagio and allegro movements of Mozart's String Quartet No. 1 in G+, K.80, a work composed by Mozart at the tender age of 14. Simple and straightforward as compared to later Mozart, yet unfailingly melodious, this "dear little piece," as violist Gillian Ansell called it, was played by the NZSQ in a light-hearted, easy-going style that suited it perfectly.
[11] Time for the opposite end of the scale. The NZSQ were then joined by double bass Joel Quarrington and clarinet James Campbell for the adagio movement of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K.622. In this beautiful late addition to Mozart's concertante works, the soloist and ensemble gave a performance which could only be called sublime. If it were a recording, I'd be hitting the repeat button.
[12] Daniel Tselyakov was joined by the PSQ in the first movement of the Piano Quartet in E Flat Major, K.483. Tselyakov's rationale was simple -- since his dad played the other piano quartet a day or two previously, he would do this one. Although the piano part was arguably a bit heavy for Mozart, it was otherwise clear as you could ask -- and Tselyakov's colleagues had no trouble keeping up with him in the volume department so the balance wasn't at risk.
[13] An impostor! Beethoven sneaked into the Mozartean mix with the Variations on "La ci darem da mano" (a duet from Mozart's opera Don Giovanni) for two oboes and cor Anglais -- here played with one oboe, one clarinet, and one cor Anglais or basset hound or whatever. In other words, the same three players as in [3]. And yes, the basset hound joke got made again.
[14] If I'd had my druthers, the relative positions of this piece and # 15 would have been reversed. Leslie Fagan joined with Glen Montgomery in a rare performance of the complete cantata, Exsultate, jubilate, K.165, written when the composer was 17 and attending the Milan premiere of his opera seria, Lucio Silla. I've been deceived more than once in the past when the cantata was announced or programmed, but all I got was the concluding Alleluia -- a famous soprano showpiece. The complete work is a nicely balanced structure, with the two fast, coloratura movements framing the slower recitative and lyrical aria in second and third place. I've long since decided that Glen Montgomery is, hands down, the most versatile pianist ever to appear at this Festival, so I was not surprised that he dealt so readily with all of Mozart's elaborate passagework. As for Leslie Fagan, she proved as much at home in the slower aria Tu virginum corona, producing a smooth flow of limpid tone, as in the more athletic coloratura of the opening movement and the showstopper Alleluia.
[15] Glen Montgomery, now joined by Magdalena von Eccher, played the Variations for Piano Duo in G Major, K.501. These variations are based on an original theme, and it's a perky, upbeat melody indeed, lending that character to much of what follows. For a relatively short work, it's very diverse in styles, and this duo moved readily from lighter scales and runs which definitely lived in the realm of fantasy to emphatic, powerful chords that yet did not forget that this was still the 1700s. A delight.
[10] We began with the adagio and allegro movements of Mozart's String Quartet No. 1 in G+, K.80, a work composed by Mozart at the tender age of 14. Simple and straightforward as compared to later Mozart, yet unfailingly melodious, this "dear little piece," as violist Gillian Ansell called it, was played by the NZSQ in a light-hearted, easy-going style that suited it perfectly.
[11] Time for the opposite end of the scale. The NZSQ were then joined by double bass Joel Quarrington and clarinet James Campbell for the adagio movement of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K.622. In this beautiful late addition to Mozart's concertante works, the soloist and ensemble gave a performance which could only be called sublime. If it were a recording, I'd be hitting the repeat button.
[12] Daniel Tselyakov was joined by the PSQ in the first movement of the Piano Quartet in E Flat Major, K.483. Tselyakov's rationale was simple -- since his dad played the other piano quartet a day or two previously, he would do this one. Although the piano part was arguably a bit heavy for Mozart, it was otherwise clear as you could ask -- and Tselyakov's colleagues had no trouble keeping up with him in the volume department so the balance wasn't at risk.
[13] An impostor! Beethoven sneaked into the Mozartean mix with the Variations on "La ci darem da mano" (a duet from Mozart's opera Don Giovanni) for two oboes and cor Anglais -- here played with one oboe, one clarinet, and one cor Anglais or basset hound or whatever. In other words, the same three players as in [3]. And yes, the basset hound joke got made again.
[14] If I'd had my druthers, the relative positions of this piece and # 15 would have been reversed. Leslie Fagan joined with Glen Montgomery in a rare performance of the complete cantata, Exsultate, jubilate, K.165, written when the composer was 17 and attending the Milan premiere of his opera seria, Lucio Silla. I've been deceived more than once in the past when the cantata was announced or programmed, but all I got was the concluding Alleluia -- a famous soprano showpiece. The complete work is a nicely balanced structure, with the two fast, coloratura movements framing the slower recitative and lyrical aria in second and third place. I've long since decided that Glen Montgomery is, hands down, the most versatile pianist ever to appear at this Festival, so I was not surprised that he dealt so readily with all of Mozart's elaborate passagework. As for Leslie Fagan, she proved as much at home in the slower aria Tu virginum corona, producing a smooth flow of limpid tone, as in the more athletic coloratura of the opening movement and the showstopper Alleluia.
[15] Glen Montgomery, now joined by Magdalena von Eccher, played the Variations for Piano Duo in G Major, K.501. These variations are based on an original theme, and it's a perky, upbeat melody indeed, lending that character to much of what follows. For a relatively short work, it's very diverse in styles, and this duo moved readily from lighter scales and runs which definitely lived in the realm of fantasy to emphatic, powerful chords that yet did not forget that this was still the 1700s. A delight.
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Celebration Day No. 3: Music for Strings
Afternoon celebration passes in hand, we migrated up the street to St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church for a concert after my own heart. All my life, I've loved music for strings and this programme took me to a favourite place in my musical life, in a venue whose sound is especially congenial to these instruments.
[16] This concert opened with a repeat from the Tuesday night dinner. Again, no complaints in this quarter. Julien Bisaillon joined the NZSQ for the Boccherini Fandango. Enough said about that already, although I did notice one detail which escaped me the other night. Rolf Gjelsten, the cellist, was tapping on the body of his instrument in a rhythmic pattern which definitely evoked the castanets sometimes used in this piece. Great fun to hear it again.
[17] Katie Schlaikjer, cellist of the PSQ, presented a work for solo cello by Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov, entitled Omaramor. This proved to be very impassioned music, sometimes fragmentary and uncertain in harmony. A contrasting central section resolved into a discernible melody, although the fragmented material punctuated it at phrase ends. The following section became even more fiercely discordant. An interesting musical journey.
[18] Julien Bisaillon returned to play the Choros No. 1 for guitar by Heitor Villa-Lobos. Like much of the composer's music, this was melodious and approachable, with a discernible verse-refrain structure throughout.
[19] If the slow movement of Schubert's String Quintet is indeed the gateway to heaven as Artur Rubinstein said, then we may have gotten there for a few minutes as that magnificent music was played by the PSQ with Monique Lapins on second violin, and with Joel Quarrington standing in on double bass for the second cello part. Heartachingly beautiful, as fine as I ever hope to hear it.
[20] Halfway there! Three players of the CGQ, minus Julien Bisaillon, joined Leslie Fagan for two famous Schubert lieder: Ständchen and Ave Maria. The choice of a trio of guitars worked magnificently with these two lyrical inspirations. Ständchen was magnificent. So was Ave Maria -- until Fagan bowed to bad tradition and sang the second verse with the horribly mismatched text of the Latin prayer, replete with weak syllables landing on strong beats, thus: "gra-ti-aa ple-naa." Schubert did NOT set that prayer to music. Can you tell that I have strong feelings about this abuse of the composer's inspiration?
[21] Revisiting an old friend, the NZSQ joined with James Campbell in the third movement of the Brahms Clarinet Quintet. This piece is the very heart and soul of their artistic collaboration, and it's always a pleasure and a privilege to hear them play it.
[22] The NZSQ then wrapped up this instalment with the allegro molto finale of the String Quartet No. 9 in C Major, Op. 59 No. 3 by Beethoven -- the third of the "Razumovsky" Quartets. This high energy moto perpetuo was "stolen" (to use their word) by the CGQ earlier in the week; now, the NZSQ stole it back again! Great attention to the molto part of the tempo marking, especially in the final pages, but equal attention to precision of playing from all the members of the quartet.
[17] Katie Schlaikjer, cellist of the PSQ, presented a work for solo cello by Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov, entitled Omaramor. This proved to be very impassioned music, sometimes fragmentary and uncertain in harmony. A contrasting central section resolved into a discernible melody, although the fragmented material punctuated it at phrase ends. The following section became even more fiercely discordant. An interesting musical journey.
[18] Julien Bisaillon returned to play the Choros No. 1 for guitar by Heitor Villa-Lobos. Like much of the composer's music, this was melodious and approachable, with a discernible verse-refrain structure throughout.
[19] If the slow movement of Schubert's String Quintet is indeed the gateway to heaven as Artur Rubinstein said, then we may have gotten there for a few minutes as that magnificent music was played by the PSQ with Monique Lapins on second violin, and with Joel Quarrington standing in on double bass for the second cello part. Heartachingly beautiful, as fine as I ever hope to hear it.
[20] Halfway there! Three players of the CGQ, minus Julien Bisaillon, joined Leslie Fagan for two famous Schubert lieder: Ständchen and Ave Maria. The choice of a trio of guitars worked magnificently with these two lyrical inspirations. Ständchen was magnificent. So was Ave Maria -- until Fagan bowed to bad tradition and sang the second verse with the horribly mismatched text of the Latin prayer, replete with weak syllables landing on strong beats, thus: "gra-ti-aa ple-naa." Schubert did NOT set that prayer to music. Can you tell that I have strong feelings about this abuse of the composer's inspiration?
[21] Revisiting an old friend, the NZSQ joined with James Campbell in the third movement of the Brahms Clarinet Quintet. This piece is the very heart and soul of their artistic collaboration, and it's always a pleasure and a privilege to hear them play it.
[22] The NZSQ then wrapped up this instalment with the allegro molto finale of the String Quartet No. 9 in C Major, Op. 59 No. 3 by Beethoven -- the third of the "Razumovsky" Quartets. This high energy moto perpetuo was "stolen" (to use their word) by the CGQ earlier in the week; now, the NZSQ stole it back again! Great attention to the molto part of the tempo marking, especially in the final pages, but equal attention to precision of playing from all the members of the quartet.
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Celebration Day No. 4: Tea, eh? Ah, yes. Tea.
A select lucky few who got their orders in early enough next moved to the Festival Station Office for an afternoon tea-with-music. Back in the early days, when concerts were held in the sizzling heat of the high school gym, iced tea and lemonade at intermission were much more than a treat -- they were a survival strategy. Today, freshly-brewed iced tea added delight to a lovely hour of music. So did some luscious dessert items. And there was also hot tea in elegant fine china cups, for those wanting to include a degree of old-fashioned class in their day.
After tea, we moved into the small performance hall behind the office for the fourth concert. This concert divided into two recognizable sets, a decided change of pace after all the mixing-and-matching that went on earlier in the day. The first set was performed by flautist Suzanne Shulman and harpist Erica Goodman. I have to say that it almost seems presumptuous to offer any comment on the quality of playing from these two first-rank artists.
[23] The opening number was Elgar's Chanson de matin, Op. 15, No. 2. A rare name at the Festival, Elgar makes a welcome reappearance. The piece was originally for piano and violin, but sounded completely idiomatic in this arrangement.
[24] The Victorian Kitchen Garden Suite by Paul Reade was an absolute delight. The music was written for the BBC2 television series of the same name. The five short movements -- Prelude, Spring, Mists, Exotica, and Summer -- offered a diversity of styles for the players to explore, and certainly piqued my desire to hear the music again.
[25-26] Le Rossignol en amour and Le Rossignol vainqueur are arrangements of two harpsichord pieces by François Couperin. The soaring, aching 4/4 melody of the nightingale in love contrasted neatly with the strutting 6/8 pride of the nightingale conqueror.
[27] La source, Op. 44 (The Fountain) by Alphonse Hasselmans, is a concert study for harp alone, written in the early days of the modern double-action harp as a technical tour de force for the composer's students. Erica Goodman gave the endless swirling arpeggios a clear sense of form which definitely helped us to enjoy the subtleties in the piece.
[28] Casilda Fantasy by Franz Doppler and Antonio Zamara. Casilda was an apparently forgettable Romantic opera by the older brother of Queen Victoria's Prince Albert. The fantasy was created by the two composers, themselves renowned virtuosi, at the height of the nineteenth century craze for such pastiche works. Often these were aimed at the home market, but in this case I doubt if many homes conveniently contained a double-action harp all ready for action. The themes in this piece were pleasing to the ear, and the virtuosity of the playing made it worthwhile to listen and rather enjoyable. But if the lost Casilda had as weak a libretto as some of the other nineteenth-century operatic flopperoos, she'd probably better stay lost.
In preparing to play this piece, Suzanne Shulman said that she had a bone to pick with the composers because the central section is written in seven flats and "on the flute, seven flats is a non-union key. Erica has no trouble with seven flats." To this, Erica Goodman made the tart rejoinder, "On the harp, all keys are non-union keys."
At this point we took a brief break to switch performers, bringing forward the Cheng²Duo for the second set of the teatime concert.
[29] The Chengs opened with the famous Arioso from the Cantata No 156 by J. S. Bach. This certainly wasn't an "authentic" interpretation, as shown by the firm playing of the piano and the vibrato on the cello, but neither was the music overloaded with romantic indulgences.
After tea, we moved into the small performance hall behind the office for the fourth concert. This concert divided into two recognizable sets, a decided change of pace after all the mixing-and-matching that went on earlier in the day. The first set was performed by flautist Suzanne Shulman and harpist Erica Goodman. I have to say that it almost seems presumptuous to offer any comment on the quality of playing from these two first-rank artists.
[23] The opening number was Elgar's Chanson de matin, Op. 15, No. 2. A rare name at the Festival, Elgar makes a welcome reappearance. The piece was originally for piano and violin, but sounded completely idiomatic in this arrangement.
[24] The Victorian Kitchen Garden Suite by Paul Reade was an absolute delight. The music was written for the BBC2 television series of the same name. The five short movements -- Prelude, Spring, Mists, Exotica, and Summer -- offered a diversity of styles for the players to explore, and certainly piqued my desire to hear the music again.
[25-26] Le Rossignol en amour and Le Rossignol vainqueur are arrangements of two harpsichord pieces by François Couperin. The soaring, aching 4/4 melody of the nightingale in love contrasted neatly with the strutting 6/8 pride of the nightingale conqueror.
[27] La source, Op. 44 (The Fountain) by Alphonse Hasselmans, is a concert study for harp alone, written in the early days of the modern double-action harp as a technical tour de force for the composer's students. Erica Goodman gave the endless swirling arpeggios a clear sense of form which definitely helped us to enjoy the subtleties in the piece.
[28] Casilda Fantasy by Franz Doppler and Antonio Zamara. Casilda was an apparently forgettable Romantic opera by the older brother of Queen Victoria's Prince Albert. The fantasy was created by the two composers, themselves renowned virtuosi, at the height of the nineteenth century craze for such pastiche works. Often these were aimed at the home market, but in this case I doubt if many homes conveniently contained a double-action harp all ready for action. The themes in this piece were pleasing to the ear, and the virtuosity of the playing made it worthwhile to listen and rather enjoyable. But if the lost Casilda had as weak a libretto as some of the other nineteenth-century operatic flopperoos, she'd probably better stay lost.
In preparing to play this piece, Suzanne Shulman said that she had a bone to pick with the composers because the central section is written in seven flats and "on the flute, seven flats is a non-union key. Erica has no trouble with seven flats." To this, Erica Goodman made the tart rejoinder, "On the harp, all keys are non-union keys."
At this point we took a brief break to switch performers, bringing forward the Cheng²Duo for the second set of the teatime concert.
[29] The Chengs opened with the famous Arioso from the Cantata No 156 by J. S. Bach. This certainly wasn't an "authentic" interpretation, as shown by the firm playing of the piano and the vibrato on the cello, but neither was the music overloaded with romantic indulgences.
[30] Next up we got the first and last of Manuel de Falla's Seven Popular Spanish Songs. El paño moruno was strong and forceful, Polo even more so, in the authentic canto jondo style of Andalusia. It's just a pity that they didn't include Nana. Nudge, wink, for those who were at the opening weekend dinner concert! Sorry, an inside joke.
[31] Maurice Ravel came next with the Pièce en forme de Habañera. Played with a sultry air reminiscent of la siesta on a hot Mediterranean afternoon, this evocative piece seemed like a dream of Spain, perhaps viewed through a veiled archway. The famous habañera rhythm, so familiar from Carmen, was there still, but far more understated than in Bizet's famous opera.
[32] Ending with what is probably their most-requested encore, the Chengs sent us off with the rousing Horse-Racing by Huang Haihuai. Apparently this song was originally written to be played on a solo erhu, a two-stringed fiddle, but I can't for the life of me imagine how that would work. The comic highlight of the tea came when Bryan Cheng imitated the neighing of the horses on his cello at the end.
[31] Maurice Ravel came next with the Pièce en forme de Habañera. Played with a sultry air reminiscent of la siesta on a hot Mediterranean afternoon, this evocative piece seemed like a dream of Spain, perhaps viewed through a veiled archway. The famous habañera rhythm, so familiar from Carmen, was there still, but far more understated than in Bizet's famous opera.
[32] Ending with what is probably their most-requested encore, the Chengs sent us off with the rousing Horse-Racing by Huang Haihuai. Apparently this song was originally written to be played on a solo erhu, a two-stringed fiddle, but I can't for the life of me imagine how that would work. The comic highlight of the tea came when Bryan Cheng imitated the neighing of the horses on his cello at the end.
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Celebration Day No. 5: Jazz on the Grill
A barbecue supper on the deck at the Stockey Centre, overlooking the sparkling waters of Georgian Bay, was just the ticket to continue the celebrations. For me, though, it became the event to skip. My stomach seriously rebelled at the idea of yet another two-bite snack, and I betook me to a restaurant for a fuller, badly-needed sit-down meal. Sorry to miss the jamming that took place on the deck, I'm sure it was great. But I felt a bit less guilty when I realized that the barbeque music was not part of the magic "40."
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Celebration Day No. 6: Happy 35th Anniversary, James Campbell
No, that's not a misprint. It was five years after the Festival began that founding Artistic Director Anton Kuerti asked Jim Campbell to take over the role, and -- as they say -- the rest is history. I'm going to cover this fabulous culmination of the marathon Celebration Day, with pieces [33] to [40] in a separate post, # 15.
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