Was there something special in the air at this year's Festival of the Sound? Of course there was a good deal of excitement for the 40th anniversary of the Festival, especially among those of us who've been attending for many years. There were certainly plenty of reminiscences of the "old days" of concerts in the steam bath of the high school gym -- not that anyone really wants to go back in time and experience that again. I'm just grateful that any ideas of re-mounting the original concert in the original venue were nipped in the bud!
Whatever the reason or reasons, there did seem to me to be a more festive vibe in the air this summer. Maybe it was just me, or just my imagination, but I'd like to think that the entire experience took on a heightened air of "special event" for others as well.
It's a bit of a challenge to try to put that across, since Festival audiences have become well-accustomed to the unusual, the exceptional, the exciting, the memorable, from year to year.
And now for my Festival Top Ten List. I started this tradition last year. This is not a comment on relative quality of performance -- we're not talking about the Gramophone Awards here -- but just a selection of performances or events that stood out in my memory for some particular reason.
Starting with...
[10] Beethoven Quartet Op. 131 with the New Zealand String Quartet. Any time an ensemble sits down to play this monumental work carries the cachet of a special occasion. This performance stood out among others that I recall for the care in which all the diverse styles were welded into a single, coherent whole, culminating in the intensity of the finale.
[9] The Payadora Tango Ensemble. The combination of gifted and versatile instrumentalists, singers, and dancers with the intoxicating rhythms of Latin dance was irresistible.
[8] Beethoven's Trio Op. 70, No. 1 "Ghost." The intense quietness of the playing by Yolanda Bruno, Bryan Cheng, and Silvie Cheng in the slow movement set the seal on this major offering of the concert, "And So We Began," which remounted 3/4 of the original concert of 40 years ago on the same date and at the same time.
[7] Eric Robertson's "The Sound: A musical evocation of Georgian Bay." With fascinating vocal writing and instrumental textures, Robertson's 40th anniversary gift to the Festival and the Elmer Iseler Singers was the highlight of the Gala Opening Concert.
[6] "We'll Gather Lilacs" by Ivor Novello, sung by Russell Braun with Carolyn Maule accompanying on the piano. Without fail, his interpretation of this nostalgic love song reduces me to tears. Braun is one of those incredibly gifted artists who can take a simple, popular tune like this and elevate it to heights of emotion which I suspect were undreamed of by its composer.
[5] "Pavane for a Dead Princess" by Ravel. Amid the beauties of the Cheng²Duo's recital, this work stood out for the luxurious tone which Bryan Cheng coaxed out of the high harmonics on the third reiteration of the melody.
[4] Bach's Chaconne in D Minor for solo violin. Another musical work whose every performance is an event, this one showed Karl Stobbe building the long arches of the music with a degree of passion and intensity that many violinists might fear to use in Bach.
[3] "Beethoven II" concert on July 30. Yegor Dyachkov and Leopoldo Erice delighted us with the undervalued variations on Mozart's "Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen," and followed with a thoughtful, insightful reading of the Cello Sonata No. 4 in C Major, Op. 102 No. 1. Then, speaking of passion and intensity, Erice pulled out all the stops in a dynamic and gripping performance of the final piano sonata, No. 32 C Minor, Op. 111.
[2] "Tzigane" for violin and piano. With more-than-capable support from Glen Montgomery, Yolanda Bruno flung caution to the winds, digging deep into the strings and playing this challenging work with a wild spirit and fiery temperament, such as I had never heard before.
And finally, the big moment....
[1] The Celebration Day, Friday, August 9. Okay, I know I'm cheating a bit here, but it's impossible for me to detach any one performance from the immense musical banquet laid on for us on that day: 40 works for 40 years, stretching from 10:30 in the morning for almost 12 hours. There were far too many highlights for me to name them all here. If you refer back to Post # 15 of this series, you'll see what they all were on that page.
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