Tuesday 2 August 2022

Festival of the Sound 2022 # 15: Festival Wrap-Up and My Festival Top Ten

The Festival of the Sound for 2022 is now history. It was amazing! I think I will always remember this one as “the Feel-Good Festival.” Every day, it seemed that somebody or other would say, “It feels so good to be back here!” Or else it was: “It’s so great to see you again!” Or both.
 
In spite of the reduced length of the Festival (15 days versus the usual 23 or 24), and the reduced capacity of the concerts, the quality of the music-making was as high as it’s ever been, perhaps even more so. Time and again, we heard and saw that it wasn’t just the audiences who felt the joy of the return to live music!
 
Classical chamber music has always been the bread-and-butter of this Festival, but diverse styles are also firmly rooted in the programming. Blues, jazz, big band, comedy, and some much more technologically up-to-date performances involving live looping could also be heard.
 
Out of all of that profusion of creativity and artistry, I once again set myself the task of choosing my own personal “Festival Top Ten.” These aren’t necessarily the performances that might be judged “the best,” however one judges such a thing. These are simply ten special moments that resonated in my memory after the performances.
 
Without further ado, then:
 
 
Ken Stephen's Festival Top Ten!


10:       Ryan Davis creating music with his viola and live looping technology.
 
9:         Janina Fialkowska’s fascinating master class session with rising star Bruce Liu.

8:         Leslie Fagan’s hilarious take as the mechanical doll, Olympia, in The Tales of Hoffman.

7:         Turina’s Oracion del Torero at Cameron Crozman’s musical tapas concert.

6:         Amusing choreography in Me and My Shadow from the Toronto All-Star Big Band.

5:         Suzanne Shulman & Erica Goodman playing The Rings and encoring one movement.

4:         The restaging of Sounding Thunder – still as gripping, relevant, and unsettling as ever.

3:         Charles Richard-Hamelin’s sensitive playing of Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin.

2:         Hearing Janina Fialkowska playing both of the Op. 40 Polonaises by Chopin – twice!

And finally, my Number One memorable moment of Festival 2022…
 
1:         Nimrod from the Enigma Variations by Elgar, played by the National Academy Orchestra, in memory of Boris Brott. I cried.

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