Alain Trudel
Conductor & trombonist
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A Ball of Fire
February 27, 2010, 12:00 am
Ovation Series
Orchestra London
February 20, 2010
****/4
Musical ideas occur in cycles, cycles which are not necessarily consecutive, but perhaps are overlapping and even internalized constructs within the intellect of composers. Why? It is likely that most, if not all, composers renew themselves through review and re-interpretation of older forms which they interpolate into their own writings. The Symphony No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25, the Classical Symphony, by Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) demonstrates this theory. By 1918, the year in which Prokofiev composed this symphony, the young master was already proclaiming himself a creator of “new music” although he deliberately chose to work within an 18th century form. The first movement is a vigorous example of sonata form; the second, a melodic larghetto; third, a courtly gavotte; and fourth, a spirited rondo. The Symphony, in the hands of Orchestra London, was a sprightly beginning to a program that traveled through the landscape of Russian music, giving us a taste of the breadth of styles practiced by three composers of significance in the artistic legacy of that country.
In chronology, Anton Stepanovich Arensky (1861-1906) falls between Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky. Musically, he was certainly closer to the Romantic spirit of Tchaikovsky than to the youngest member of this trio of composers. His Variations on a Theme of Tchaikovsky, Op. 35a, bows deeply toward the influence of the great master, taking as the point of departure Tchaikovsky’s Orthodox carol, “Legend: The Christ-child had a garden.” This beautiful work received a compelling and heartfelt performance.
The moment of highest drama came from an outstanding, fired-up reading of the Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Op. 17 by Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893). Guest conductor Alain Trudel, himself a ball of fire, moved the orchestra smartly through the drama and emotion of a piece from the heart of Russian Romanticism. Tchaikovsky possessed the gifts for melodic expression and ingenious orchestration; above all, he knew how to reach the heart in a way that never fails to move the audience. Alain Trudel and Orchestra London, in an explosive burst of Olympic-sized energy, honored the intent of the composer and brought the house to its feet in the climactic end to a great evening of music.
Renée Silberman is founder and director of Serenata Music, the chamber music recital series in London. In London: 100 Fascinating Lives, Renée documented the stories of two local residents: Gordon Jeffery, who turned Aeolian Hall into the successful performing arts center it is today, and Maria Rosé who, through her relationship to Gustav Mahler, conserved a portion of the composer’s legacy of manuscripts and personal effects which are now housed at the University of Western Ontario. Renée is working on a study of Mahler’s travels in North America.
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