With an eerie and mysterious theme of the “night,” the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra pulled out all the stops to surprise the audience as to what composers believed was hidden in the dark. The word “night”- what does it mean for you? Are you thinking of intense darkness like in Mozart’s Piano Concerto in D Minor, written in the same key as the unfinished Requiem that Mozart’s was composing before his untimely death? Mysterious trickery and illusion as in Arnold Schoenburg’s Transfigured Night or Mendelssohn’s Overture to a Midsummer’s Night Dream, or possibly romantic love as in Debussy’s “Clair De Lune” from Suite Bergamasque? This concert covered a tremendously diverse palette of interpretation of this mysterious theme of “the night,” which brought a treat to the audience to curiously consider as the Orchestra played.
The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra was also joined by the fantastic and sensitively poetic concert pianist, David Jalbert, who magically weaved his fingers in the fabric of Chopin’s Nocturne in C Minor and Mozart’s Piano Concerto in D Minor for a simply unforgettable night. Some memorable pieces were Mendelssohn’s Overture to a Midsummer Night’s Dream, where the piece brings the fairy-possessed lands in Shakespeare’s romantic comedy to life. Captured within this piece is the romantic warmth of the strings for the yearning young lovers and the energetic roars of horns and percussion that wonderfully capture the rapid prancing of characters, including that of Bottom’s head being turned into a donkey!
On an excellent note (pardon the pun!), the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra has recently appointed Melanie Leonard, the fine conductor of this evening’s concert, to Associate Conductor! Watching her superb and fiery form on stage, she is definitely a stunning, world class conductor! Leonard’s passionate and zealous style allows audience members to read the music along with her, as her movements breath in a larger than life quality into the pieces. Make sure that your next Calgary Philharmonic performance includes Melanie Leonard and you’ll be delighted by her breathtaking interpretations of the concert.
Mozart’s dark and mulling piano concerto, Piano Concerto in D minor, has one other sibling that’s composed in minor that reveals a more serious and dark, brooding side of Mozart. A widely popular piece during its inception in the nineteenth century, the era of Romanticism, it’s sombre and melodic mood possibly influenced Beethoven’s dark piece, Concerto No.3 in C Minor. The mysterious opening movement is a conflictual sense of agitation and pathos, as the strings and wind fill the concert hall with anxious low tremors of sound. Intense drama follows the second movement, but is less agitated than the first. Finally the victorious, rushing finale pulls out glimmer of light from the foreboding darkness. Jalbert was able to play a sensitive interpretation of this turbulent and dark piece, his fingers seamlessly danced across the piano keys and his notes each dripping with darkened clarity.
I personally love it when I have learned something during concerts and Melanie Leonard enlightened the audience of the nature of Schoenburg’s Transfigured Night and of her own experiences. Surprisingly, Jalbert and Leonard had their own musical history- they had attended the same music camp with a sticky orange covered cafeteria nearly 15 years ago! Also, quite delightfully, Leonard was sharing with the audience a personal dream of hers- ever since she heard Schoenburg’s Transfigured Night, she has wanted to conduct it and considered her favourite piece of music ever written. This was the piece that had started Leonard’s inquisitive curiosity into the world of music and I had the excellent privilege of hearing her interpretation! A single, continuous movement, the piece covey’s the feelings of intense passion and darkness of a poem of the dialogue between two lovers and their walk down a moonlit path. The Orchestra softly plays through the initial anxiety with quiet tones and finishes with a rather serene sense of fulfillment induced by the low callings of the horns and wind.
All in all, an excellent array of beautiful and moving music that strives to uplift the curiosity of what lurks in the night and how this powerful and transformative theme was played with by composers. Thanks goes to the Calgary Phiilharmonic Orchestra for providing tickets to this incredibly moving experience! Young or old, come one and all to the peek into the wonderful world of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and who knows, you might find something thrillingly unexpected when you listen to the CPO LIVE!