Youth flocked to the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and took over this performance. Why? Because it was Tchaikovsky on the program!
Tchaikovsky combined the wonderful music of the West with the familiar folk music of Russia to create his own world. Tchaikovsky was “a melodic genius,” Alastair Willis, guest conductor, excitedly tells the audience. His enthusiastic interactions with the crowds, taking brief moments between pieces to explore Russia and what surrounded Tchaikovsky through diary entries and interesting music history, giving the audience a personal feel of “Tchaikovsky’s World.” A great admirer of Mozart, Tchaivoksy dedicated his beginning compositions to his idol. In 2011, the most played classical composer was Tchaikovsky- but that’s only including his three greatest ballets, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty that are now staples of ballets all around the world. Take away his ballets, and he drops to seventh most-played.
From a youth perspective, this concert was one of the best of the season! A beautiful and masterful selection of Tchaikovsky’s and his fellow contemporaries scores made for great comparison of how the trend of Russian music was developing during Tchaikovsky’s time, and of course, Tchiavoksy’s grand and energetic finales always wows the crowd. The audience were fortunate to observe a fresh and intriguing score of Tchaikovsky’s that wrote the original himself, but the variation is the piece everyone hears. The original version of Variations On A Rococo Theme, untouched by his soloist Wilhem Fitzenhagen, rearranged the order and took it upon himself to “improve the piece!” (How anyone could do that to Tchaikovsky is unbelievable!) The audience certainly received a lovely and rare opportunity to listen to this piece, especially with celebrated cellist, David Eggert.
Eggert’s performance was absolutely magnificent and spontaneously bursting of virtuosity and warmth. Eggert brings a special touch of exquisite technicality and captured the Russian spirit of the piece. Filling the concert with heart melting warmth and an air of refined transparency, Eggert showcases the world of elegant ballroom and a militaristic style, folk music weaved with the new phenomenon of Western music Tchaikovsky sought to translate with song.
I dared to stop my complete hypnotism and embrace of the wildly energetic music to observe the reactions of the audience members to the concert music, and of course, faces were in deep rapture, astonishment and pure delight- notably during the performance of cellist David Eggert and the Nikolay Rimsky Korsakov’s Russian Easter Overture. A friendly youth beside me commented on how she had rarely witnessed cellist so “into” their music before, and that bringing a little extra spice complemented the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra!
One of my favourite memories from the concert was Willis’ guiding baton and influence of the audience, bring to attention Tchaikovsky’s natural feel of how each instrument of an Orchestra sounds like and feels. Most are familiar with the oboe solo in the Scene from Swan Lake from Act 2, the beautiful and graceful rhythm and melody– but as Willis’ demonstrates with the Orchestra- it has to be the oboe that plays the solo. Why? Because, as Willis’ notes, “it just doesn’t feel right and is missing something,” as renditions of the piece are played with a flute and a clarinet acts as soloists. And he’s right, Tchaikovsky knew what sounded good, and the Orchestra knows how to perform Tchaikovsky’s pieces better than good.
The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra brilliantly brought a spontaneous energy and majesty to the pieces of Tchaikovsky, “going all out” with a loud crash of cymbals and percussion, the lovely uplifting sounds of the harp and the wind instruments, strength of the horns and warmth from the strings, that was all combined to create an interactive and most engaging concert! Classical music is slowly starting to be taken over youth, join the revolution and inspiration, and experience the high calibre sounds of 65 world class musicians under one roof, the Jack Singer Concert Hall and one home- Calgary. Thanks goes to the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra for giving me this opportunity to personally experience a world far from Calgary right at home with some of greatest musicians in the world!