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Sooke Philharmonic
Begin Second Decade
Sooke Philharmonic
Orchestra
String Players from
School District 61 Festival
Orchestra
Timothy Chooi, violin
Norman Nelson, conductor
Alix Goolden Performance
Hall
November 2, 2008
By Deryk Barker
Music
in Victoria
"The
Symphony would be all
the better - it lasts
a whole hour - if Beethoven
could reconcile himself
to making some cuts
in it and to bringing
to the score more light,
clarity and unity."
From the
above one can only conclude
that Allgemeine Musikalisches
Zeitung's critic, reviewing
the first public performance
of the Eroica, was either
exaggerating for effect,
or had a faulty watch.
Two centuries
later the symphony is
so obviously a supreme
masterwork that its
stature needs no defending.
Besides, when Beethoven
was asked by the poet
Christoph Kuffner which
of his (at the time,
eight) symphonies was
his own favourite, he
unhesitatingly replied
"the Eroica".
On Sunday
afternoon Norman Nelson
and the Sooke Philharmonic
closed their concert
with a magnificent performance
of the symphony, a performance
of almost Furtwänglerian
flexibility and power.
The opening
movement - complete
with exposition repeat
- was thoroughly gripping
and built to a huge
climax (at which point
Nelson's baton left
his hand and had to
be retrieved by one
of the first desk string
players). The funeral
march, taken at a flowing
tempo, featured weighty
strings and plaintive
winds - hats off to
principal oboist Maureen
Byrne - and a dreadful
inevitability in the
great double fugue.
The scherzo
had plenty of life,
its tricky entries were
handled extremely well
and I cannot but mention
the horns in the trio
- David Watson, Tia
Leschke and Joshua Rauw
- who coped superbly
with one of the orchestral
repertoire's more notoriously
tricky moments.
Nelson
kept his hand raised
at the end of the scherzo
and plunged, almost
attacca, into the finale.
Again,
as with the earlier
movements, there was
plenty of individual
detail to appreciate,
but it was the cumulative
power of the music which
left one almost breathless
by the close.
Those
who know me will know
that I have a special
relationship with the
Eroica (I possess well
over 100 recordings)
and, while I might have
heard the symphony better
played, I don't believe
I have ever heard a
better performance in
the concert hall.
Norman
Nelson - conducting
without a score - clearly
knows the music inside-out
and he and his musicians
gave of their all. This
was the Eroica performed
in a way one imagines
Beethoven himself might
have directed it. A
truly memorable experience.
According
to Charles Rosen, Mendelssohn's
Violin Concerto "is
the most successful
synthesis of the Classical
concerto tradition with
the Romantic virtuoso
form."
Sunday's
soloist in the Mendelssohn,
Timothy Chooi, seems
to me to have a style
which is - to paraphrase
Rosen - a most successful
synthesis of spectacular
technique with a true
Romantic sensitivity.
We are
used to hearing young
performers dazzling
us with their dexterity,
but Chooi clearly also
feels the music intensely;
his beautiful tone and
excellent phrasing always
seemed at the service
of the music.
Highlights
of the performance included
Chooi's marvellously-controlled
first movement cadenza,
played with total concentration;
the fluid intensity
of the slow movement
and the sparkling finale,
in which Chooi's technique
was given full reign.
The orchestra
and Nelson accompanied
with élan; I was particularly
charmed by the interplay
between winds and soloist
in the finale. Communications
between soloist and
conductor were also
first-class: Chooi indulged
in some fairly broad
rubato but the accompaniment
never lost touch with
him.
It might
be imagined that it
would be easy to become
jaded by the spectacle
of yet another violinistic
wunderkind; Victoria
does seem to produce
them at a quite extraordinary
rate. But nobody with
functioning ears could
ever become jaded with
playing of this quality
and freshness.
One day,
I am sure, members of
the orchestra will be
proudly telling their
friends and relatives
that they accompanied
Chooi in his first ever
Mendelssohn Concerto.
"A
Celebration of Young
Artists" was the
title of the programme
and it opened with the
stage filled almost
to overflowing, as a
dozen or so members
of the School District
61 Festival Orchestra
joined the Sooke Philharmonic
for a performance of
Bizet's Jeux d'Enfants.
It was
the perfect overture
to a programme that
would progressively
become more serious.
From the nice clean
pizzicato opening to
the vivacious and exuberant
finale the music and
playing were a joy.
As was watching the
young players' enjoyment
of the experience.
It is
one thing, as the Sooke
Philharmonic do, to
contribute financial
assistance to school
music programmes. It
is entirely another
to provide the young
musicians with the opportunity
of playing with a thoroughly
dedicated group of musicians
and their world-class
conductor.
And the
efficacy of the entire
enterprise is confirmed
by the fact that some
of the newer members
of the orchestra have
come up via this particular
route.
Delightful
children's games, a
spectacular account
of one of the great
violin concertos and
a great performance
of one of the greatest
symphonies ever composed.
I cannot imagine a more
rewarding way for the
Sooke Philharmonic to
begin their second decade.
Sooke’s
musical splendour “a
civilizing factor”
Sooke Philharmonic
Orchestra
Tanya Prochazka, cello
Norman Nelson, conductor
Sooke Community Theatre
June 22, 2007
By Kendal Egli
Sooke
News Mirror
The Sooke
Philharmonic Orchestra
kicked off a celebratory
weekend with concerts
in Sooke and Victoria
to mark its 10th anniversary
and congratulate its
nationally-honoured
maestro.
It’s the
perfect accompaniment
to Sooke’s distinctive
natural beauty and a
local gem that’s garnering
world renown for artistic
excellence. That’s right,
artistic excellence,
here in silly, unassuming
old Sooke.
On Friday
night, the Sooke Philharmonic
Orchestra was the toast
of our town – and the
nation – as the ensemble
celebrated its 10th
anniversary with a concert
at the Sooke Community
Theatre for about 350
spectators. The evening
also saluted Conductor
and Music Director Norman
Nelson’s receiving a
very prestigious nod
from Orchestras Canada
for his “outstanding
artistic leadership
and infectious love
of music” – a 2007 Betty
Webster Award for his
years of contribution
to the Canadian orchestral
community in terms of
leadership, education,
and volunteerism.
Before
the evening’s musical
programme got underway,
Brent Straughan, member
of the 2nd violin section
of the orchestra, spoke
of Nelson’s remarkable
achievements and his
truly deserving the
so-called “Betty” –
one of a maximum three
“Betties” awarded annually
to Canadian musicians
of exceptional talent
and initiative.
“Norman
has forever altered
the musical landscape
of Western Canada,”
said Straughan as he
led the orchestra in
composing a brief two-bar
piece to accompany Nelson
as he unveiled his commemorative
plaque.
“(Orchestras
Canada) are wonderful,
gullible people… I am
delighted to have this
award. I will treasure
it. The plaque is going
on my bedroom wall for
anyone who wants to
see it, day or night,”
Then he
turned his attention
to the combined efforts
of his homegrown ensemble
which is as diverse
and unique as the Sooke
area itself. The orchestra
consists of about 60
members ranging from
high school students
to veteran musicians
in their 80s. Many of
them commute to Sooke
to play with the ensemble.
“I’m enormously
thankful and I want
to share this award
with the orchestra.
It’s mainly theirs,
since the (conductor’s)
baton doesn’t make any
noise,” said Nelson.
“Now let’s make some
music.”
The concert
programme opened with
a lively rendition of
Felix Mendelssohn’s
Scherzo from A Midsummer
Night’s Dream, op. 61.
With its delightfully
rambunctious themes,
the performance invoked
feelings of youthful
mischievousness and
images of Shakespeare’s
socalled “Green World”
– the enchanted forests
where fairies administer
magical elixirs to unsuspecting
mortals and romantic
lunacy ensues.
Next came
a moving interpretation
of Antonín Dvorák’s
Concerto for Cello and
Orchestra in B minor,
op. 184. For this performance,
guest soloist Tanya
Prochazka, whose illustrious
musical career has spanned
decades and earned her
a reputation as one
of Canada’s leading
cellists, came from
Edmonton to provide
the enrapturing cello
solos.
Prochazka,
who played the piece
entirely from memory,
produced luscious, hypnotizing
sounds from her instrument
as she tackled the technically-daunting
composition. With her
eyes closed and the
emotional oomph of the
piece evident in her
facial expressions,
many spectators noted
her performance as the
highlight of the evening.
Personally, I was inextinguishably
transfixed by Prochazka’s
poignant playing.
“It’s
the king of cello concertos,”
said Prochazka. She
compared the feeling
of performing the piece
to the surfer’s enthusiasm
while “riding the wave.”
Prochazka
joined the orchestra’s
cello section for the
final performance of
the evening: a rousing
rendition of Piotr Ilyich
Tchaikovsky’s Symphony
No. 5 in E minor, op.
64. Nelson described
the final movement of
the symphony as his
favourite part of the
concert programme. Although
he did not require sheet
music for the performance,
Nelson said it was the
first time he conducted
the symphony in concert.
“It’s
a big symphony… I look
forward to the 40th
time (conducting it),”
he said.
The booming
performance was heightened
by a new set of acoustic
screens to better amplify
the music and decorate
the stage. Sooke Philharmonic
Orchestra General Manager
Terry McGinty said the
screens, which were
built by volunteers,
have made a huge difference
in performance dynamics
and joked that the Tchaikovsky
symphony would “blow
(the screens) away.”
The screens may have
remained intact but
the audience was nothing
short of bowled over.
“What
an amazing performance!”
said Mayor Janet Evans.
“The District of Sooke
is so proud of (the
orchestra).”
Spectators
joined the musicians
for a reception “under
the whale” after the
concert and feasted
on a fancy five-tier
cake honouring the orchestra’s
anniversary and continued
success in Sooke and
abroad.
When asked
about the ensemble’s
significance to the
community, Principal
Cellist Janette Chrysler,
one of the founding
members of the Sooke
Philharmonic Orchestra,
said the orchestra is
“a civilizing factor”
for our small, unassuming
town.
With Nelson’s
Betty Award in its wake
and a growing reputation
as one of the nation’s
finest community orchestras,
the Sooke Philharmonic
Orchestra has a bright
future. Plus its performances
are continuously getting
better.
“Norman
is constantly raising
the bar in terms of
the musical caliber,”
said McGinty. “I bet
everybody in Ontario
is scrambling for their
atlases to find out
where Sooke is.”
As well
they should be. We have
a tremendously talented
orchestra – and a growing
symbol of community
pride and prosperity
– here in the bottom
lefthand corner of Canada
we call Sooke. The Sooke
Philharmonic Orchestra
continued its weekend
celebrations with a
concert at Alix Goolden
Hall in Victoria Saturday
night.
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