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The VIS “Classical Spirit” Concert Well Deserving
of More Than Classical Applause
By A. J. Mittendorf | Jan. 22, 2017 | 9:58 PM (updated Jan. 23, 2017 | 8:57 AM)
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The Port Theatre exterior
In Nanaimo’s Port Theatre on the evening of January 21st
the Vancouver Island Symphony (VIS) opened the second
half of this concert season with “Classical Spirit,” a
performance based on music with an admittedly liberal
definition of “Classical.” According to my own musical
education, the era for Baroque music was 1600 to 1750;
the Classical era was from 1750 to 1800, and Romantic
music was from 1800 to 1900. The music of Mozart is
indisputably Classical since Mozart’s entire life was
contained well within the Classical years. Beethoven’s
The VIS “Classical
Spirit” Concert Well
Deserving of More
Than Classical
Applause
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composing career overlapped the end of the Classical era
and the early Romantic era, while Schubert’s entire career
fell firmly in the early Romantic era. So, yes, the music was
not purely “Classical,” but, excepting one contemporary
Canadian anomaly, the program didn’t stray too far, and
even if it had, the event by itself was just too engaging to
make it matter.
Let’s begin with that “anomaly,” because, in so many ways,
there was really nothing “normal” about it. It was first of all,
a concerto for the French horn. I mean, who does that?
Then the entire orchestral accompaniment was strings
only—with a French horn solo. Who does THAT?! For a
brass solo, you’d think you’d want some brass in the
accompaniment, right? Well, I guess not, because it worked
beautifully as it was. The orchestra opened the piece with
three or four loud chords, and the horn entered with a
glissando, and I was inextricably hooked. Mind you, there
were some in the audience who felt the piece was
disjointed, even fragmented, and, while it was, indeed,
strongly motif oriented, much like the first movement of
Beethoven’s fifth symphony, I still felt thoroughly absorbed
by it.
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Composer Stephan Chatman
The three movement concerto was composed by British
Columbia’s own Stephen Chatman and performed by
Andrew Clark who seemed utterly undaunted by the clearly
challenging piece that he performed. His first motif was the
slide that was strongly reminiscent of parts of Stravinski’s
Rite of Spring. If you saw Disney’s movie Fantasia, and
http://vitoday.ca/news/vancouver-island/the-vis-classical-spirit-concert-well-deserving-of-more-than-classical-applause-89051
remember the Dinosaur segment, then try to also recall
near the end when there were great earthquakes and
enormous pillars of rock forced upward out of the earth. It
was to that musical moment that I was initially transported.
At other times I was held aloft on horseback during a fox
hunt and had great mental adventures. I found the piece
fully enchanting, and I offer Dr. Chatman my heartfelt
applause.
The evening's soloist, French horn player Andrew Clark
The evening opened with Mozart’s 35th symphony,
“Haffner.” It’s not an exceptionally well known work, but it is
every bit as enchanting as anything else you may know by
Mozart. Our Musical director, Pierre Simard—every bit the
virtuoso as a director that Andrew Clark is as a soloist
—carried the orchestra all though subito fortes (sudden
loud parts), subito pianissimos (sudden soft parts),
“largamente,” where the orchestra suddenly plays each
beat with great breadth, and through one swift final
movement that made me want to grab my own double bass
and start playing along. If you missed the performance
(shame on you) but would like to hear this wonderful
symphony, following is a link for a YouTube performance
with a comparable orchestra.
To open the Beethoven, Monsieur Simard suggested that
“The Creatures of Prometheus” (1801) presented to us
Beethoven smiling rather than the more familiar scowling
images of him. Perhaps so, but there is still plenty of the
dour and forbidding Beethoven included. M. Simard also
suggested that no one in the audience would be familiar
http://vitoday.ca/news/vancouver-island/the-vis-classical-spirit-concert-well-deserving-of-more-than-classical-applause-89051
enough with the music to sing a tune from it. I confess, I
nearly stood to sing parts from the overture, but resisted
the temptation lest those seated with me suffer some form
of traumatic embarrassment. The one claim that you can
never make about Beethoven’s music, familiar or not, is that
it’s boring. Many of these melodies were new to me, but our
orchestra took the audience by the hand and lead us
through a mythological landscape replete with mysterious
mythological fauna. Special thanks to Marina Hasselberg
whose solo cello performing carried nearly one entire
movement with elegance, grace and charm. The VIS played
only eight excerpts from the entire ballet, but if you wish to
hear the music, following is a link to another YouTube video.
To close the evening, the VIS played one of Franz
Schubert’s most beloved pieces, his “Unfinished”
symphony in B minor. The piece by itself can carry a
listener through every possible emotional level, but hearing
it live and by our own VIS was a distinct treat. It is a piece
such as this with all its drama and mood swings that can
demonstrate just how magnificent an orchestra is. As such,
it is a daring piece to play, let alone as the last piece on a
program. Our own VIS was not merely showing off, but
closed the night on a distinct musical and emotional high.
Once again, here is a link for an excellent performance on
YouTube.
I shall close with my customary chastisement for those who
missed last Saturday’s wonderful concert. If you live in
Nanaimo, then you deserve to hear great music played by
YOUR great symphony orchestra. Even though the house
was nearly filled, there were open chairs here and there, if
you fear that you were too late to buy tickets. Please don’t
let that stop you in the future. The VIS’s next performance is
Saturday, February 18 at 7:30. Come out to hear another
excellent performance. If you have questions or concerns,
the VIS website will be able to answer them. Following is a
link to the page for their February concert: Canadian Spirit.
http://vitoday.ca/news/vancouver-island/the-vis-classical-spirit-concert-well-deserving-of-more-than-classical-applause-89051
VIS musical director, Monsieur Pierre Simard
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By A. J. Mittendorf for
ViToday.ca
Read all of A. J. Mittendorf's articles
Born and raised in the prairies of the U. S., A. J. Mittendorf
now lives in British Columbia, Canada working as a teacher
and tutor of English for hig... read more
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