ESO's Carnegie Hall Debut

May 9, 2012, 10:00 am

Last night's concert was two years in the making, the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra having applied for one of the coveted positions in Carnegie Hall's annual Spring for Music season.  The series showcases lesser-known orchestras offering out-of-the-mainstream programming.  Having been given the nod, the orchestra prepared technically and psychologically, and now the time had finally arrived to show why the ESO was the right choice.

No the musicians didn't need supervision to keep them from getting unruly, but the presence of the red frocked RC's subdued any NYers in the crowd who might be thinking of demonstrating against our medical insurance! menace!  Escorting the RCMP are (left) Winspear Director of Marketing Michael Schurek and (right) Eddy Bayens, ESO Bassoonist and head of the Edmonton Musicians Association.

The orchestra was radiant.  Not a stuffy tux in sight - the men wore orange, pink, lilac and purple shirts, with the women's traditional blacks splashed by long coloured scarves.  The bright attire signaled the evening to come - lively, unconventional, and well-done.

As the audience came into The Hall, they were given red scarves saying Edmonton Symphony Orchestra.  This Carnegie Hall usher choose to put hers in her hair.

The repertoire chosen for the performance included works by three of the the ESO's Composer in Residence program, beginning with the serenely surreal Lullaby by Robert Rival, composed for his newborn son.  This was followed by John Estacio's Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello and Piano.  The soloists were spectacular, each in her own unique way.  Violinist Juliette Kang cascaded long skeins of notes, like sparks thrown off a polishing wheel.  Cellist Denise Djokic's bare, muscular arms shuddered and her long hair shook with the near-violent thrusts of the music.  Pianist Angela Cheng strode to the Steinway grand piano and stared into the keyboard as if looking into its depths in preparation to meeting its demands head-on.  The physicality of this work requires not just precision but tremendous strength, and the authority of Cheng's playing was truly impressive.

A compliment here to the planner of the evening's "set list". After the challenging and complex Triple Concerto, Allan Gilliland's Dreaming of the Masters III was a perfect finish to the first half.  The audience delighted to the entertaining mastery of trumpet soloist Jens Lindemann.  Lindemann danced onstage and addressed the audience, parting his velvet jacket to reveal its rather-more-dazzling inner lining. He told us that Edmontonians know how to play the blues because we suffer through temperatures of 35 below.  He then proceeded to "disrobe" a bright blue trumpet and to wail like the best of the New Orleans players.  The piece later wove through hypnotic Latin rhythms played by a bass, drum, and flugelhorn trio.

Trumpet soloist Jens Lindeman proved himself to be as brilliant a showman as he was a musician.

In the second half of the program I felt the orchestra exhale.  Now instead of playing Carnegie Hall, they were playing music.  They had "played right", now they had to "play good" - and they did.  Martinu's Symphony No. 1 is rarely performed, and who knows why?  It is simply gorgeous with shimmering sections of brilliant, unpredictable harmonic shifts.  There were long passages when the ESO, completely absorbed in the music itself, transported us in this transcendent work, which is, after all, what we came for, yes?

Conductor at work - Go Bill!

Conductor Bill Eddins was compelling to watch, his nuanced movements conveying the extraordinary journey of this orchestra.  He is endlessly expressive and exudes ebullient confidence.

At the end of the program, Conductor Bill Eddins faced the audience and allowed himself a satisfied moment at the podium of Carniegie Hall.

Standing on the sidewalk outside Carnegie Hall after the concert, I watched as the men in purple and pink began to emerge from the building.  I asked them how they felt about the evening.  I had expected a sense of giddy relief.  What I consistently heard instead was a sense of satisfaction and solid accomplishment.  The ESO had fulfilled its mandate splendidly.

For all those who had something else to do on Tuesday night and couldn't make it down to The Hall:  TUNE IN TONIGHT to Classic Examples at 7pm, as CKUA's Mark Antonelli  broadcasts a recording of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra's dynamic debut at the legendary Carnegie Hall.  In years to come, you can say that you were there.

-Lark Clark