Alberta Symphony Orchestra concert honors Glenn Gould, Canada 150
The opinions and recommendations are impartial and the products are selected independently. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made through links on this page.
Content of the article
The Alberta Symphony Orchestra may not yet be a household name to Edmonton audiences, but it will have the opportunity to hear Alberta’s only touring orchestra this Friday for its Winspear Center debut.
Advertising
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
The orchestra is the brainchild of Edmonton pianist and conductor Emilio De Mercato. The Alberta Symphony Orchestra Society was formed in 2015, with the intention of bringing classical music beyond Calgary and Edmonton to smaller centers in Alberta.
He created it as a professional orchestra, using Alberta musicians on contract. In 2015, the orchestra toured 10 Alberta centers, from Lethbridge to Camrose to Fort McMurray, with a program including Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms.
“The first tour was a wonderful experience as it was our first tour across the province,” said De Mercato. “It was an experiment to see if our idea of creating a new orchestra and touring the province would be successful. We sold out in Lloydminster and Grande Prairie, to name a few, showing strong demand across the province.
Advertising
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
The company also organized tours and performances of smaller forces. The 2016 Stradivarius Tour featured violinist Matteo Fedeli playing the 1715 “ex-Bazzini-De Vito” Stradivarius violin, with De Mercato on piano, at concerts in Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto. In June 2016, the orchestra hosted a benefit concert for Fort McMurray at the Royal Alberta Museum. He plans to do another tour to smaller Alberta venues next year.
Friday’s concert celebrates the 150th anniversary of Confederation and also pays tribute to pianist Glenn Gould – 2017 is the 85th anniversary of his birth and the 35th anniversary of his death. The origins of the concert can be found in a project by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra which, as explained by Véronique Désormeaux, member of the board of directors of the Alberta Symphony Orchestra Society, was receiving federal funding for a project of Gould Tribute Concert and transferred a portion of that funding to the Alberta Orchestra to help stage this concert.
Advertising
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
“It’s a great opportunity to partner with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for Friday’s concert,” says De Mercato. “They approached me a year ago to present an event for C150 as part of Canada Mosaic with many orchestras across the country. It has been a challenge for a young and growing organization, but also an exciting honor to represent Canadian pianist Glenn Gould. It is a great motivation for our third year to present such a program and it is a big step forward. We hope our community can experience music in a way that will have a lasting impact.
The first half of the concert features a work that Gould performed regularly, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 (The Emperor). He has recorded in studio all of Beethoven’s concertos, including one of the Fifth, under the direction of Leopold Stokowski. Here, De Mercato will be soloist, conducting at the piano.
Advertising
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
The orchestra will also perform the Alberta premiere of a new work commissioned by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for the project. Kelly-Marie Murphy’s Curiosity, Genius and the Search for Petula Clark was inspired by an incident that Gould described in a radio documentary in 1967. He went from radio station to radio station on a walk up north from Ontario to continue listening to the song Who Am I? sung by 60s pop star Clark.
The second half of the concert is devoted to Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 (From the New World), celebrating Canada’s 150th rather than Gould.
“For the second half of the program, we wanted a broader perspective of a young Canada. This is why we have chosen the very popular New World Symphony by Dvorak. The composer’s perspective on North American sounds and landscapes, as he experienced it, is inspired by a deeper interpretation of symbolism in Canada. I felt that this piece would help inspire an appreciation for where Canada began to become and truly foster a celebration of our great nation.
Advertising
This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.
Content of the article
It will be interesting to hear this ever popular symphony with 55 musicians, unlike the rather swollen forces of over 120 musicians when the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Center Orchestra performed it jointly in the same hall. in October.
“’It’s a sensational program,” says De Mercato. “I am delighted to be directing him. This is a remarkable opportunity for the newly founded ASO to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Canada’s partnership with one of the world’s greatest orchestras, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Truly an honor.
Overview
Organization : Alberta Symphony Orchestra Society
Driver : Emilio De Mercato
Or : Winspear Center
When : Friday November 17, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets : $ 38 to $ 58 at albertasymphony.com
