With Les Dala conducting and violinist Janna Sailor as guest concertmaster, the Prince George Symphony Orchestra (PGSO) concert on Saturday, Feb. 12 featured works by Schubert representing the early Romantic period (1815 to 1850) and Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, whose works were produced in the late Romantic period (1850 to 1910).
Conductor Dala greeted the audience and declared we were about to hear "three beloved works of the Romantic orchestral canon."
Schubert - famously gifted for composing melody - left an unresolved mystery. The concert's opening performance, Symphony No. 8 in B Minor, was never performed during Schubert's lifetime. This work was found in 1865, 33 years after he died.
There were only two movements, it has since been dubbed his "unfinished" symphony but speculation remains that he intended it that way.
A beautiful, melodic introduction interspersed with dramatic passages as the first movement moved to completion. His second movement, with peaceful and pastoral sounds turned to swelling notes with mood and tempo changes.
In the quiet passages, the score turns wafting and dreamlike - altogether compelling and seeming satisfying and complete.
The orchestra next performed Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet, a Fantasy Overture" taking inspiration from the story in Shakespeare's play of feuding families and Friar Laurence who tried to end their dispute. Intending to create a tomblike sensation, the music begins with a feeling of haunting loneliness.
The sensation quickly builds to give a sensation of urgency. Moving into familiar strains made highly recognizable to modern audiences from television and movie scores, the woodwinds produce soothing and reassuring sound. Passages with timpani reached crescendo stirring enough to rouse anyone nodding off in the quiet, restful phases.
The evening's treat was delivered in the form of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor. Performed by guest soloist, David Louie, the 110-year old piece has become a classic favourite among piano music enthusiasts. Right from the first notes, Louie demonstrated a masterful command of the keyboard.
The first movement, the moderato, ended with triumphant sound. Shifting into the adagio sostenuto, those tentative notes were in sharp contrast to the volume and intensity experienced in the first movement.
He played distinctly against the gentle-sounding orchestration in the background. Indeed, for much of the second movement, the sensation becomes like being in slow motion.
At several points, the strains of old familiar Frank Sinatra music come wafting through. There are also phrases used in some modern ballads like Eric Carmen's "All By Myself."
The third movement, the allegro scherzando, began with excited, expressive notes and then transformed into quiet, melodic music. It ends with its famous and familiar conclusion - grand and swelling - almost with the message that love really can triumph!
Louie's impressive performance earned him an extra long standing ovation, and an enthusiastic come-back call led by the orchestra.
Returning to the stage, he took extended bows and acknowledged reaction from his appreciative audience. It was a homecoming for this accomplished artist because he was born here and started his piano studies with local teachers Loretta Zral and Linda Stobbe.
His first performance with the PGSO happened when he was just 13. Currently, he lives in Toronto and is a member of the faculty at the Royal Conservatory of Music.
The next PGSO concert on March 12 at Vanier Hall features principal clarinetist Simon Cole as guest soloist.
