The first mainstage concert of the PGSO's 40th season featured the music of two influential composers - Mendelssohn and Mozart.
Conductor Les Dala introduced selections from Mendelssohn's incidental or background music to Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." That music was composed in 1842 and featured three pieces with enduring popularity: the Wedding March, the Nocturne, and the Dance of the Clowns.
The Wedding March became popular after being chosen for the wedding of Queen Victoria's daughter in 1858. Through the years to the present, it remains popular used at weddings as a recessional. The piece sounds particularly triumphant and celebratory when played on a pipe organ.
The PGSO delivered an experience of the Nocturne as dreamy, elegant and meditative music. Such compositions allow players and audience the uplifting experience of hearing the music with all its contributing parts - just as it was intended to be appreciated. It felt like being gently wafted into a dream state.
Contrasting with those gentle notes was "Dance of the Clowns" played with joy - sprightly, energetic music featuring melodious violins supported by strong timpani.
The evening's featured artist, piano virtuoso and local sensation Austin Lu, was introduced. He's just 16 but his ability has been noticed for a decade. Already the winner of many major music prizes and honours, he was the first winner, in 2005, of the Wallace Leung Memorial Concerto.
Lu played Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 1, in G Minor, Opus 25. He played from the heart, having committed the score to memory. That stunning ability allows a musician to concentrate on expression and to let emotion flow rather than being distracted by the mechanical function of reading the notes. That came through in his lyrically beautiful playing.
He literally commanded the keyboard, using appropriate energy for the mood intended.
Following intermission, the orchestra performed Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G Minor. This familiar music, composed in the summer of 1788, was introduced by Conductor Dala telling the audience that Mozart composed it in just three weeks. His own appreciation for the score was revealed in the remark, "One cannot imagine changing a single note!"
The repetitive patterns are comforting and, once introduced, can be anticipated as the orchestra moves through the composition.
Presented in four movements, the orchestra played especially beautifully during the Andante using changes in volume during the slow, strong rhythms to create mood. By the third movement, the piece became stately - allowing the imagination to envision the swirling sight of gowned dancers circling a ballroom. Ending with the Allegro assai, the music turned into a celebratory run of notes as if racing to a triumphant finish. It was a classic "Classic Night Out."
Information about the rest of the season's programs and tickets are available at the PGSO office at 2880 - 15th Avenue. Call 250-562-0800 or consult the website at www.pgso.com.
