The Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra's performance of Boléro! is at TCU Place Saturday, Nov. 19.
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.
The Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra’s Boléro! highlights sensual, passionate works by Spanish and Spanish-influenced composers.
“This program, I guarantee you, is going to raise that temperature up by at least, I would say, 50 degrees. It is a hot, hot, fiery program,” guest conductor Judith Yan said.
The pieces the orchestra performs at TCU Place on Saturday evening are familiar, but are not necessarily works the audience will have seen live, Yan said.
“I look forward to people coming in person or virtually and watching the orchestra put these masterpieces together right in front of their eyes.”
The concert starts with two works by Manuel de Falla. La Vida Breve, which Yan describes as a scandal, tells the story of a wedding and a confrontation with a heartbroken ex-lover. Nights in the Gardens of Spain features three movements, each about a different historic garden.
Returning Canadian pianist Angela Cheng, who guides the audience through the three gardens, said the piece is a colourful tone poem filled with fantasy and a range of emotions.
“The piano is like a partner in creating this fantastic picture of colours that are from the most sensitive, most inner feelings to the most ecstatic, grand height of chromaticism,” she said.
Yan, who has heard a recording of Cheng performing the piece, said she looks forward to following her lead.
“I only hope to be able to support her in the best way that I can support her imagination, her view, her telling of this story.”
Fernando Valesquez’s Viento del oest (West Wind), which follows, is inspired by the indescribable beauty of nature, Yan said.
“He described it as music that describes sensations that can only come from nature.”
The evening ends with Boléro, a piece by French composer Maurice Ravel.
“It’s one of the most famous works of all time … The minute you hear the first bar, you will recognize it,” Yan said, adding that the piece is completely different from Ravel’s other works.
“For him, this is an experiment which turned out to be a huge success, an overwhelming success.”
She said each of the works is full of passion and excitement and she hopes the melodies spark the listener’s imagination.
“I hope that our audience sits down in their seat and just disappears into another world for the time that they are with us. And I hope that they carry that feeling.”
Having worked with the SSO three times in as many years, Yan said she’s excited to join them again for this concert.
“Each time you work with a group of people, it’s like you get to know them better and they get to know you better. So it’s really wonderful and I’m grateful to have this invitation to return.”
Cheng said she’s excited to be sharing live music again.
“It’s really a gift that I was given, to be able to share this love that I have for this music with the audiences.”
Post a Comment