HPO opener is an ‘emotional roller-coaster’
What do you get when you hook some dramatic Beethoven and melancholic Elgar to epic Brahms?
An emotional roller-coaster, according to music director Gemma New, who opens her fourth season with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra next Saturday night at FirstOntario Concert Hall.
The musical thrills will commence with Beethoven’s “Leonore Overture No. 3,” which is actually the second version of the overture to his opera later renamed “Fidelio.”
“‘Leonore No. 3’ is what many musicians would consider a great work for the concert hall,” said New over the phone to The Spec last week from Miami. “It is because it shows the opera, and the drama, and the story through the music. So, it isn’t your typical overture that gives a great, energetic start to an opera. It is one that describes the story in great depth. And it’s quite a lot longer than most overtures.”
After the drama of Beethoven’s 13-minute overture, Cameron Crozman, who made his HPO debut at age 16 in 2012 with Tchaikovsky’s “Rococo Variations” after having won the HPO’s 2010 Young Performer’s competition in the pre-college division, will be the guest soloist in Elgar’s “Cello Concerto.”
“It’s such a powerful work,” said New of the Elgar, a work she conducted last month at the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. “While you hear a lot of passion and virtuosity and friction, there’s a real depth of emotion and meaning behind the music. Often there’s sadness and nostalgia.”
After intermission, New will conduct her favourite symphony, Brahms’ “Symphony No. 1.”
“It’s a piece I’ve really wanted to explore and to conduct for a long time now,” said New of the Brahms, which she studied with the late conducting guru, Gustav Meier, at Peabody in Baltimore. “The emotional journey is something I’m captivated by, and I want to explore it, and this is a
great opportunity. The first movement is so compelling from its introduction alone. He doesn’t beat around the bush. He’s not tiptoeing into this symphony. He gives strong momentum from the very first note.”
That said, New, who’ll be coming to Hamilton with her own marked set of orchestral parts for the Brahms , is acutely aware that the symphony contains measure upon measure of challenges for conductor and orchestra alike vis-à-vis balance, colour, and structure.
“One of the difficulties about this piece is the layering,” said New. “There’s often not one voice that needs to be heard, there are two, and they’re playing at the same time. So, to be able to hear all of that counterpoint and to balance that with the right colour and the harmony serving these lines, that is very difficult. And the other thing, of course, is the pacing of the symphony.”
In addition to the Brahms, Elgar, and Beethoven, the HPO will also be playing some musical chairs.
Jack Mendelsohn, who joined the HPO in September 1978 and was last heard with them this past February, has announced his retirement after 40 years as principal cello. HPO cellist Laura Jones will be acting principal cello.
“My best memory of playing in the HPO is the co-operation and support I always got from my wonderful cello section,” wrote Mendelsohn, 72, in an email to The Spec.
And while the principal oboe chair is vacant, longtime HPO oboist and English hornist Nancy Nelson will serve as acting principal oboe.
National auditions for the principal oboe chair will be on Sept. 16, while those for principal cello will be on Dec. 3.
•••
Saturday, Sept. 8 at 4 p.m. in Melrose United, 86 Homewood Ave., Bud Roach’s Hammer Baroque opens its season with soprano Vania Chan and the Rezonance Ensemble in arias by Handel. Suggested donation: $15. Allow yourself extra time for parking that afternoon due to the Locke Street Festival, unless, of course, you’re already planning to attend that festival which begins at 10 a.m. and runs late into the night.
•••
Sunday, Sept. 16 at 3 p.m. in the Burlington Performing Arts Centre, 440 Locust St., Sabatino Vacca’s Southern Ontario Lyric Opera company stages Verdi’s “Rigoletto.” Tickets: $55 to $65, senior (65+) $40, student (19 and under) $20. Call 905-681-6000.
Leonard Turnevicius writes about classical music for The Hamilton Spectator. leonardturnevicius@gmail.com Special to The Hamilton Spectator