PGSO, Stobbe brothers show outstanding
Editor’s Note: Sean sent in his review last Monday and this bad editor lost it in the shuffle. My apologies, sir. Thanks for submitting this and sharing your expertise with our readers.
The Prince George Symphony Orchestra performed on April 14 with two special guests, brothers, and Prince George natives, Joel (conductor) and Karl (violin) Stobbe. The title of the program was Canadian Contemplation and Russian Drama.
For me personally, the only Canadian contemplation I had during the performance was about the homegrown talent we were seeing on stage. And the rest? All powerful drama – wowing the audience so much that folks started a standing ovation before one of the pieces was even over.
But let’s first go back a bit. There was a time not too long ago that a typical, mid-season PGSO concert at Vanier Hall seemed more empty than full, and at times with a sound that struggled to keep up with the demand of the programmed repertoire and the acoustical challenges of the venue.
This season is quite different, and this latest concert may have proven my theory that big changes underway at the PGSO – new management, and new strategies around programming, rehearsals and personnel – are going to result in a major success story for the organization’s history book.
Simply put, the performance was outstanding – and – outstanding with big, sonorous, grandiose repertoire that highlighted both the nuanced and virtuosic. In previous seasons my concern often was that the PGSO was slowly devolving into a mere chamber orchestra. Safe to say, this concert put that worry to rest.
The concert opened with a short suite of very accessible, contemporary pieces entitled Three Musings by prodigious Canadian composer Roydon Tse. Even though its first position on the program felt somewhat like a warm-up stretch, I was immediately impressed by the delicacy and elegance with which the orchestra handled Tse’s almost Mozartian orchestral transparency. Already in the first five minutes of the program I had one eyebrow raised. Something sounded and looked different about the PGSO.
Next, we heard a staple of 19th century concerto repertoire, Tchaikovsky’s D Minor Violin Concerto featuring guest violinist Karl Stobbe. This is one of those pieces that you hear often, on stage, radio, and in commercial recordings. And it is one of those pieces that either works or it doesn’t.
I first fell for it as a young teenager as it had all the things that caught my youthful atten- tion – a bit of bombast, lots of melodrama, technical bravura, memorable melodies and competitive interplay between orchestra and soloist. In my lifetime, I’ve heard brilliant performances and abysmal fails alike.
With the PGSO, while I felt the rhythmic pace of the first movement was a bit rigid for my taste, it was indeed a safe choice, as both soloist and orchestra effortlessly sailed through all the notoriously challenging sections with ease. The Stobbe performance was rife with sentimental, Slavic temperament for which the piece is known. And the orchestra was a solid partner throughout.
The flourished and spirited performance of the first movement put me in such a good mood that I couldn’t even get annoyed when some audience members broke protocol and started a premature standing ovation. Both Stobbe brothers took this unbridled enthusiasm in stride, and with great humour – with Karl subtly suggesting to the audience that “we could end right now for the night, if you’d like?”
How charming! The audience got the drift and settled down for the remainder of what was a first-rate performance from start to finish.
The second half of the program featured two more great Russian classics, by Shostakovich and Borodin. From the former we enjoyed a rousing performance of the popular Festival Overture. This well-known piece employs harmonies and structures informed by Shostakovich’s typical classical framework, but is also representative of the larger-than- life, mid-century, Soviet style. I was so impressed with how well the PGSO took on this handful of a piece. The orchestra was strong and had tight ensemble work, particularly in the brass and woodwind sections.
I also felt the Polovtsian Dances by Borodin was a smart selection to close off the program. I remember first learning of this piece as a child, through a boxed LP set of classical masterpieces that my family owned. The numbers that make up this suite are typical of 19th century Russian programmatic music. I think Maestro Hall is making sound, strategic decisions regarding programming in his first season with the PGSO.
Prince George audiences, like audiences everywhere, can hear any music they want, anytime and any place via online services. I agree with the decision to give local audiences a range of selections that also include recognizable pieces. After all, we attend concerts now solely for the experience of hearing live music and the power of live performances and the impact they have on us on a physiological level.
There was something very genuine about the audience’s visceral response to the performance this past Saturday night at Vanier Hall. Folks, the PGSO is back and in top form, providing near pitch-perfect performances, both technically and interpretively. It was great to see a full house last Saturday.
Season subscriptions for next season are going to be available soon and I’m going to predict now that an annual subscription to the PGSO will be one of the best entertainment dollar investments in the city next year.
I’m excited to see one of our oldest and most-esteemed performing arts organization getting it right.
It’s been a long time since I was in a rush to stand and yell bravo at a concert and I was proud to be one of those folks, up on our feet and making noise in support of the PGSO.