Music lovers Bid Tovey farewell
VSO conductor Tovey returning to U.K. after 18 years of wielding baton in B.C.
Those who walked past the Orpheum late Thursday and heard the crowd inside could be forgiven for assuming a rock ’n’ roll legend had taken to the stage.
After 18 years of leading the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra on a remarkable journey, 64-year-old conductor Bramwell Tovey stood at the podium saying thank you and goodbye. For two inspirational hours, the celebrated VSO music director kept his audience enraptured with an intimate night of performance (and some nostalgia) at a special gala to celebrate his illustrious career, one of his final scheduled performances in the city.
In an interview before the event, Tovey tried to argue that the “Bramwell Tovey Gala Celebration” wasn’t all about him, before admitting that perhaps it was about him, but maybe a bit more “about the continuing traditions of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.”
The orchestra will celebrate the centennial of its first concert earlier next year. Tovey said it was important to remember that tremendous achievement alone, which makes it one of the oldest orchestras in Canada.
“The orchestra is bigger than any one person, including me, and I think it’s always important to keep that in perspective,” he said.
“The public has been tremendously supportive — I’m very, very grateful for it — but remember that the orchestra is still here and there’s a brilliant young conductor (Otto Tausk) who’s coming in and so the cycle of renewal starts again. That’s a very healthy thing.”
But outside the auditorium, VSO lovers said the night was all about celebrating Tovey’s countless contributions.
Brenda and Forbes Finlayson of Maple Ridge said they have watched Tovey charm his audience for 18 years.
“It’s kind of sad,” Brenda said. “We’ll miss him. He’s been a real inspiration to the symphony and a real leader. But we understand he’s going to continue his career back in England, so that’s awesome for him.”
Signing a thank-you card for Tovey in the lobby, longtime VSO subscriber Ariane Bruendl of West Vancouver said she was already looking forward to Tovey’s return for a guest appearance.
“He’s such a wonderful, wonderful musician, as well as conductor, and he’s such a fantastic personality,” Bruendl said.
The note she left on his card showed how much she appreciated his time here: “Thank you for the wonderful music — it makes life worthwhile.”
Tovey said he anticipated some sentimental moments on stage, and to help achieve that, the program was stacked with brilliant musicians, including friends such as soprano Tracy Dahl and mezzosoprano Judith Forst, but also family, including Tovey’s daughters, Emmeline and Jessica.
Tovey chose some crowd-pleasers for the repertoire, opening with Tchaikovsky, but also some obscure works he had been itching to play: “a few potboilers and a couple of surprises,” he said.
Capping off the performance ahead of a Champagne and cupcake toast for the man of the hour, tenor
We’ll miss him. He’s been a real inspiration to the symphony and a real leader.
David Pomeroy performed from Korngold’s opera Die Tote Stadt.
Tovey explained that the opera’s closing aria, O Freund, ich werde sie nicht wiedersehn, felt fitting for the night: “Life and death must part from each other, heart is torn from heart. Wait for me in heaven’s plain, for here on Earth we shall not meet again.”