Southam Hall, Bell share star billing
Transformed hall’s sound is striking, and violinist’s virtuosity is staggering
An appearance by violinist Joshua Bell can whip up rock star levels of energy and excitement. Add to that the anticipation surrounding the formal opening of a redesigned Southam Hall, and Thursday night’s NACO season launch was almost heady with buzz.
Visually, Southam Hall’s transformation is striking. There are new, sleek seats, with trimmer upholstery and wooden backs. Aisles have been added, with more options for wheelchairs and other mobility aids.
Under the sets, the tired scarlet carpeting has been replaced with attractive, espresso-stained hardwood.
Of course, all of this is just the gift-wrapping.
More importantly, have the renovations improved Southam Hall’s sound? The difference was immediately noticeable with Thursday’s opening piece, Leonard Bernstein’s Candide Overture.
The orchestra sounded remarkably vibrant and crisp. There’s more ping in the treble and warmer reverb in the bass. Alexander Shelley and the orchestra are still adjusting to their new surroundings; some dynamic shifts came off a little abrupt and unbalanced, but these minor bumps should become smoother as the season progresses.
Joshua Bell playing Brahms was a suitably classy choice for opening night, if not an original one (Bell has become one of the three or four international go-to artists for concert hall openings). His virtuosity is staggering — the cadenza at the end of the first movement was magnificent. His expressive power is bold, his musicality idiosyncratic, even unorthodox.
He emphasized the work’s drama and raw emotion, but the phrasing was a little too angular and aggressive, strewn with odd accents. I would have preferred fewer physical theatrics and more rigour, even if the rest of the audience was won over by his passionate performance.
Bell sometimes became disunited with the orchestra, conducted so nobly and lovingly by Shelley.
The wind ensemble at the beginning of the slow movement was brimming over with shimmering loveliness.
The concert featured a world premiere, Derek Charke’s After Chaos, the Earth and Love came into being.
Charke, a New Brunswicker who currently lives in Nova Scotia, says the piece depicts what happens after the Big Bang, with chaos gradually settling into a kind of cosmic order. It’s a fine piece if not a groundbreaking one, thoughtfully developed and well-edited.
Charke plays very successfully with orchestral texture; the pairing of solo violin with offstage trumpets is especially effective. There are shades of Copland and Bartok in the music, and rhythmically the piece is quite catchy.
Richard Strauss’s Also Sprach Zarathustra showed off Southam Hall’s redesign to an even more impressive level.
Shelley’s concept was poetic in its meter and sweep, and the orchestra responded with ubermensch virtuosity and thoroughbred nerve, notwithstanding a few missed entrances.
This was grandiose, electrifying playing that finally has a setting worthy of its sparkle and shine.