Sartor matches passion for the sun
As promised, Saturday’s Regina Symphony Orchestra performance brought unseasonable warmth to the Conexus Arts Centre theatre.
Presenting a selection of “hot” compositions, as noted by Maestro Victor Sawa numerous times, the audience enjoyed an evening of virtual travel to warmer climates as the fantastic local musicians performed four different pieces.
The evening began with a standing ovation for the venerable Maestro, who only days earlier announced he’d be stepping down at the end of the 2015-2016 season. Visibly touched by the unexpected adoration, Sawa briefly stumbled over his words before bringing the program back on track.
Beginning with Montreal-based composer Tim Brady’s Three or Four Days After the Death of Kurt Cobain, the orchestra played the nine-minute work with aplomb. Noticeably darker than the pieces that followed, the rare vibrant points of Three or Four Days … were surrounded by a dark and moody soundscape that embodied a rainy winter in Cobain’s hometown Seattle.
Ottorino Respighi’s Fountains of Rome was decidedly more upbeat and aligned with Sawa’s promise of delivering warmth. Broken into four movements, each representing a different fountain at varying times of the day, one was able to imagine basking in the courtyards of the Italian city watching hustle and bustle of city life happening all around.
Featuring the talents of guest guitarist Marco Sartor, the program continued with Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez — to describe Sartor’s performance as sublime fails to give it justice. The handsome Uruguayan, dressed all in black, was phenomenal demonstrating great dexterity and masterful fingerwork. His nimble fingers danced on the strings as the performance exuded immense passion, reflecting the blind composer’s manifestation of Aranjuez’s palatial gardens.
The second movement, titled Adagio, was especially interesting as Rodrigo’s lush writing incorporates horns, oboe, and the bassoon masterfully. Although any great orchestra requires top-notch string instrumentalists, which the RSO definitely has, there’s nothing quite like a symphony or concerto that effectively utilizes the vast instrumentation available in a full orchestra.
Deservedly, the audience recognized the tremendous feat they had just witnessed giving a rousing ovation for the guest artist and hometown players. Here’s hoping the symphony will have Sartor back sooner than later — he was mind-blowingly fantastic.
Following a brief intermission, Sawa introduced Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, the evening’s headlining symphonic suite. Describing it as a musical adaptation of One Thousand and One Nights, the Maestro advised the audience to imagine all the different instruments as individual characters. Describing the trombone and cellos as the voice of the Sultan, and the violin of Guest Concertmaster Christian Robinson as the voice of Scheherazade, he also noted this was the first time the RSO had performed the famed orchestration since 2001.
As foretold, it was interesting to see the dynamic story unfold as Robinson’s violin sang out to the Sultan, as she told tales of The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship, The Kalendar Prince, The Young Prince and The Young Princess and the fourth movement Festival at Baghdad. Much like Rodrigo’s offering earlier, Scheherazade was equally impactful as the RSO entertained the near capacity crowd and earned yet another standing ovation at the evening’s conclusion.
While Saturday’s offerings weren’t able to eliminate the reality of winter, it was an evening that immersed listeners with the abundant sounds of spring and summer allowing even the briefest of respites.