SSO presents long-lost work
Second debut for work with link to Mozart
Prairie people love a hearty stew.
It’s no surprise and the musical concoctions Eric Paetkau has been cooking up in the past three years he has been music director of the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra have really been hitting the spot.
Paetkau takes a little of this, and dash of that, sprinkles in some spice (not too much!) and always seems to end up with a flavourful – and substantial – dish to serve up to Saskatoon music lovers.
One big reason is the local ingredients.
“What I like to do is bring as many different elements as possible in terms of artists from Saskatchewan, Canadian artists and composers, great works that haven’t been performed here in a while, collaborations with different arts groups in town and members of the community,” he said. “It all adds up to something special.”
Paetkau said he makes a concerted effort to make sure an evening at the symphony feels like it represents Saskatoon, but also expands horizons.
“I like to challenge the audience, because they are so up for the ride,” said Paetkau. “We can program something that they’ve never heard of and they’ll be there. Which is wonderful. And so, they go on a journey with us.”
The musical journey the SSO will take during its 88th season will include marking the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I during two powerful concerts in November.
On Nov. 4, in Convocation Hall, the first Chamber Concert of the season will feature three composers – two German and one English – deeply affected by the horror, strife and tension of time.
A week later, the second concert in the Master Series is titled We Will Remember. It features a young Quebec cellist named Stéphane Tétreault, performing Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto, which was written as a commemoration of the end of the First World War.
“He’s a wonderful young cellist who’s been making quite a name for himself,” said Paetkau.
That concert will also feature Maurice Ravel’s Le tombeau de Couperin, written as a tribute to friends lost in the war, and Canadian composer John Burge’s Flanders Fields Reflections.
Another interesting musical journey happens in the spring. The Master Series concert titled Finding Heinz Moehn illuminates the long-hidden work of the German composer and editor who worked for renowned music publisher Barenreiter.
Moehn’s interpretation of Mozart’s Requiem is still the definitive version, and is most played by ensembles around the world.
But there was another side to Moehn.
“He wrote a violin concerto, among other works,” said Paetkau. “It just so happens that his grandson, Johannes Dyring, works at Innovation Place at University of Saskatchewan. He had all these manuscripts that he inherited from his grandfather, and he didn’t know what to do with them.”
Fate lent a hand to finally bring Moehn’s music to light.
Dyring’s daughter goes to school with the daughter of SSO trumpet player Dean Mcneill. Through that connection, Dyring, Mcneill and Paetkau, analyzed the music, found the violin concerto, and realized they had something quite special on their hands. With the help of Saskatoon composer Paul Suchan, the hand-written score was used to
create a piece for the SSO to perform.
The concerto – to be played by Timothy Chooi – will be paired with Moehn’s edition of Mozart’s Requiem, assisted by the Greystone Singers and Saskatoon Symphony Chorus.
Also on the program is Suchan’s choral piece, Wake the Grain, creating a connection between Mozart, Moehn and Suchan, and a very unique concert for Saskatoon music lovers.
“It’s a second debut, I guess you could say. The first was in the 1930s and now it’s going to be played again so many years later here in Saskatoon,” said Paetkau. “There’s a wonderful connection there, throughout that whole concert.”
The Pops Series offers favourites like Disney classics and the music of Star Wars, but Paetkau is especially excited about the local flavour of 12 Days of Christmas, on Dec. 8.
“We’ve invited local artists to do a song here and there, and Gary Gable is going to narrate the 12 Days of Christmas. It’s going to be a fun show, like the old variety shows with celebrities. This will be the Christmas version of a Saskatoon variety show.”
The first baroque concert of the season in October features concertos from SSO players Margaret Wilson, on clarinet, CarolMarie Cottin, on French horn, and newcomer Veronique Mathieu, on violin. Mathieu is the recently appointed David L. Kaplan Chair in Music at the University of Saskatchewan.
Celebrating the virtuosity of our local talent is part and parcel of the SSO’S mandate under Paetkau.
“We’ll have connections – Canadian and local community connections – all throughout the season.”