VSO’s new conductor earning high marks
New musical director gets high midterm marks for his performances thus far
Our colleges and universities have just completed midterm exams.
This concept doesn’t usually transfer to the arts, but it makes sense to consider what’s been going on at the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, in the midst of great change with the first months of Otto Tausk’s tenure as the new music director. A look, then, at Tausk’s concerts thus far, as something akin to a midterm report.
All conductors have their own ideas of orchestral sound, their own programming priorities, and their choice of preferred soloists. The good news is that Tausk has done very well indeed, quickly putting his stamp on the orchestra.
His season started out with a bang with two late September concerts in a row. The first, a gala with Renée Fleming, cast him in a supporting role, providing sensitive and elegant backup for a muchloved diva. Then came a program with the Dutch duo The Jussen Brothers, a pair of young pianists well known to our new music director, but new to us. They were terrific, electrifying the audience with Poulenc’s sly Concerto for Two Pianos. True, the orchestra sounded just a bit rusty after the summer hiatus, but the concert was impressive nonetheless. Full marks for soloists and repertoire.
A week later, another new-toVancouver European soloist, Cédric Tiberghien, delivered a coolly impressive rendition of Bartok’s heartbreaking Third Piano Concerto. But Tausk and the orchestra stole the show with a remarkable reading of a repertoire staple, Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony. Tausk rearranged his players in the classical manner: second violins on the right side of the stage emphasized dialogue with the first violins; cellos next to first violins, with basses behind, created a visceral partnership between the music’s top and bottom lines; timpani and trumpets were paired and brought downstage behind the seconds for added oomph.
Tausk’s approach demonstrated a generational divide in Beethoven interpretation. This was decidedly not the barnacle-encrusted heavyweight style of the mid-20th century. Though the VSO is a modern instrument ensemble, with players trained accordingly, Tausk created the vitality and freshness of a period instrument band, and a good one at that. Tempi were brisk; string playing was rhythmically precise; there was no particular emphasis on tone for tone’s sake. This was an honest presentation of what Beethoven intended, with no extraneous graces designed to emphasize conductor above composer. Top marks.
Not all has gone quite as well. The idea to do abbreviated “Inside the Symphony ” programs on early Friday evenings is a winner. The first try, Russian Games, with guest conductor Rossen Milanov, wasn’t. Two Masterworks programs with guest conductors were hit and miss. Michal Nesterowicz was OK; Xian Zhang, on the other hand, was spectacular. More of her, please.
Tausk’s latest performances came last weekend: a concert designed to commemorate the end of the First World War with Antonin Dvorak’s Stabat mater (1877) for a quartet of soloists (including wonderful mezzo Allyson McHardy), large choir, and orchestra.
That the work has rarely (if ever) been performed in Vancou- ver proved reason enough to hear a fascinating blend of great tunes and moments of compelling grandeur. It was delivered with conviction and even charm. But what was even better, and something that augurs well for the future, was how it demonstrated Tausk’s sense of community.
Recently, the VSO has established several working partnerships with young musicians from the University of B.C. In the Dvorak, an army of student choristers from the University Singers and Choral Union sang with verve and enthusiasm. That the collaboration was wildly successful was summed up by the sight of Tausk and UBC’s choral maven Graeme Langager returning to the stage, post applause, to take selfies with the students. Bonus marks all around.
And for those who want a fall sample of Tausk’s work, there remain two more chances before the annual onslaught of holiday music: a Kid’s Koncert matinee Nov. 25 at the Orpheum; and a striking bit of programming, Tchaikovsky prefaced by Gabrieli and Gubaidulina, Nov. 29-30 in suburban run-outs, and Dec. 1 at the Orpheum.