Two days after the vast Wagner by the Orchester de la francophonie at the Maison symphonique, the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America gave Lanaudière a powerful fantastic symphony of Berlioz under the direction of veteran Andrew Davis.
The presence in Lanaudière of young Americans largely compensates for the absence of Montreal on the itinerary of the Youth Orchestra of Canada this year. The concert began with a short work by African-American composer Valerie Coleman, about which the program notice did not say a word.
We were able to appreciate the craft of this designer in March 2021, when Yannick Nézet-Séguin directed the Canadian creation ofUmoja at the Maison symphonique. The score at the time sounded like a mix of Ginastera and Copland a few decades after their deaths.
We found in Giants of Light echoes of Copland, but leading to a more personal development, with extensive work on percussion and a collective exaltation well suited to this very young orchestra, which had commissioned the composition.
Like Rembrandt
The heritage is the presence at this concert of Gil Shaham. The violinist has lost none of his splendor and, it must be said, his uniqueness. In the past, such a giant of his instrument, who made his first appearance in Lanaudière and offered us a sumptuous Bach as an encore, would have been enough to attract a larger audience.
It should be said here that experiencing the sound of Gil Shaham “in real life” is in a way like seeing the Rembrandt collection in the Museum of Amsterdam. Now, the museum comes to you! This is the kind of opportunity that cannot be missed.
Shaham is not a violinist like the others: his mellow sound remains unchanged and unique, and the ideal field of application remains the Concerto of Barber. With these qualities, the soloist might be tempted to slow down the tempos. Like James Ehnes (his only hedonistic rival) does in Korngold, he opts for a fluid approach in Barber, especially in the 1er shutter.
We are happy that Andrew Davis had the idea of giving the Final of the Metamorphoses of Hindemith abseiling after the Fantastic : at least here was something that had punch and character! As for the Symphony of Berlioz, we especially admired the orchestra and some of its music stands: the flutes, the English horn in the “Scène aux champs” and the tremendous work done by the coach percussion, with the use of drumsticks ideal at all times and even dry drumsticks on the bass drum in the Final.
As for Andrew Davis, we sincerely hope that he is a great teacher for these young people. We very much doubt the interest of mobilizing all this youthful sap around such a boring cacique, who “stirred the semolina” for 50 minutes and whose number of interpretative ideas amounts to two or three, including a few accents of basses in the 3e movement.
The most astonishing thing was to see him opt for the version with solo cornet of the “Ball” and make so little of it, concentrating on the violins. In short, it was a very fine concert with talented young people, for whom we hope for a future nourished by a more electrifying musical enthusiasm.