Tweet
PREVIEW: TCHAIKOVSKY SENT MESSAGE WITH 6TH SYMPHONY
Postmedia Breaking News
October 23, 2013 Wednesday
REGINA, Canada - You can tell Maestro Victor Sawa is excited about
this weekend's concert by the sheer exuberance in his voice discussing
this Saturday's Mosaic Masterworks offering.
Featuring Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, considered one of
superstar composer's greatest works, the venerable conductor sounds
like a kid in a candy store.
"If you've ever seen Fantasia or The Nutcracker, you know Tchaikovsky
could write a melody better than anybody," he exclaims. "That's
including Rodgers and Hammerstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber - anybody. He's
amazing through and through.
"The interesting thing about this piece is that it was his final
completed symphony," he continues. "He was the kind of guy who wore
his emotions on his sleeve. His heart was always on his sleeve; if
he was sad the music was sad. As Russia's premier composer he was no
slouch. He was that good.
"He was Mr. Showbiz. This guy would have made a fortune today. He
would have written a couple musicals, a couple movies, this guy
would have done it. The one rule he gave to everybody else was to
never end a piece soft - always end with a bang. His 1812 Overture
with the cannons - it doesn't get any louder than that. There's not
one of his big pieces, such as symphonies or ballets, which he's done
that doesn't end with a bang. This one ends soft. Of all the pieces,
this one, right before his death, ends softly.
"Why did he do that?" Sawa asks. "It was time and he kind of wanted
to send a subliminal message to everybody that he knew his time was
up, it was time, he had a great run, and thank you very much. If you
really want to hear the ending, you'll listen closely to the third
movement. The third movement is spectacular. It was like he was
telling the audience that if they want him to end like he usually
does, here's the third movement - I've still got it in me, but I'm
going to end this symphony another way."
Besides Tchaikovsky's 6th, patrons will see the Regina Symphony
Orchestra perform Buhr's Akasha and Khachaturian's Piano Concerto,
the latter featuring acclaimed Saskatchewan pianist Samuel Deason.
Deason, who was born in Saskatoon, has Sawa's stamp of approval and
is perfect for this piece.
"I've listened to him a couple times and he's such a great pianist
and a really nice guy. He's doing a piece by Khachaturian who was
Armenian. At this point it was part of the Soviet Union and they were
all faithful Soviets he wrote under the auspices of Russia but he was
really Armenian. You can tell the inspiration from Tchaikovsky that he
got because he also wore his emotions on his sleeve. It's like, 'Wow.'
"Khachaturian had his own hell to pay. Tchaikovsky had his demons but
Khachaturian had to deal with a Stalin-era Soviet Union. The Soviet
government was very conscious of what culture was and how important
it was as part of their image to the world, so if Stalin didn't like a
particular piece he would personally confront the composer and threaten
to wipe out them, their family, and all of their friends, unless they
wrote something that he would personally like. Talk about pressure.
"As far as playing the piece, Sam's a strong performer and gets way
into the notes. You can't pussyfoot your way around this piece. This
is not a philosophical and introspective kind of piece - this is
a bread and butter right into the guts, let's do it piece. That's
exactly how Sam plays it."
Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony Regina Symphony Orchestra 8 p.m., Oct. 26
Conexus Arts Centre
From: A. Papazian
Postmedia Breaking News
October 23, 2013 Wednesday
REGINA, Canada - You can tell Maestro Victor Sawa is excited about
this weekend's concert by the sheer exuberance in his voice discussing
this Saturday's Mosaic Masterworks offering.
Featuring Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 6, considered one of
superstar composer's greatest works, the venerable conductor sounds
like a kid in a candy store.
"If you've ever seen Fantasia or The Nutcracker, you know Tchaikovsky
could write a melody better than anybody," he exclaims. "That's
including Rodgers and Hammerstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber - anybody. He's
amazing through and through.
"The interesting thing about this piece is that it was his final
completed symphony," he continues. "He was the kind of guy who wore
his emotions on his sleeve. His heart was always on his sleeve; if
he was sad the music was sad. As Russia's premier composer he was no
slouch. He was that good.
"He was Mr. Showbiz. This guy would have made a fortune today. He
would have written a couple musicals, a couple movies, this guy
would have done it. The one rule he gave to everybody else was to
never end a piece soft - always end with a bang. His 1812 Overture
with the cannons - it doesn't get any louder than that. There's not
one of his big pieces, such as symphonies or ballets, which he's done
that doesn't end with a bang. This one ends soft. Of all the pieces,
this one, right before his death, ends softly.
"Why did he do that?" Sawa asks. "It was time and he kind of wanted
to send a subliminal message to everybody that he knew his time was
up, it was time, he had a great run, and thank you very much. If you
really want to hear the ending, you'll listen closely to the third
movement. The third movement is spectacular. It was like he was
telling the audience that if they want him to end like he usually
does, here's the third movement - I've still got it in me, but I'm
going to end this symphony another way."
Besides Tchaikovsky's 6th, patrons will see the Regina Symphony
Orchestra perform Buhr's Akasha and Khachaturian's Piano Concerto,
the latter featuring acclaimed Saskatchewan pianist Samuel Deason.
Deason, who was born in Saskatoon, has Sawa's stamp of approval and
is perfect for this piece.
"I've listened to him a couple times and he's such a great pianist
and a really nice guy. He's doing a piece by Khachaturian who was
Armenian. At this point it was part of the Soviet Union and they were
all faithful Soviets he wrote under the auspices of Russia but he was
really Armenian. You can tell the inspiration from Tchaikovsky that he
got because he also wore his emotions on his sleeve. It's like, 'Wow.'
"Khachaturian had his own hell to pay. Tchaikovsky had his demons but
Khachaturian had to deal with a Stalin-era Soviet Union. The Soviet
government was very conscious of what culture was and how important
it was as part of their image to the world, so if Stalin didn't like a
particular piece he would personally confront the composer and threaten
to wipe out them, their family, and all of their friends, unless they
wrote something that he would personally like. Talk about pressure.
"As far as playing the piece, Sam's a strong performer and gets way
into the notes. You can't pussyfoot your way around this piece. This
is not a philosophical and introspective kind of piece - this is
a bread and butter right into the guts, let's do it piece. That's
exactly how Sam plays it."
Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony Regina Symphony Orchestra 8 p.m., Oct. 26
Conexus Arts Centre
From: A. Papazian