Conductor Martin MacDonald and the Cathedral Bluffs Symphony Orchestra will have fun the brand new season with a live performance titled Appalachian Spring on April 19. The numerous program ranges from Schumann to Toronto’s personal Alexina Louie.
One of many highlights of the occasion might be a efficiency by Dayou Kim, a younger pianist who took house first prize on the 2024 CCC Toronto Worldwide Music Competition Concerto Competitors.
We spoke to conductor Martin MacDonald and pianist Michael Berkovsky, Dayou Kim’s teacher at The Taylor Academy in regards to the occasion.
The Live performance
This system for Appalachian Spring contains:
- Ravel: Le Tombeau de Couperin Suite
- Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana: Intermezzo
- Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54 (1st mvt), Dayou Kim, piano
- Alexina Louie: Music for a Celebration (1990)
- Copland: Appalachian Spring: Suite (1945)
Michael Berkovsky
Canadian-Israeli pianist Michael Berkovsky, Dayou Kim’s teacher, is a School member at The Glenn Gould College and The Taylor Academy on the Royal Conservator, and an award-winning musician. A lot of his college students have gone on to win competitions and examine on the world’s most distinguished music colleges.
“Within the final 15 or 20 years, I’ve shifted my consideration to educating,” Berkovsky defined.
His classes with Dayou happen at The Taylor Academy. “We’ve a really proficient youngster,” he says of her.
At The Taylor Academy, he’s working with not solely excessive stage college students, however world class colleagues. “There’s numerous excessive stage lecturers that moved right here,” he notes. “It’s a supportive surroundings. The RCM, I feel it’s he finest system on the market,” he provides. “It’s a system that has enabled many youngsters to climb up the ladder.”
He believes the extent of expertise and method that he’s experiencing now has, on the whole, risen over time.
“My very own strategy is about 50 p.c the piano, and 50 p.c a relationship with my college students,” he explains.
It’s Toronto’s classical music ecosystem that helps that progress and progress.
“It’s wonderful that we’ve so many orchestras on the town,” he says. “Toronto lately is without doubt one of the finest cities to be a classical musician.”
He factors out what number of Canadians are on the market taking worldwide competitions by storm.
On the subject of teaching his personal college students for a contest, it’s vital to maintain the give attention to the music, and to assist them bear in mind it’s not a life or demise state of affairs. “I prefer to remind youngsters that it’s not likely all in regards to the competitors,” he says. He reminds them it’s additionally about listening to their associates play, and maybe discovering out about new items they’d prefer to sort out.
Dayou Kim started finding out piano on the age of six, and is finding out with Michael on a full scholarship at The Taylor Academy. She has beforehand gained a number of awards and scholarships, together with 2022 The Taylor Academy Concerto Competitors.
“Dayou got here from Korea I take into consideration 5 years in the past,” Berkovsky says.
Admissions to The Taylor Academy are by audition, and Dayou was one of many prime college students over the past 5 years or so.
“She is especially technically gifted,” Michael says. “I inform her at school typically that I’m jealous of her fingers.”
Kim appears to attach with the music on a deep stage. “It’s enjoyable for her.”
The Schumann Piano Concerto is one she hasn’t carried out earlier than publicly. “It’s sort of a brand new push for us,” he says. He factors out the extra mature emotional depth of the work, with its mixture of ardour and lyricism. “I had her learn a few of the love letters between Robert and Clara, which all the time causes some giggles at school,” he says. “I actually like what she’s doing with this.”
He’s comfortable to see her performing with CBSO. “It’s nice to see the brand new era of viewers [members] and musicians.”
Dayou Kim performs Chopin’s Scherzo No. 4 in E Main, Op. 54 in July 2024:
Martin MacDonald, Music Director
“That is our second yr that we’ve been in partnership with the Toronto Worldwide Music Competition,” notes Music Director Martin MacDonald.
MacDonald has been a member of the judging panel for the Competition’s concerto competitors, and it comes with a perk.
“I might have the chance to decide on a soloist,” he explains. “It’s very nice, the extent is actually excessive — actually proficient college students. They run a reasonably nice competition.”
It’s held on the similar venue the place CBSO holds their concert events: the PC Ho Theatre on the Chinese language Cultural Centre of Larger Toronto.
Appalachian Spring takes place on Easter Sunday, with the live performance scheduled as a matinee. The event additionally influenced this system of uplifting music.
“We needed to select actually contemporary and galvanizing music,” Martin explains. “With the Copeland and the Ravel, particularly, there are some actually great solo alternatives.” Inspiring magnificence is a standard thread. “There’s a working theme by way of there.”
Maurice Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin is the composer’s homage to French Baroque music. Martin factors out that Ravel wrote the work, and its beautiful melodies, to commemorate the buddies he’d misplaced to WWI.
Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana, a one-act opera, is a narrative that takes place over the Easter weekend in Sicily.
Dayou Kim’s efficiency matches the tone of the opposite works.
“The Schumann matches properly. The primary motion is a extremely properly contained 15 minute piece by itself,” he says. It’s additionally a pleasant showcase for the pianist.
“Appalachian Spring is the longest work,” he notes. CBSO might be performing the complete orchestral model of the piece, which Copland created after the extra sometimes carried out 13-instrument model.
“There’s one thing actually particular about it. There’s moments that you just get a extremely full, lush sound that’s actually satisfying for the viewers and the musicians,” he says. “It actually provides a pleasant flavour to the sound of the work.” It’s additionally, as he factors out, fairly difficult to carry out.
Alexina Louie’s celebratory work matches into the temper. “We put Canadian repertoire in each program.”
“A pleasant sort of begin anew, a contemporary tackle the programming,” MacDonald says. That’s with out making it thematic per se. “It’s a group of items that actually work properly collectively.”
The combo retains it attention-grabbing. “It’s vital with a neighborhood orchestra it’s actually about exploring completely different sounds and time intervals. It’s additionally actually nice to do applications outdoors the overture, concerto, symphony format.” Including extra items to this system is a distinct expertise for the orchestra as properly. “You’ve to have the ability to pivot from one piece to the following.”
- Discover extra particulars and tickets for the April 19 efficiency of Appalachian Spring [HERE].
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Anya Wassenberg is a Toronto Metropolis Editor at Ludwig Van. She is an skilled freelance author, blogger and writing teacher.
