Pensive Beethoven fitting for the day

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/11/2011 (5134 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On a day marked by its own solemnity and remembrance, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra offered a pensive, all-Beethoven program as its latest Masterworks concert, Beethoven 5.

Friday night’s concert led by maestro Alexander Mickelthwate featured three of the German composer’s classics including his Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37 performed by guest artist Michael Kim.

The Quebec City-born Kim has garnered critical acclaim for his virtuosic technique and artistry, hailed by the Globe and Mail for his “consistently high level of professionalism and musicality.” The Juilliard School graduate’s multiple awards include winning grand prize at both the Canadian Music Competition and CBC National Radio Competition for Young Performers prior to his being appointed Dean of Brandon University’s School of Music in 2008. He has concertized in every major Canadian city as well as throughout the U.S., South America and Asia, and maintains an active solo career.

After a somewhat cautious opening by the orchestra in the Allegro con brio, Kim immediately asserted his presence with his first solo entry of the declamatory, triadic theme that helped infuse much needed energy into the performance. His expressive musicality was also on display with well-nuanced phrasing, including rippling chromatic runs and floating ornamentation. He launched into the composer’s fire and brimstone cadenza with solid authority, cleanly executing its dramatic flourishes and cascading runs that lead to its delicate, pianissimo trills.

The second movement, Largo begins simply with its opening aria performed by solo piano. Kim spun out its lyrical theme with suspended grace, blending seamlessly with the orchestra’s textures when it was his turn to accompany. The work ends with its rollicking Rondo: Allegro that the pianist performed with clarity and rhythmic precision; at times, a little too much so. After all, this is still Beethoven that must always hint at hidden, tempestuous depths, and one wished that more caution could have been thrown to the wind.

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67 with its instantly recognizable, four-note opening motif is perhaps the most well known symphonic work that has lived on through the ages through popular culture and ringtones. Quite fittingly for the day, the iconic work also became associated with the Allied victory during the Second World War.

The concert repeats tonight at 8 p.m. at the Centennial Concert Hall, before travelling to Brandon’s Western Manitoba Centennial Auditorium on Sunday, at 3 p.m.

holly.harris@shaw.ca

Masterworks

Beethoven 5

Friday, November 11

Centennial Concert Hall

Attendance: 1,405

(three and half stars out of five)