Concert showcases WSO the way it’s meant to be heard

The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra took its latest show on the road Friday night, marking its debut at the University of Manitoba’s Desautels Concert Hall with the first of two weekend performances aptly titled Symphony in South Winnipeg.

And it’s safe to say the sold-out audience of 398 has never heard this orchestra in quite this same way before. A clearly delighted Daniel Raiskin led the eclectic program of four ear-pleasing classics at the Fort Garry performance space, which opened in September 2024.

The maestro insightfully noted during his opening remarks that an orchestra plays not only its instruments, but the hall. He then invited listeners to witness the WSO performing on its “new instrument,” a state-of-the-art venue in which every player was also fully visible — even the backbenchers, typically tucked away into the recesses of the Centennial Concert Hall — infusing the evening with greater intimacy.

The 105-minute (including intermission) program began with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Op. 21. The work, penned when the composer was 20, brims with sunny high spirits before darker storm clouds moved into the ill-fated composer’s life.

The almost shocking renewed clarity among sections was immediately apparent during the opening movement, Adagio molto — Allegro con brio. The winds, even brighter and crisper, were matched equally by the robust strings, particularly the lower violas, cellos and basses, now taking their rightful place as full-blooded, sonorous members of the ensemble. It was as though the orchestra had fled Kansas for the vivid Technicolor of acoustic superiority.

Other highlights included the penultimate Menuetto, a.k.a. the Scherzo, and finale Allegro molto e vivace, the latter flying along at a lightning-speed tempo that felt overly breathless at times.

Rossini’s Overture to William Tell, more fondly known by its colloquial moniker, the theme for The Lone Ranger, is not frequently heard live. Its four short sections evoking the Swiss Alps have spurred imaginations since it was first written for the Italian composer’s 39th and final opera, Guillaume Tell, in 1829. It’s much beloved for its propulsive energy and iconic, galloping theme, which bolts out of the gate during the finale, March of the Swiss Soldiers.

A special mention goes to the WSO’s newly appointed principal cellist, Elie Boissinot, for his eloquent solo, which bled into the cello quintet, underpinned by double basses during the opening Prelude: Dawn.

Kudos also go to English horn player Robin MacMillan for sensitively weaving her sinuous lines in musical dialogue with another new principal, flutist Christian Paquette, during Ranz des vaches, with the latter’s bird-like trills and skips providing calm repose.

Then all bets were off, with Raiskin holding a taut rein over his players, driven hard during the finale (a.k.a. The Lone Ranger), kicked off by the trumpets’s bold fanfare. One knows what this iconic work sounds like; however, nothing compares to hearing it performed live, with its electrifying, no-holds barred energy.

Samuel Barber’s lushly scored Adagio for Strings, arranged for orchestra by the 20th-century American composer, provided both contrast and the evening’s still point. Raiskin’s sensitive sculpting of sound with both hands, sans baton, allowed its shimmering textures and molten, overlapping phrases to rise and fall, leading to a hushed ending during which one could have heard the proverbial pin drop

Finally, we were whisked off to sun-soaked Spanish climes, with Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio espagnol, Op. 34, with clacking castanets, rattling tambourines and an overly exuberant triangle fuelling the five-part work’s infectious dance rhythms.

Its opening Alborado, brought to life by trilling clarinet, was a highlight, returning as the third movement that showcased WSO concertmaster Karl Stobbe, ripping arpeggios out of his violin like a matador brandishing a cape.

During the subsequent Scena e canto Gitano, listeners were treated to another fine Stobbe solo, as well as the rare sight — and sound — of the entire fiddle section (joined by violas and cellos) strumming their instruments like guitars.

At times the orchestra’s sheer volume created balance issues, with the horns and percussion sections particularly playing with an overabundance of zest; however, one can’t fault their passion.

Nor can one’s dreams be denied, with the eternal hope that the WSO’s current stomping grounds, the Centennial Concert Hall, long devoid of a proper acoustical shell — as well as its eventual future home, the Pantages Playhouse Theatre — will be brought up to this same level of acoustic wonder, allowing these world-class musicians to be fully heard in all their power and might.

The program repeats tonight at the Desautels Concert Hall. (The show is sold out.)

holly.harris@shaw.ca