Solo cellist Crozman back for a double bill

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This article was published 17/11/2021 (1756 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Local music fans will be given a golden opportunity — actually, two — to hear “Canada’s next big cello star” this weekend when Montreal-based cellist Cameron Crozman comes to town for a pair of back-to-back concerts.

The 26-year-old artist performs as featured guest soloist during the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s (A)bsolute Classics series, being led by Daniel Raiskin on Saturday, Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m. Crozman will then treat listeners to an intimate chamber recital with collaborative pianist Philip Chiu as the Virtuosi Concerts end their pandemic pause the following afternoon, Sunday, Nov. 21 at 3 p.m. (Note new location: St. Andrew’s River Heights United Church.)

The Calgary-born Crozman, who has performed throughout North America and Europe, will treat listeners to Edward Elgar’s searing Concerto in E Minor, Op. 85, hailed a cornerstone of the solo cello repertoire and written in the dark aftermath of the First World War.

“For me, there’s a journey in this piece that is both unique and highly introspective,” Crozman, who last appeared on the WSO stage in February 2019, shares over the phone from his Montreal home. “There’s a side to it that’s almost like a tragic story of heroism, and yet it also has this incredible warmth, that I think for some people would be a love story. I’ll leave it up to listeners’ imaginations, and respond in whichever way they feel the music,” he promises.

The musician is also keenly aware he’s playing in the shadows of one of the most highly celebrated cellists of all time, the late, great British-born Jacqueline du Pré, who stamped the work firmly as her own until her tragic death from multiple sclerosis at age 42 in 1987. Crozman remains unfazed by any comparisons that may arise — and despite even another fabled cellist, Rostropovich, reputedly shying away from his own performances of the four-movement work, declaring du Pre’s interpretation definitive.

“It’s a testament to how powerful and detailed this music is that you can keep finding something new,” Crozman says. “I take the composer’s vision, but then make it my own and for me, a lot of that has to do with the spontaneity of the moment. You want to really know the piece inside out, and then you get onstage and see where it takes you,” he states matter-of-factly, with the artist also preparing by immersing himself in English novelist E.M. Forster’s writings for “historical context.”

It comes as some surprise that this weekend marks only Crozman’s sophomore performance of the classic with full orchestra. He first began tackling it at age 17, inspired by his U.K.-born teacher Paul Pulford, who played it regularly before premièring it with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra in 2018.

But it has also become near and dear to his heart for another reason. Performing an excerpt as an audition piece helped clinch a coveted position at France’s Paris Conservatoire. Crozman described his six years studying at the prestigious institution “formative” while nurturing his deep love for French music and artists, including one of his favourite composers, Debussy.

The son of Ingrid, who taught flute at the University of Calgary for 20 years, and John, a former violinist/violist (“My parents wanted me to choose a lower register instrument.”) had been contemplating a career in either mathematics or science. However, his studies in Paris cemented his desire to become a professional musician. There, he achieved his Master’s with highest honours under the tutelage of Michel Strauss and Guillaume Paoletti, while concurrently completing a second Master’s in Chamber music with Claire Désert and Ami Flammer and an Artist Diploma in contemporary repertoire.

“People told me that I had a talent, and I worked hard and obviously enjoyed it. I began to feel, ‘Well, I’m good at this,’ and decided that I wanted to try it out,” the cellist says.

This coming weekend’s undeniable second star will be Crozman’s latest prized instrument, a “fantastic” Spanish cello “El Tiburon,” attributed to Juan Guillami of Barcelona ca. 1769 and on loan through the Canada Council for the Arts Instrument Bank. It is insured for a cool $400,000. The string instrument replaces the player’s prior ca. 1696 “Bonjour” Stradivarius.

As one might expect, the priceless instruments do not leave the cellist’s side, even buckled into their own airline seat beside him whenever he jets off to his next international engagement.

Crozman demurs when asked about the more-than-nerve-wracking, even surreal experience of carrying multi-million dollar instruments on his back. He prefers to focus on being entrusted with living history with the centuries-old instruments dating back to the Baroque era — light years before Elgar.

“The monetary value is so abstract and theoretical that you eventually stop thinking about it,” he explains. “You definitely get into these habits of caring for these gorgeous instruments, however it’s their historical value that I find even more fascinating.”

Even with the vagaries of a global pandemic, no moss has been growing under Crozman’s bow during the past 20-odd months of lockdown. He’s embarked on a parallel career as a composer/arranger, even crafting a stirring rendition of Leonard Cohen’s immortal anthem Hallelujah for solo cello (https://youtu.be/nEjlxMtoMGQ) as well as preparing to helm his newly created Okanagan Chamberfest. Co-founded with his longtime cello chum Nicholas Denton Protsack, the event launches next May in British Columbia’s interior wine country.

As his star continues to rise, the past recipient of the Canada Council’s Michael Measures Prize, among others, is also reveling in his latest accolade. He recently garnered the Canada Council’s 2021 Virginia Parker Prize including $25,000 in cash, presented annually to a classical musician or conductor under age 32 demonstrating “outstanding talent, musicianship and artistic excellence.” CBC Music has dubbed him “Canada’s next big cello star.”

“It feels really nice to have this award, and I’m honoured to be part of a list of cellists with so many being my heroes,” the musician says humbly. “It’s a wonderful confirmation that I’m on the right path, and am heading in a good direction.”

The WSO concert also includes Beethoven’s monumental Symphony No. 5 in C minor, with Sunday’s performance featuring selections from Crozman’s latest album, Tapeo, named for a Spanish tapas restaurant visited by the self-professed foodie, and showcasing music from that same sun-kissed country.

For tickets or further information, visit: wso.ca or virtuosi.mb.ca/

holly.harris@shaw.ca