Immersive, innovative WSO concert a wonder

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/02/2025 (542 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An extraordinary concert in Winnipeg happened last week. The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s paradigm-shifting From the Inside Out not only smashed through the proverbial fourth wall of the rarefied concert hall, but also offered fresh new possibilities for classical music’s survival in the 21st century.

The brainchild of WSO music director Daniel Raiskin, the event saw a total of 877 audience members attend the three-show run held Jan. 27-30 at the Centennial Concert Hall. Listeners were invited to sit onstage among thoroughbred musicians, many less than a bow stroke away from the players.

Other than shows that allowed audience members to perch on those famous bleachers during the Winnipeg New Music Festival’s earliest days, this type of immersive event has never happened on this stage.

Last week’s concert is also believed to be the first of its kind in North America, with an impressive 21 per cent of ticket holders attending their first-ever WSO concert, boding well for the future.

Raiskin, looking like a kid in a candy shop, opened the 90-minute (sans intermission) program by welcoming Thursday’s buzzing crowd of 311 to “this seemingly crazy endeavour.”

But there are so many reasons this “crazy” concept worked — and brilliantly. Its impact went far beyond merely enjoying three thoughtfully programmed works by Schubert, Tchaikovsky and Williams, each piece showcasing particular facets of the symphonic genre.

First, in 20-plus years of covering the WSO, this writer can’t remember the same kind of energy and electricity in the air as listeners filtered in from backstage to locate their seats. Huddling together on the frozen Assiniboine River during the 2019 WNMF might come close; however, this latest venture was more than sheer novelty.

It’s about opening eyes and ears, hearts and minds as a re-discovery of classical music, with the series also including a pre-show “Instrument Petting Zoo,” in which aspiring players could literally try their hand with fiddles and horns.

It’s also about infusing wonder and curiosity into a listening experience, with the 90 minutes flying by faster than you can shake a baton. But mostly, that night became its own ode to joy, allowing a community of rapt listeners to fully immerse into the visceral art and craft of music making, as a rare opportunity seldom (if ever) experienced.

I will never hear Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony in quite the same way again — every inner harmony sprang to life, courtesy of the second violins, where I sat just next to the gleaming harp — or marvel at the pure delicacy of string pizzicati during Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake: Suite from the Ballet, or thrill to the WSO’s top brass during John Williams’ The Cowboys: Overture.

We were able to see up close the muscularity of a violinist’s well-articulated fingers, witness the maestro’s animated facial expressions, his fierce concentration as he rotated 360 degrees on his podium to cue players, making good on his promise to provide us with real, raw “insight into what we hear” during performances.

The sheer volume was another surprise. Of course, we “hear” (or thought we did) all these elements of sound and texture when comfortably nestled in our seats in the house, but having this in-the-round experience provided insight into the orchestra’s sonic depths. We were able to (more) fully engage as we melded and ostensibly “became” music itself — an experience whose unexpected power sometimes brought a tear to this listener’s eye.

However as with all new ventures, there were a few rough edges, speaking to the program’s experimental nature as it embarked on its maiden voyage.

It was difficult to hear the overall cohesion of each work (although, admittedly, this is what players would normally experience from their respective sections). Many musicians spoke afterwards of the challenges of sitting much further apart from their colleagues than during a traditional concert, citing those physically distanced COVID-19 days as an invaluable training ground.

And never have I more wished for a game of musical chairs. Listeners were tethered to their pre-selected seats for the duration of the show; while the logistics of moving to another section between pieces would be tricky, perhaps it could be considered next time, assuming there is an intermission. (Some die-hard devotees reputedly attended more than one concert to hear the music from different vantage points.)

In a deeper, more profound way, this concert also brought a sense of closure and healing to those difficult pandemic years, when music lovers were forced to get their classical music fix via screens in their own homes. This immersive event felt like the complete antithesis — and even an antidote. After years of distancing, it doesn’t get “closer” than plunking right down next to a musician onstage, even allowing for those inclined to follow along with the score (though several musicians admitted afterward that they needed to get used to being “stared” at by curious patrons as they played).

Creating a strong sense of community is exactly what is needed as classical music continues to navigate these ever-changing times. The WSO has set its own high bar with its ongoing championing of local artists and various community concerts, among other initiatives. However not to this extent, and it became a testament to From the Inside Out’s tremendous success that scores of listeners as well as musicians lingered well past the evening’s final notes. No one simply wanted to leave – including myself – and seeing wide-eyed audience members of all ages eagerly mingling with players, asking questions and sharing their thoughts and perspectives inspired during this truly magical night.

Bravo to maestro Raiskin, the musicians and all the adventuresome audience members for embarking on this voyage together, and here’s the good news:

The WSO is already planning two more similar programs for next season, to be held onstage once again at the concert hall as well as at the University of Manitoba’s Desautels Concert Hall; you’d be wise to snag your tickets as early as possible.

holly.harris@shaw.ca