Rave reviews for OSM in South America - Montreal Gazette

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Kent Nagano and the OSM perform in the Teatro Col?n in Argentina. Courtesy OSM

?This is a great orchestra, where all sections dazzle.? So concludes Pablo Bardin, a critic for the English-language Buenos Aires Herald, after hearing the OSM twice last week at the Teatro Col?n, the great temple of music that represented the climax of the orchestra?s two-week tour of South America.

If this looks like a stock expression of general praise, it follows specific recognition of the ?mahogany? colour produced by the ?perfectly tuned? cellos in Rossini?s William Tell Overture. Bardin also provides an itemized list of the ?unbelievably accurate and sensitive soloists? ? clarinet, oboe, bassoon and violin soloist Andrew Wan ? who contributed to the best performance of Rimsky-Korsakov?s Scheherazade the critic has ever heard. All of these good things happened under the ?unerring guidance? of Kent Nagano.

Just about everything seems to have gone well in these concerts, to judge by the newsprint umpires. Juan Carlos Montero in La Nacion heard an ?infinite range of intensities and nuances in all sectors? in Brahms?s Fourth Symphony and was impressed also by Nagano?s ?vision.? There were ?subtle details? in Wagner?s Tannh?user Overture, and pianist Serhiy Salov combined technical and interpretive clarity in Liszt?s Piano Concerto No. 2.

Montero confesses to his failure to find an appropriate ?superlativo? to describe the first concert. Well-worn adjectives like ?excelente? simply will not do.

Superlatives on steroids? Well, it is easy to believe that Nagano and the band were pumped for their appearances in one of the world?s most storied and beautiful halls. It is credible also that the orchestra still strikes first-time (or even second-time) listeners as an unusually clear and balanced ensemble.

In the halcyon days of later 20th century, the OSM under Charles Dutoit was widely praised for its clarity and sonic sheen. Bardin recalls this era and the orchestra?s prior visit to the Teatro Colon in 1991: ?At that time their records of Impressionist music were best-sellers; they are still references,? he asserts. ?What we heard then was an airy elegance, a natural transparency, a total professionalism, a cultured good taste.?

While the critic does not say explicitly that these qualities have sustained themselves under a ?great musician? making his local debut ? for so he calls Nagano ? this is certainly the implication of his review.

Of course we have the right to suppose we know better what Nagano and the OSM sound like, hearing them week after week. But impressions from abroad, untainted by real experience, have a value all their own.

It is fun to be reminded that ?Montreal is the biggest city of Quebec, the francophone region of Canada? and reassuring to know that ?extreme cold doesn?t hinder artistic life, for Chicago, Saint Petersburg and Moscow also have produced very fine orchestras.?

Anyone worried whether Nagano?s youthful appearance has begun to fade can note with satisfaction that the OSM music director ?is surely in the front line of conductors approaching their sixth decade.? In fact, Nagano has made fair headway into his seventh.

As for the tradition of using Ravel?s Bolero as encore, Bardin called this ?Nagano?s only bad idea.? Not because it is a bad piece or because it was badly played, but because it was given in the sadly truncated version the OSM uses from time to time to quell the masses in outdoor park concerts.

?I thought the connoisseur public of the Teatro Col?n would be snobbish,? reports assistant concertmaster Luis Grinhauz, a native of Argentina. ?But they loved it.?

Anyone who has yet to hear Musica Camerata in the Segal Centre ? the home of the Montreal chamber society for the past three seasons ? has one final opportunity to do so this weekend. The program Sunday at 2 of Bach, Mozart and Chausson will be the last Camerata subscription concert in C?te St-Luc.

Next season the ensemble, for many years in Redpath Hall, moves back downtown, to the intimate Chapelle du Bon Pasteur. The famous Fazioli piano in that room is an attraction, says Grinhauz, the artistic director. But the top three reasons are location, location and location.

?We saw declining attendance,? Grinhauz says of his move to the northwest. ?Now they are coming back.?

The organization is trying to make it easy for you in other ways. Concerts will start Saturday at 6 and run for 90 minutes with no tedious intermission. You have the rest of the evening in front of you.

Camarata has also decided to avoid the deepest winter months, to accommodate snowbirds and people who would just rather not deal with January and February.

Wait a minute: I thought that extreme cold did not hinder artistic life. Apparently, there is another perspective. Go to www.camerata.ca for more information.

akaptainis@sympatico.ca

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Source: http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/music/Rave+reviews+South+America/8366733/story.html

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