Blog
The Musical Mind #10: Samuel Andreyev, Composer
In the fall of 2014, I had the privilege of meeting and interviewing Samuel Andreyev for Esprit’s video series, The Musical Mind.
Samuel is introspective and very thoughtful – a poet, painter and, of course, composer. His all-round creativity is something that fuels and inspires him, each element feeding off one another.
In January, his newly composed work, The Flash of the Instant, will be premiered by Esprit. This piece was commissioned by Esprit Orchestra, and is sure to once again push the boundaries of contemporary classical music, a hallmark of Samuel’s compositional prowess.
Please watch this episode of The Musical Mind, to learn more about Samuel’s creative process, and his passion for working with Esprit.
-- Steven Hobé
Upcoming Concert:
the world’s turning, Thursday January 29th @8pm
Season's Greetings from Alex
Dear Friends of Esprit,
I would like to extend my heartfelt Season's Greetings, along with the wish that you will experience a joyful time with family and friends over the holidays. Hopefully you'll be able to take time to step back from the hurried pace of life and reflect on your blessings and graces, hopes and desires, and relationships, so that you can begin the New Year refreshed and in good spirits.
It has meant so much to have your support for the concerts we've presented so far this season. In retrospect, our concerts have been greatly successful in offering the best new Canadian music, alongside fabulous pieces from abroad, and your patronage has been essential to our achievements. We are exceedingly grateful to you for this and we'll continue doing everything possible to musically excite and feed your imaginations.
I look forward to seeing you again in the New Year, when we'll again present enlightening concerts to engage and satisfy you intellectually and emotionally.
Have a wonderful holiday!
Alex Pauk, C.M.
Founding Music Director and Conductor
O Christmas Tree!
We wrestled our 9’ Christmas tree into a standing position in the infamous tree stand.
Next, the frustrating exercise of trying to straighten the tree. We inched it this way and that, stopping to check if it was perpendicular, repeating the same moves many times until it was finally straight. We spent the next 3 hours stringing the lights. Then we got down to the ornaments.
We’ve collected our whimsical and beautiful ornaments over many years. When we set up our very first tree, Alex and I decided that our “theme” would revolve around one of our many passions — food! Our sensuous dark purple aubergine takes pride of place on our tree.
Each Christmas when we lovingly unearth it from our large collection, we think about our friends John and Gillian who gave it to us several Christmases ago. Our glass food ornaments include green peppers, orange slices, strawberries, a kiwi, grape clusters that are hung near their companion wine bottle and corkscrew, a pineapple, golden walnuts, various pickles, several fragile garlic bulbs etc.
Among the fruit and vegetables, you can catch sight of other glass ornaments that include a Hawaiian shirt, a surfboard, two beautifully detailed Mounties, accordions, an igloo...There are also articulated enamelled goldfish, a couple of shiny metal zeppelins, folkloric wooden armadillos with bobbing heads, two felt ulus (special knives used by the Inuit to slice seals, large fish and whales).
When I spied these red ulus with their very neat green hand stitching on my first trip to Canada’s vast and incredibly beautiful North West Territories, even though it was August I knew I had to purchase them for our tree. Each year we take great delight in our eclectic collection and juggle them around the tree so that we find the perfect spot for each one.
We usually finish around midnight, then we all sit admiring our glowing tree with all its trimmings while listening to the recording of Charlie Brown’s Christmas by Vince Guaraldi. Each year at this time, we all marvel at how he created such a perfect score for the charming, ubiquitous Christmas television special.
At this special time of year, Alex and I are sending you our best wishes for a festive holiday season filled with the happiness of your own personal traditions — a time for family, good food, good friends, and the excitement of new beginnings in the coming year.
Pass the shortbread!
– Alexina Louie
The Composer With the African Grey Parrot
Doug Schmidt, one of the two featured Canadian composers in Revealed Time, Esprit’s 2nd concert of the 2014 season, joined Alex and I for a delicious Chinese meal at our favourite homestyle style Chinese restaurant after his first rehearsal with the orchestra. The dinner included “bo jai”, a delicious small pot of Chinese greens, King mushrooms, shrimp, chicken and “cha siu” (bbq pork) and a dish of tender snowpea leaves in garlic sauce. Doug, who originally hails from British Columbia, where Asian food is legendary, misses good down home Chinese cooking -- this because he now makes his home in Germany (not noted for its Chinese food).
So Doug brings his new work, ... just a stranger here... from Germany to Canada for its world premiere. If you come to my free pre-concert talk (7:15), I will coax him into talking about the musical influences in his piece. These are as astonishingly varied as mariachi music, ancient Chinese instruments, Latin music seasonings and even his experience as a professional bandoneon player. All these influences flavour his piece which, at its heart, touches upon “where his mind, body and spirit have been as he has travelled and lived in different locations” (Esprit Orchestra 2014-2015 brochure).
Of particular interest to me (and a revelation of Doug’s wonderful sense of humour) were his countless stories of Sophie, his pet African Grey parrot, who is so smart that she has a very large vocabulary and is even learning how to spell! Doug is now teaching her how to sing (she will sing the theme of Mozart’s Queen of the Night aria and stop at any point so that Doug will have to finish it off -- even if he is in a different part of the house!). This is one of her many games. Another is her constant teasing of the pet dog. She orders him to “sit” or “go away” and then rewards him by launching a piece of kibble from her birdcage onto the floor for the obedient animal.
Needless-to-say, with all these inspirations floating in his world, ...just a stranger here... is a work of sheer delight. The excitement of the concert is doubled because we will present the world premiere of Toronto composer, Adam Scime’s Rise for stereophonic orchestra! Esprit will be divided into two equal groups on the stage. The musical gestures are tossed back and forth between the groups, and are blended and swirled in waves of sound.
See you at the pre-concert talk for more stories from the bandoneon playing, Grey parrot-owning composer, Doug Schmidt and the stereophonic Adam Scime.
– Alexina Louie
Esprit Presents World Premieres of Pieces by 2 Canadian Composers
Rise by Adam Scime for stereophonic orchestra.
With the orchestra split into a unique stereophonic seating arrangement, musical ideas are continually thrown back and forth amongst the musicians.
Rise evolves into pulsing, colourful waves of sound and deep, shimmering textures.
Scime draws inspiration from ancient myths of vast rivers encircling the Earth, and from modern observation and understanding of ocean waves and tides.
A brand new work by Douglas Schmidt, a Victoria-born Canadian composer living in Germany, is titled Just a Stranger Here Myself -- that, as stated by the composer, “refers to places that I have either visited or lived in. Most particularly since moving to Germany, I often find myself feeling like a stranger.
The odd thing is that when I return to my home country Canada I feel the same way after becoming somewhat acculturated to a German mentality.”
Don't miss Esprit Orchestra's upcoming concert, REVEALED TIME, on Sunday November 23rd!
Firecracker Orchestra from Beijing
Last night we heard the touring China National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra from Beijing perform a fascinating concert in our own Koerner Hall. It was a surprising opportunity to hear the orchestra that performed my composition, Shattered Night, Shivering Stars, in Beijing last May perform in Toronto (and in the same hall where Esprit performs!).
(Please note that Esprit’s second concert of our 2014/15 season, Revealed Time, will take place on Sunday, November 23rd).
Last May, the China NCPA Orchestra performed my piece in their home hall known as “The Egg.” Such a spectacular concert hall — metal clad and sensuously shaped. At night there are small individual lights scattered subtly over the surface. The sight of the building mirrored in a large, shallow reflecting pool really takes your breath away.
Entering the building, you immediately walk down a large hallway which is directly under the reflecting pool; beneath the glass ceiling, you are walking underwater! The shimmering water overhead gives you a remarkable sensation. You feel as though you are immersed in beauty and moving images of reflected light.
Hearing the orchestra last night reminded me of how thrilling it was to hear my music performed by this orchestra in their beautiful Beijing concert hall. What a privilege!
The principal cellist, Meng Yang, recognized me and said they still remembered my piece because it was completely different from anything they had ever played. This musician told me that they had never before performed a work that had sections where the barlines were eliminated and the musical flow was instead indicated in seconds.
It was so wonderful and unexpected to have been greeted with such warm remarks from an orchestra member from my Beijing performance!
Music — the universal language.
– Alexina Louie
COC’s Production of Falstaff -- An All-Canadian Cast Brings It Home
Closing night of the COC’s production of Falstaff, Verdi’s last opera. At 80, he was still artistically fresh, writing a work which was outside the convention of opera’s set-pieces, which normally focus on arias for the soloists.
Verdi wrote a through-composed opera where, for the most part, the music continuously tumbles along with the rapid fire words of the libretto in ensemble pieces rather than solo arias. It is intricate and masterful writing.
Director Robert Carsen gave us an effervescent production, full of light-heartedness and good humour.
When the curtains parted for Act II, Scene 2, there were smiles, giggles, and spontaneous applause for the set - a 1950’s yellow kitchen! The zany Keystone Cops antics of Ford, the husband, and the male choristers in this setting were truly delightful. The entire all-Canadian cast was excellent.
How did our Falstaff, Gerald Findley, act and sing so well, encumbered as he was with his “fat suit” and latex neck and jaw makeup! All this to give our slender baritone the proper girth for the role!
Alex and I laughed from the first scene of the opera to the last. The entire audience left the opera house with huge smiles.
– Alexina Louie
Helen Lawrence: Play or Film?
The play, Helen Lawrence, showcased at Canadian Stage last week, provided some real food for thought: was it primarily a play or a film? We were immersed in a film noir, complete with floor to ceiling scrim/screen. The acting took place behind this scrim, meanwhile the actors were projected onto it. Small actors on stage, giant actors on screen. All the action took place on a bare stage, but on the screen the "sets" changed. What to watch - the actors, or their projected giant images? Canadian Stage gave us the opportunity to see a play and watch a film simultaneously! Very interesting and inspiring.
– Alexina Louie
Chris Paul Harman - Featured Composer
Chris Paul Harman, one of the featured composers on Esprit's 32nd season opener, Polaris, at Koerner Hall, with Alex for a post-concert coffee a day after the concert. There was a lot of catching up to do as Chris has been on the composition faculty of McGill University's Music Department for a number of years and his visits to Toronto are all too infrequent.
Prior to his move to Montreal, Chris had been a regular to Esprit concerts since he was a high school student. In the early days, we initiated coffee chats for the public in the home of Barbara and Harry Somers prior to each concert. These were essential in establishing our audience. A seventeen year old Chris Paul Harman was a regular at these events!
-- Alex Pauk
Check out what Violist Teng Li has been up to...
We are excited that Teng Li will be performing in our upcoming concert, Revealed Time, on Sunday Nov 23rd. Mark it in your calendars!
Here's a recent article published in Inside Toronto about her work with the New Orford String Quartet.
To read, Click Here.
A Night At The Symphony
The night following the opening concert of Esprit’s 32nd season, Alex and I were at another symphony’s performance — The London Philharmonic Orchestra and their conductor Vladimir Jurowski, presented by Roy Thomson Hall.
The LPO closed with the monumental Shostakovich Symphony No. 8, one of his three great “war” symphonies. It was the first time we had ever heard it live and it was an absolutely shocking and stunning revelation — a huge and dramatic piece which moves you through emotions from the greatest human anguish, through grimness and despair, finally resolving in peace and tranquility.
The orchestra played with enormous depth and power. It is a massive piece, clocking in at almost an hour. By the end you have experienced a full range of emotions. We were exhilarated and emotionally exhausted.
While we were leaving the hall we were surprised to bump into two longtime Esprit supporters who were at the Esprit POLARIS concert the previous night. They told Alex how much they loved every piece on Esprit’s concert and how meaningful the experience was for them.
Two wonderful back-to-back nights out at the symphony. Breathtaking!
(Photo: Alex with Dr. Estera Bekier and Wodek Szemberg, producer of TVO's program, The Agenda.)
– Alexina Louie
Tales of a Tuba
As part of our new Esprit Orchestra initiative Meet the Band, a segment of last night’s pre-concert talk, I invited our long-time tuba player Scott Irvine to talk about his instrument.
Scott entertained composer Paul Frehner and I with a lively tuba rendition of “Tequila.” Then he fascinated the concert-goers with an inside look at what it takes to play such a large instrument, and what it feels to be the “low man” in the orchestra.
He let us in on all kinds of insider information. For example, I didn’t know that tuba players think ill of composers who add the words con sordino in their tuba parts. (con sordino means ‘with mute’ - an instruction telling the musician to place the mute, a large sound-dampening tool, inside the bell of the instrument.) And I admit to having used this instruction in my scores.
But why do they curse us when we write con sordino?
Because the mute is as big as the tuba, and the player has to carry it, along with the big instrument, to and from rehearsals and concerts. No Smart Cars for the tuba player!
Scott remarked about how well Paul Frehner wrote for the brass section in his piece, Phantom Suns, which opened the second half of Esprit’s POLARIS concert.
In our ensuing discussion about how composers come to write for tuba I revealed that, although I have written for tuba in many pieces, I had never even held one. Scott leaned over to pick up the tuba and hand it to me, but I graciously declined!
-- Alexina Louie
Ryoji Ikeda: superposition hits Montreal, Saturday Oct 11
We arrived at the Théâtre Maisonneuve in downtown Montreal for Ryoji Ikeda's, superposition, with only ten minutes to spare. As I scanned the foyer, what struck me was the diversity of the attending crowd – an eclectic balance of both old and young; but I could tell these were true veterans of the Ikeda phenomenon – they knew how important it was to have him perform in Montreal, the first step on his North American tour. I also pondered that this would be an intriguing concert for our Esprit patronage, another great opportunity to experience New Music on Canadian soil.
The next 1 hour and 5 minutes were truly mind bending. The simplest way to describe it was an oscillation between microcosmic and macrocosmic presentation, expressed through sound and visuals – from the simplicity of a single sound wave, to the bombardment of data and sound combined, washing, at great speed, over the audience.
In those moments of extreme impact, the notion of angry data leapt to mind, as the frequency of information increased exponentially and we, the viewer, were left to struggle with complex computations.
On the one hand, this can be taken as purely performance art – the interplay between sound and sight. But there is immense meaning and meticulous thought to every number, symbol, word and sound. It is the type of presentation that can be watched again and again, and each time the viewer might decipher another component, experience fresh realization, or just allow the series of calculated moments to wash over them with no end in mind.
Superposition will be performing next at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on October 18th, just two days after Esprit’s first concert of the season, Polaris. Why not catch both!
-- Steven Hobé
U of T New Music Meet & Greet
U of T Faculty of Music, Edward Johnson Building
This past Tuesday, I had the pleasure of presenting with Alex Pauk at the U of T Faculty of Music. We represented the Esprit Orchestra alongside a dozen other Toronto based New Music organizations. Even though it was a dreary day with pouring rain outside, the room was full of 30+ music and composition students from both the undergraduate and graduate level. Presenters from New Music Concerts, Continuum, Toy Piano Composers and more, all took part. It was spectacular to see so many vibrant New Music vehicles together in the same room. It made me thankful that we live and perform in such a culturally rich city.
- J.R.
Filming our Season Trailer
Last week Steven & Mitsuo worked their magic as we filmed our 2014/2015 Season promo video. It was a beautiful summer day and Alex & Zina's house was the most picturesque backdrop. Even Potassium (the neighbour's cat) agreed and decided to watch. Check back soon to see the finished product!
Dinner with Joachim Gauck, President of Germany
Alex and I were honoured to have been invited last week to meet Joachim Gauck, President of Germany, at the Ritz-Carleton in Toronto. It was a great event — the room was buzzing and people were enjoying German inspired food and drink. We chatted with President Gauck for quite some time and found out he was an ardent music-lover!
- Alexina Louie
The 2014/15 Season is Finally Here!
Last season we ended on a high note, with the Mysteries concert in May. I then took to the task of cultivating this season’s program during the summer months.
I give a great amount of thought and contemplation to developing a well-balanced program. I really want there to be something for everyone, appealing to our collective eclectic taste in new contemporary music.
As a result, this season we have a line-up of composers, unlike any other, whose music will move you emotionally, intellectually and spiritually through energetic and high calibre performances by featured soloists and the musicians of the Esprit Orchestra.
Half of the repertoire, commissioned by Esprit, is Canadian including five pieces having world premieres. All other works are by acclaimed international composers, including a world premiere, and all but one of the pieces is being performed in Canada for the first time.
This year I truly believe we can offer concert-goers, from all walks of life, an Esprit Experience that is unforgettable. So immerse yourself in the excitement as Esprit brings new pieces into existence and makes today's best music from around the world part of your live concert experience.
I look forward to seeing you at our first concert of the season, POLARIS, on Thursday October 16, 2014.
Alex Pauk
Founding Music Director and Conductor
For concert & ticket information, click here.